Jewels of the night

Jewels of the night

“Jewels of the night”. Pixinnì watchtower and Cala Segreta, southern Sardinia. The darkness of the night and the clear sky (Sardinia is the Italian region with the least light pollution, i.e. dark nights) offer two jewels: the clearly visible core of the Milky Way and the transparencies of the crystalline waters enclosed among the rocks of the cove.

This nocturnal landscape required, in addition to the usual planning, the use of two distinct techniques: to capture as much light and details of the Milky Way as possible, without having to deal with massive digital noise (due to the high ISO sensitivity) I took 18 shots of the sky, subsequently aligned and merged in post production. As for capturing the foreground (rocks, sea and tower) I’ve shot a single exposure, adding a bit of light painting withe use of a LED “magic wand” set with a suitable color temperature, thus illuminating all the details that can be seen in the photo. Using Lightroom and Photoshop, I then proceeded with the editing and the adjunstments of colors and brightness of the foreground and sky.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Samyang 16mm F2 ED AS UMC CS
Focal lenght: 16mm
Shutter time: 18×13 s + 70 s
Aperture: F/2.2 + F/3.5
Sensitivity: ISO1250 + ISO400
 

 

Gate to the other side

Gate to the other side

“Gate to the other side”. What would the sky look like if you could see celestial bodies even during the day? This is my interpretation of a seascape at the first light of dawn, under an imposing Milky Way that shines through the gradient of colors of the sky, towards the end of the blue hour.

To create this “time blending”, that is the fusion of two different moments, I kept the camera in the same position for about an hour and a half, without changing the composition and the focal length. This is because, keeping the terrestrial elements of the landscape unchanged, I was able to capture first the Milky Way and, later, the light and the colors of the blue hour. Specifically, the shots for the Milky Way were taken around 3:45 am, while the blue hour at 5:15 am. Although this is a “composite”, the peculiarity of this shot is that the Milky Way has actually “passed there”, but an hour and a half earlier than this light condition.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Samyang 16mm F2 ED AS UMC CS
Focal lenght: 16mm
Shutter time: 15×13 s + 121 s
Aperture: F/2.2 + F/5.6
Sensitivity: ISO1250 + ISO100
 

 

Spikes and slivers

Spikes and slivers

“Spikes and slivers”. Masua, southwestern Sardinia. A striking contrast between natural elements, which generates a sort of symmetry whose plane is the horizon: in the foreground, the sharp and rugged rocks open onto a sea with a smooth and luminous surface. Above, a deep and clear sky, marked by white clouds whose shapes, generated by their movement, recall the spikes of the rocks. At the center is the lonely islet of Pan di Zucchero, symbol of this wild part of Sardinia swept by the wind and sea currents.

To obtain this image it was necessary to use ND filters: a 15-stop solid NiSi to extend the shutter speed to about a minute and a half, thus eliminating sea ripples, plus a 3-stop graduated ND to darken the upper portion of the sky. The latter effect was further emphasized with the use of a red filter in postptoduction.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Focal lenght: 10mm
Shutter time: 88 s
Aperture: F/8
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

This photograph is part of a series that has been awarded at the following international photography competition:
– Honorable Mention in the 2020-2021 edition of the FAPA Fine Art Photography Awards: “Pan di Zucchero” – Category Seascapes

 

Slits

Slits

“Slits”. Masua, southwestern Sardinia. A stretch of coast that shows the rugged and wild side of the island, where the rocks, compressed and pushed by the immense forces of the Earth’s crust, have emerged assuming elongated and oblique shapes. The gaps, partially filled by long waves, generate shiny mirrors that contrast with the twisted shapes and rough surfaces of the rocks. On the horizon stands the solitary islet of Pan di Zucchero, right in front of the barely visible building of Porto Flavia.

The composition of this shot highlights the shapes of the rocks in the foreground, which lead the eye to the islet of Pan di Zucchero; it follows that both planes must be sharp and detailed. To avoid the focus stacking technique, which would have required multiple shots with different focus points and subsequent editing in postproduction, it was sufficient to apply the hyperfocal technique: closing the diaphragm very much, but not so much as to incur in diffraction, it was enough to focus a few meters away from the foreground. By doing so, the entire scene is included into the depth of field, with the foreground in perfect focus and the elements in the background in sufficient focus. The long exposure was done with two ND filters, one solid 9 stops and one graduated 3 stops for the sky.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Focal lenght: 10mm
Shutter time: 30 s
Aperture: F/9
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

This photograph is part of a series that has been awarded at the following international photography competition:
– Honorable Mention in the 2020-2021 edition of the FAPA Fine Art Photography Awards: “Pan di Zucchero” – Category Seascapes

 

Fracture

Fracture

“Fracture”. Southern Sardinia. The stretch of rocky coast, on which stands the Pixinnì tower and the Punic quarry, is marked by large steps and deep crevices, through which the water flows incessantly. The feeling of being in an extraterrestrial landscape is amplified by the approach of a dense blanket of rain-laden clouds, which obscures the sky and makes one feel crushed between two powerful and impetuous natural elements.
This shot was taken during the last photographic trek with the students of La Bottega della Luce and, actually, the exposure time was interrupted at about 4 minutes because of the beginning of a strong downpour brought by those dark clouds. Two NiSi filters were used to take the long exposure: a 15-stop solid ND filter, plus a 3-stop graduated filter (rotated about 30 degrees counterclockwise from the horizon) to balance the dynamic range of the scene, containing in this way the bright lights in the upper left portion of the frame.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM
Focal lenght: 10mm
Shutter time: 249 s
Aperture: F/9
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

Floating pillars

Floating pillars

“Floating pillars”. Another shot taken on the beautiful island of Sant’Antioco, in Sardinia, to be precise at the stacks of the Nido dei Passeri. The magnificence of these rock formations and the time of day characterized by a high and intense light (about half past two in the afternoon) allowed me to create an image with strong contrasts. I therefore wanted to set the size and roughness of the stacks against the lightness and smoothness of the water.
To create this I made use of some technical and compositional choices: first of all, the use of black and white allowed to reduce the “information” to the essential, in order to concentrate on the important ones; in addition, the use of two ND filters (one solid 15 stops and one graduated 3 stops for the sky) allowed the extension of the shutter speed to 2 minutes, eliminating the waves and ripples of the sea and greatly reducing the structure of the clouds. The strong light of the scene made it possible to obtain an almost high-key effect with a chiaroscuro effective in increasing the visual contrast between the rock and the rest of the environment.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Pentax HD DA 20-40mm f/2.8-4 ED Limited DC WR
Focal lenght: 20mm
Shutter time: 120 s
Aperture: F/9
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

Emerging from the dream

Emerging from the dream

“Emerging from the dream”. Mangiabarche (“Boat-eater”) lighthouse, Sant’Antioco island, southwestern Sardinia. The purpose of this photograph is to create a “dreamlike condition” by altering reality. To turn the image of the lighthouse and the rocks into a sort of dream or memory, with its emotional content, I chose the minimalist key: through the use of an ND filter (and an adequate post-production) I physically removed some “disturbing” elements, such as sea waves and clouds, to reduce the scene to its essential elements. It is no coincidence that even the horizon is almost completely invisible: the lighthouse and the rocks on which it stands appear in a vision, disconnected from space and time, as in a sort of dream. The use of black and white allowed me to focus on the shapes and transitions of brightness, as well as on the alternation of areas rich in textures with others totally empty.
This is a fairly simple way of doing non-descriptive landscape photography.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Pentax K 200/2.5
Focal lenght: 200mm
Shutter time: 360 s
Aperture: F/8
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

Secret cove

Secret cove

“Secret cove”. Southwestern coast of Sardinia, Italy. As a rainy and windy day comes to an end, the colors of the sunset paint the sky and the crystal clear water of an hidden cove with vivid and deep shades of blue and pink.

This shot required a 9-stop solid ND filter to extend the shutter speed to nearly 2 minutes, plus a 3-stop graduated ND filter to darken the sky and balance the overall brightness and contrast of the scene. In this way, emphasis was given to the fast movement of the clouds pushed by the wind and the transparency of the water of the cove.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM
Focal lenght: 10mm
Shutter time: 91 s
Aperture: F/8
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

Sunrise on the flooded beach

Sunrise on the flooded beach.

Sunrise on the flooded beach; Poetto seafront, Cagliari, after a day of heavy downpour and storm surge. The warm light of the sun illuminates the completely flooded beach, making the puddles shine, while the Devil’s Saddle promontory seems to float on a thin and bright line of salty haze.
Three filters were needed to capture this view: a 9-stop solid ND to extend the shutter speed to one and a half minutes; a 2-stop graduated ND to reduce the brightness of the sky; a circular polarizer to make the colors slightly more intense and to darken the portion of the sky at the top right, thus giving more prominence to the light of dawn.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Samyang 16mm f/2 ED AS UMC CS
Focal lenght: 16mm
Shutter time: 94 s
Aperture: F/7.1
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

 

Castelsardo magic

Castelsardo magic

“Castelsardo magic”. Sardinia, Italy. The ephemeral magic of the blue hour tinges the landscape of Castelsardo with a vibrant magenta, before giving way to the darkness of the night.

The peculiarity of this photograph is that it’s actually made of two shots taken at a distance of several minutes from each other while maintaining the position of the camera and the composition unchanged. The reason for this is the intention to merge the vivid colors of the blue hour and the lights of the town into a single image.
In fact, in the first shot, the scene is bright, colorful and detailed, but the town is “switched off” and a little flat and dull. So, after this first long exposure, it was sufficient to wait for the time the urban lighting was switched on and take a second, shorter shot.
By doing so, it was possible to obtain a more vivid and brilliant scene: the fortress on which the Castel dei Doria (or Castel Genovese) stands is illuminated by spotlights that highlight the texture of the rocky wall, while the coastal tower of Frigiano is illuminated by a magenta reflector, like the color of the sky. The street lamps and the lights of the houses accompany them. The atmosphere is completed by reflections on the still water of the inlet.

To merge the two shots, it was necessary to elaborate them in Photoshop, setting the first file of the blue hour as the base layer and the second file with the lights on as the upper layer. So the blending mode of the top layer was set to “lighten”. In this way, each brighter pixel was superimposed on that of the lower layer, thus obtaining a final image composed of 99% by the base layer, plus the small portions of the upper layer related to the lights of the town.
The only slightly tricky step was the method of blending the reflections on the water since they required a soft, natural gradient. To do this, it was necessary to reveal a further portion of the upper level, darker, relating to the water of the inlet, through a special handmade mask. In this way, with the slightly darker water, the reflections on it of the lights were brighter, maintaining, in any case, the naturalness and realism of the whole scene.

EXIF:
Camera: Pentax K-3
Lens: Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
Focal lenght: 14mm
Shutter time: 20 s
Aperture: F/5.6
Sensitivity: ISO100
 

 

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