When my wife Liz told me she'd arranged a week staying in a cottage on the atlantic coast of Donegal to the north of the Republic of Ireland I got quite excited.
Not only was I looking forward to some gorgeous and dramatic scenery, but also some seriously dark skies in this sparsely populated corner of the globe.
So each night there was a clear sky forecast, which is rare in this part of the world, I set up my camera pointing south over the few cottages that comprised the village of Mullaghdoo Scotch and set it off recording still images as twilight faded to night to see what could be seen of the milky way tracking across the night sky from southest to southwest.
And then we went to bed, leaving the camera to its own devices until morning, when I got up just after first light and turned it off again.
Now leaving a camera working overnight requires some careful planning and extra equipment, so for these overnighters I had my camera connected to the mains electricity supply via an adapter which fits where the camera's battery would normally go.
Also, anticipating dew condensing on my lens, being this close to ocean, I also used a lens heater and powerbank battery to keep the glass above the dewpoint temperature.
And finally I used a memory card with enough capacity to store the 2,000+ images I calculated would be captured in these extended photoshoots.
In the end, I had clear skies overnight on three occasions, with this time lapse video being the best of the three, having the milky way show up clearly from the onset of full darkness at the end of astronomical twilight, right though to the point at which the skies started to lighten again with the approaching dawn.
I love a challenge that combines techincal difficulty with the wonders of the universe.
Filename - donegal night timelapse 03
Camera - Canon EO6DMK2
Lens - 14mm pr1me
Exposure (start of sequence)- 13 secs @ f/4, ISO6400
Exposure (end of sequence) - 13 secs @ f/4, ISO6400
Capture frame rate - 1 frame every 15 seconds.
Filters - None.
Location - Mullaghdoo Scotch, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland
Music - Country Blues - Andy Litherland
This clip - HD 720p, 30fps (4K and 1080p HD formats also available)
Clip duration - 37 seconds
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.