2791 & 2794. Te Henui ti kouka in flower, by moonlight. 25 October 2015

Usually I try to avoid subtlety, but these two images a short interval apart demonstrate the use of flash. In the scene above – the steep flank of an old pa above the Te Henui in New Plymouth – the flash has a fill-in function but also highlights the central tree trunk. The image below gives away my vantage point, one of the two new (2013) footbridges on the walkway. Here the flash illuminates the railings but is not strong enough to highlight the background. It’s a startling shot but I prefer the straight one above. A perfect spring evening, it was quite still in the sheltered valley, with the rising moon waxing at 90%. This was our most enchanting pause on the walkway, one open to the moonlight and enhanced by the heady scent of the cabbage trees.

28mm; ISO 500 & 1000. 30 seconds @ f5.6; @ f8.

Posted by Barney Brewster

Tags: flash, flowers, high ISO, long exposure, moonlight, moonlight photography, New Plymouth, Nikon D700, spring, stars, Taranaki, trees, wide angle

Categories: Night photography