Rodney Campbell's Blog

Stellar Mass

NIKON Z6_3 + Viltrox AF 16/1.8 Z @ 16 mm, 15 sec at f/1.8, ISO 3200 + 67 sec at f/8, ISO 100

RGB Critter and BitWhip experiments with the “rock” and the core of the Milky Way with Gerry in the Blue Mountains

I’m really enjoying using this Viltrox Z mount 16mm f/1.8 lens. The OLED display and the Fn2 button allowing instantaneous switch between two preset focus distances (e.g. infinity (for the stars) and hyperfocal distance (for the foreground)) is so handy at night

I’m also really appreciating the Z6 III for night scape photography. The starlight mode in particular is epic for composing compositions in even near pitch black conditions

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Cave Lights

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S @ 20 mm, 38 sec at f/4, ISO 100 + 30 sec at f/1.8, ISO 800 x 113 Frames

I’d taken my old Nikon Z7, the stellar astro Nikkor Z 20/1.8 S lens and a spare tripod with me on our late night trip out to Lincoln’s Rock in the Blue Mountains. With the view that I might be able to do something like star trails with it whilst we were busy light painting and static milky way shooting

Just before 1AM Gerry and I had decided to move to the small cave to shoot static milky way on the horizon images out of the cave mouth

Before climbing up to that higher cave tho, I setup my spare shooting setup in this lower camping cave – with it’s manmade front wall – looking out at the stars and night sky through the opening. I left it running with star trails frames whilst we went “upstairs” and came back later to collect

This is 113 x 30 second frames (just under 1 hour) of star trails blended with a lightly light painted inside the cave frame

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Purple Nights

NIKON Z6_3 + Viltrox AF 16/1.8 Z @ 16 mm, 13 sec at f/1.8, ISO 3200

With Gerry looking out at the milky way from within the cave at Lincoln’s Rock in the Blue Mountains

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Colour Whip

NIKON Z6_3 + Viltrox AF 16/1.8 Z @ 16 mm, 15 sec at f/1.8, ISO 3200 + 144 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

AoaM BitWhip in rainbow road mode under the milky way in this made for it channel – 12:30AM with Gerry at Lincoln’s Rock in the Blue Mountains

Outlook

NIKON Z6_3 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 14 mm, 1/2 sec at f/16, ISO 400