Post #5, Monument Rocks

As I mentioned earlier, I often visit the Monument Rocks in western Kansas.  Partly because it is close to home, where my parents live, but also because the landscape there is interesting, especially at night.  And also because the skies above are dark at night, with no city light evident at this location.

If you have never been there, here are a few pictures of the Monument Rocks at daytime:

Not too long after I first began taking pictures at night, I decided I wanted to drive to the Monument Rocks for a night photography session.  I took both my parents one night, and not totally satisfied with the results, returned two nights later with my dad (important to note that I never take pictures alone at night).  I wanted to experiment taking pictures while "painting" the landscape with a flashlight, since I couldn't use flash.  

One thing I found was that if I wanted to paint the chalk structures, I would have to keep the flashlight moving; if I stayed too long in one spot, it would be too bright in that area.  Also, it seemed that the further away from the pyramids the flashlight was, the more even the light beam was on the pyramids (it covered more area with less light power).

There was one picture, though, that I was particularly proud of:

This picture was taken with help by my dad: he was standing to left, out of frame, with the flashlight.  We were a bit of a distance away, so I had to yell directions to him about where to shine the light.  The exposure time was 38 seconds, in which my dad had to constantly move the flashlight.  The term exposure time is often used with the term shutter speed, so in this case, the camera's shutter was open 38 seconds. 

My dad and I arrived at the pyramids after sunset, but before true darkness had set in, which led to the relative lightness of the sky.  This picture was taken in late November, but the weather was unseasonably warm.  This was good for me, as I hate cold weather, but also good for my camera, as cold weather drains its battery life.  

When we returned home from this photography session, there was a sense of accomplishment shared between me and my dad.  I'm very happy to give him an "assist" on this one.