Island Lake Nightscape Panorama

With a rising moon behind me, this scene at Island Lake in Ice Lake Basin was simply gorgeous. My instincts told me it would be good timing with a... more

by Mike Berenson

Title

Island Lake Nightscape Panorama

Artist

Mike Berenson

Medium

Photograph

Description

With a rising moon behind me, this scene at Island Lake in Ice Lake Basin was simply gorgeous. My instincts told me it would be good timing with a rising moon and sure enough, it was one of the prettiest scenes I've been lucky enough to see in all of Colorado. As the only one camping that night at Island Lake, I found beauty and seclusion that led to pictures and memories that'll last a lifetime!

How I Got The Shot
Hiking up to this spot in Ice Lake Basin is simply brutal. It's close to 3,000 vertical feet of hiking but on the positive side, the scenery is stunning. I knew that ideally the moon should be rising in the east (for the shots I wanted) but in mid-July, the wildflowers were ready so I headed up. That night, it became painfully clear that I had to go back again and get the rising moon. So the hardest part was building up the nerve to go up again. Two weeks later (at the end of July), I did just that and it all came together.

This panoramic sequence was captured with 3 horizontal frames shot with about 50% of overlap - right after the moon got high enough to light up the rock and the paintbrush on the near shoreline.

Photo Gear
• Camera Body - Sony A7RII
• Camera Lens - Sigma 20mm f/1.4
• Tripod Head - Acratech GP Ballhead with Lever Clamp
• Tripod Legs - FEISOL Elite CT-3472 Rapid Tripod Legs

Exposure Settings - 3 Frames Stitched Into 1 Panoramic Image
• ISO: 12800
• Aperture: f/2.0
• Shutter Speed: 15 seconds

Uploaded

January 31st, 2017