Volcano at night

I'm returning to Costa Rica in a few weeks. I was there back in 2002 with only a 2 pixel point & shoot camera. Needless to say my night shots were BAD! This time I have a Canon 350 with several good lenses and a tri-pod.

Any tips for shooting 'Arenal' at night.

I don't have many problems with my day shots, night city shots I can practice at home, however dark active volcanos... are a whole different thing. I have nothing near home that simulates that type of shot.

Thanks!

The tripod is a good thing. As is the LCD review.

Seriously, I've only photographed one volcano, Kilauea on Big Island, which was not crazy active. Flowing, yes... spraying all over, no.

Sturdy shoes, camera and tripod at dusk or dawn should do you well, if I were to guess.

How active is Arenal?

-Scott

I hope you have better luck than I just did... never saw the volcano at night due to weather... got a few shots in daylight... nothing particularly interesting.

I would try:
tripod
long exposure
bracketing shutter speed
ƒ8 to get enough DOF

checking histogram (not sure you'll get it full on the right (highlights)

All this depends of the amount of flow and sparks and smoke as well!


What camera will you be using and what lense?

With 1 DSMk II, I would go to 1600 ISO without any doubt shorten a bit the time of exposure

Scott - Last time I was there it would 'burp' about every 45 minutes. Nothing large but one to three short lava flows.
Don't have to worry much about shoes... Will be road side with a spotter. Too many darn poisonous snakes! Also if I remember correctly you have to say 10 miles away (law) since it is active.

Mike - Fingers are crossed! Last time it was rain season, and I was very lucky. Shame I didn't have a real camera then. ;-)

Nicolas - I only have a Canon 350D (I'm a rookie). While I've bought fairly good wide angle and standard lens, I went bit the bullet for my big boy... Canon 100-400. Since this is my best lens I may try it.

Well
if you have to stay 10 miles away, I guess your 400 will get stuck on that focal!
You'll really need a heavy tripod (for stability), and lock the mirror if you can on the 350D…

Don't be afraid with high ISO and long exposure, and shoot raw!

I wish you the best for that challenge

I can't add much to the suggestions above. I've been to Arenal a couple of times (Costa Rica 4 times total), and have seen some modest displays of lava, but from a great distance.

Where will you be staying, and where else will you be visiting on this trip? I've been leading workshops there for the last couple of years (next one in April), and my website has a modest size collection of images (along with location information, EXIF data, etc.) from all of my trips. Hopefully that will be of some help to you as well.

Nicolas - I've never shot raw, however it just may be time for me to start learning! My Mac & Photoshop can handle it, I just have to deal with that learning curve. Oh my tripod is heavy between it and that darn lens... I don't need to go to the gym. ;-) I've never tried to lock the mirror on this camera, however did it 25 years ago on my old film SLR. Guess it's time to pull out the book and find out how. BTW was just in your country a few months ago... love it!

Don - This will be my second trip to CR. I was there for 3 months last time (business) this time I'm just cashing in some air & hotel points and have a quick girls day out (5 days). Being two females and knowing the road conditions down there, I've hired a driver. Last time I took the 'tours' and while they were nice, I kept having that 'cattle' feeling. I wanted to take pictures of hummingbirds, but couldn't because we had to stay on schedule. NOT THIS TIME!

Weather permitting plan to hit Poas, the waterfall, butterfly & hummingbird farms, and one day just in town (San Jose). Just checked out your website WOW! Wish I hand known earlier, I would be joining in. If you set up, the odds are I'll join in.

Robin,

I'd say you can start with the settings similar to when you shoot fireworks.
Something like ISO100, f/8, 2s.
Of course, depending on the effect you're trying to get you can crank up ISO, open or close the aperture and tweak the shutter speed.

But - the most importantly - shoot RAW!!!

HTH

Robin Brook said:

Don - This will be my second trip to CR. I was there for 3 months last time (business) this time I'm just cashing in some air & hotel points and have a quick girls day out (5 days). Being two females and knowing the road conditions down there, I've hired a driver. Last time I took the 'tours' and while they were nice, I kept having that 'cattle' feeling. I wanted to take pictures of hummingbirds, but couldn't because we had to stay on schedule. NOT THIS TIME!

Click to expand...

A good choice about hiring your own driver! Having the time flexibility is really crucial for photography, as you found out. We end up making a number of unplanned stops as we come across interesting things to photograph as we travel from place to place.

Weather permitting plan to hit Poas, the waterfall, butterfly & hummingbird farms, and one day just in town (San Jose). Just checked out your website WOW! Wish I hand known earlier, I would be joining in. If you set up, the odds are I'll join in.

Click to expand...

We had one very wet visit to Poas, and could hardly see anything, unfortunately. Hopefully you'll have better luck there. And I assume you're referring to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This is usually a productive stop. Many of the animals are captive, but it does give you an opportunity to see and shoot a wide variety of species. The hummingbird section has feeders, with the birds free to come and go, with many different species, so you can have a lot of fun there.

In any case, have fun, and let us know how it went when you get back!

Too bad you won't be able to join us in April! If your plans are flexible enough to consider signing up, let me know a.s.a.p. to see if we can accommodate you.

Raw can be magic for night shots…



NYC Nov. 2006 - 1 DS Mk II - Sigma 12-24 mm @ 12 - ISO 1250 - ƒ 5.7 - speed: 1/5s - no flash… handheld! (well, no monopod or tripod, but relying of some street pod ;-)

Please don't repost if you edit.