This short time lapse video is very much the tale of a lost opportunity, through nobodies fault but my own.
I was well excited at the prospect of an evening's time lapse photography, and everything was in place for what should have been a great shooting experience.
It was the first week in November, and weather conditions for the night in question were highly unusual for North Wales, in that it was both clear and moderately warm.
According to my Photographer's Ephemeris app, astronomical twilight was due at 18.30, and after that the skies would be fully dark until a half moon rose three hours later.
I also knew from my PlanIt app that the milky way would be stretching through the heavens from west to east on that night, giving me a perfect opportunity to record its passage from the limestone escarpment at Loggerheads Country Park, while looking west to the Clwydian Range of hills on the horizon.
With that amount of foresight and planning, you would think I would have also covered all possible equipment needs as well, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
One of the technical issues that plagues night time photography (and astronomy for that matter) is the onset of the dew point. When the temperature of the camera lens falls below this tipping point and the front element fogs over.
I was fully equipped for this milky way photography session except for one thing - I had no means of warming the lens body with me, which would have prevented the fogging issue.
That's not to say I don't possess the necessary technology, in the form of a lighter fuel powered hand warmer and a bandage to tie it around the lens, it's just that I'd left the lighter fluid at home!
So as you will see when you watch the video, it didn't take long before the lens fogged over, effectively bringing my filming to an end.
It was a real shame, as the evening was progressing beautifully up to that point, and I went home mentally kicking myself for my folly.
Still, you live and learn, and I won't be repeating that mistake again in a hurry.
Filename - milky way timelapse_01
Camera - Canon EOS 6D
Lens - 14mm prime
Exposure (start of sequence)
15 secs @ f2.8, ISO6400
Exposure (end of sequence)
15 secs @ f2.8, ISO6400
Capture interval - 15 secs
Location - Loggerheads Country Park, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p
Clip duration - 9 seconds
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.