Astrophotography at the Drive In
As best as I can remember, for the first time since I was a kid, I saw a movie at a drive in theater. The experience was great (the movies were not)! This was part of an ultra-rare, full weekend off, out of town, not part of a photo job holiday. It was me and Jessica and our dogs Kiki and Artie all in the M3 with the top down completely under the stars, looking up at the big screen. And the stars! They were so bright and vivid! Not since I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon did they look as vivid to me.
Since Angry Birds 2 held little interest to me, I was out with my Nikon mounted on a tripod getting these photos. Long exposures are needed for astrophotography, but that would mean any bright objects end up totally white. So I took one fast shutter speed photo, then masked in the movie screen in Photoshop to the long exposure photo.
Search the skies and tell me if you do not see a UFO or two in these photos!
Want to have a drive in movie experience like this? Take a weekend trip to Las Vegas, New Mexico and check out the Ft Union Drive In (Facebook link).
Astrophotography combined with light trails at a drive in
Camera Settings: f/2.8 ISO 100 30 second shutter speed
Camera Settings: f/2.8 ISO 100 30 second exposure