leonelpc24
Comet C/2024 G3 Atlas
Last Sunday, I spent the entire night in Guilderton chasing a few planned shots—this one being the first. A comet over the ocean, but it came with plenty of challenges: extreme winds, no chance of tracking the sky, and sea spray constantly fogging up my lens.
To stay ahead, I set up everything in advance—one camera for the foreground and another one mounted on a star tracker for the sky. The tracker setup went straight into the car, ready to go. Meanwhile, I framed the foreground shot next to the rocks (barely spotting the comet at this stage), lit the scene with a small light, and set the camera to shoot continuously. Then, I climbed onto the rocks, struck different poses to find the best composition later with minimal motion blur.
Next, I drove 100m to higher ground, away from the ocean, where I had a clear horizon. The wind was relentless, but luckily it was blowing south while the comet was setting in the west. So, I used my car door as a wind shield, waited for darker skies, and took a few shots to stack later.
The final result is this composite/blend of comet C/2024 G3 Atlas—which is now a ghost of itself. The nucleus has disintegrated, leaving behind multiple tails that are slowly fading away.
EXIF
Nikon D5200 - Nikon D5500 (Modded) - 50mm f/1.8
Sky: 31 x 12s at f/2.8
Ground: 1 shot at f/4
Comet C/2024 G3 Atlas
Last Sunday, I spent the entire night in Guilderton chasing a few planned shots—this one being the first. A comet over the ocean, but it came with plenty of challenges: extreme winds, no chance of tracking the sky, and sea spray constantly fogging up my lens.
To stay ahead, I set up everything in advance—one camera for the foreground and another one mounted on a star tracker for the sky. The tracker setup went straight into the car, ready to go. Meanwhile, I framed the foreground shot next to the rocks (barely spotting the comet at this stage), lit the scene with a small light, and set the camera to shoot continuously. Then, I climbed onto the rocks, struck different poses to find the best composition later with minimal motion blur.
Next, I drove 100m to higher ground, away from the ocean, where I had a clear horizon. The wind was relentless, but luckily it was blowing south while the comet was setting in the west. So, I used my car door as a wind shield, waited for darker skies, and took a few shots to stack later.
The final result is this composite/blend of comet C/2024 G3 Atlas—which is now a ghost of itself. The nucleus has disintegrated, leaving behind multiple tails that are slowly fading away.
EXIF
Nikon D5200 - Nikon D5500 (Modded) - 50mm f/1.8
Sky: 31 x 12s at f/2.8
Ground: 1 shot at f/4