Good company & night photography tips

Every year, my church provides what we call a "super activity" for all of the young single adults in the area. This is a retreat (usually camping) where we go adventure and enjoy spending time getting to know one another.


This year the location was Island Park, Idaho which is right outside of my favorite place in the world...YELLOWSTONE!

The drive up was amazing. I drove up solo and rocked out to my dirt road jams while admiring the never ending pine tree walls and the smell of fresh air! For me, it does not get better than that. 

I suppose that the best part of this trip (besides being in the most beautiful place in the world and camping which is always the best) was the wonderful company. In one of the songs that I wrote I noted that "it's not what you see, but who you meet". What I meant when I wrote that is that we can travel the whole world and see the most amazing sights, but still feel empty. All we are left with is pictures and memories of ancient walls, colorful buildings and natural creations. On the other hand, if we take the time to "love [and get to know] our fellow travelers on this mortal journey", we will leave feeling complete and content :)



That is what made this trip grand. I was able to learn and take away many things from my new friends.



One of the greatest gifts that was given to me was the knowledge of how to shoot the stars in the night sky! Our Bishop is a professional photographer and taught me simple and amazing basics to long exposure shots. 

Night Photography Tips:

- Find infinity on your lens during the day light and mark it with a small dot on your lens. When it comes time to shoot the stars, you will know where to set your focus.

- Bring your aperture all the way down then bump it up one step. Your lens will not preform to the best of its ability when it is set to it's extremes. For example, my 24-105mm lens has a range of 4.0-22. I take it all the way down to 4.0 then bump it up to 4.5.

- If the moon is not out, start out with an ISO of 3200

- Do not have your shutter open for longer than 25 seconds or you will see a significant shift in the stars as they move. 

- You HAVE to have a sturdy tripod. I use a carbon fiber Bonofoto tripod. Affordable, sturdy, light and good for backpacking.

- Set the timer for 3 seconds, and watch the magic happen!

GOOD LUCK!

xoxo 

Morgan