Night photography tips needed: I'll be in Yosemite Valley this weekend......

[Mjollnir]

for the moonbows at lower and upper Yosemite Falls.

I've never done any long exposure night photography/astophotography before, and this weekend is supposed to be the brightest moonbows at the falls for quite some time.

I'm shooting a GH2 and a 7D, have tripods, wired shutter releases and a quiver of various and assorted lenses ranging from pretty fast 20mm 1.7 to 400mm.

And down and dirty quick tutorials that anyone favors?

Thanks in advance,

T3.

[rambler44]

Here is an article with links:
http://www.advancedphotography.net/18-tips-night-photography-capturing-beauty-night/

Be sure to know how to find the "Bulb" setting on your camera.  For example, you might find it in Manual then turn down to the slowest speed until "bulb" appears allowing the shutter to remain open as long as it is held down.  A remote or cable shutter release is important.

A flashlight shown on an object you want to include in the foreground can help your camera to focus.

Remember, if you hold the shutter open long enough, you  can take successful images of scenes you cannot see in the dark with the naked eye.

If the moon is bright (full) use your daylight settings to photograph it eg.  ISO 100 F/11

What a wonderful place to visit!

Here is a renown Yosemite photographer:

http://www.williamneill.com/index.html

Moon:

http://www.advancedphotography.net/photograph-moon-night/


My Googling Yosemite Moonbows found this:

http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/events/photographing-“moonbow”

[sierraman]

Another thing is that if you going to photograph lower Yosemite falls, it gets mighty wet at the bridge. I used a clear filter on my lens to keep the front element dry.

[bill t.]

Bracket!  A lot.  The LCD looks excessively (and painfully) bright to dark adapted eyes which easily leads you to think you are getting heavier exposures than you actually are.  Also a little HDR might be in order.  When shooting night skies I find it very useful to put a few layers of dark plastic over the LCD, your local plastic supplier might have some correctly sized samples or trims.

[Wingwalker]

I found this tutorial on the 12 common errors of night photography and how to fix them to be pretty useful in my own experiments. But mostly I would echo what bill t. has said and suggest bracketing everything! In my few attempts the brightness of my LCD has always misled me and I've missed a few shots because of it. I haven't tried putting dark plastic over it, though - thanks, bill t!

[dwnelson]

Moonbow tips from a resident Yosemite photographer:

http://www.michaelfrye.com/landscape-photography-blog/2010/04/25/tips-for-photographing-lunar-rainbows/