Arild Heitmann Photography
Nighshooter...
The night before friday we finally got snow. And i dont mean 5 cm...we got 50-60cm in one big portion. While i was shuffling snow like an idiot in the morning, all i could think of was where i was gonna shoot in the evening. It`s dark when i leave for work and it`s just as dark when i get home from work. This means i`m stuck with nightshooting at the moment.
I spend large portions of the day trying to figure out where to shoot. I decided to visit a remote spruceforest. I wanted to shoot large sprucetrees covered in snow...
When i put on my skis in the evening i was feeling quite confident. My fear of the dark was not gonna ruin this evening. When i turned on my headlamp my confidence got bruised... The headlamp had been turned on in my pocket for god knows how long. The light was so weak it was like i had a candlelight attached to my forehead...
I tried to ignore everything and started fighting my way into the woods. The snow was pure powder and i kept sinking to my knees in snow. It was a struggle... After a while i was too tired to be scared. I said to myself: " i better return with something nice...or i`ll never do this again..."
I got deeper and deeper into the woods. It was almost total darkness. No moon to help me this time. In moonlight i feel quite comfortable since it lights up a snowcovered landscape nicely. Now i was surrounded by darkness....and silence. Complete silence. I set up everything. Trying to compose with the aid of a candlelight was not easy. I felt like a complete idiot... But to those reacting to the "falling trees"..that was on purpose since i think that adds to the atmosphere. Creating a more threatening image..
Every exposure was a nightmare. This one took 60 seconds. 60 seconds of silence and fear of being slaughtered by whatever lives in these woods. I had shivers down my spine constantly... But i liked what the lcd told me. I did a few shots and started skiing down towards my car and safety...
Now i faced another problem. Going downhill in the woods with a broken headlamp.... I`m norwegian, so skills on skis is something we are born with...at least thats what i`ve heard. I somehow managed to get home in one piece, so the myth of norwegians and skis must be true.. Anyway, i`m starting to think that my nightly adventures are helping my fear of the dark. I no longer think of Friday the 13th every time i`m out. Ok..i admit that i still close my eyes every now and then and count to ten because i`m sure i`m about to be murdered...but i`m really getting better :-)
When i started processing the images i was struck at how far artificial lights can reach.Every shot was coloured by the lights from the local airport...far far away from where i was shooting. Fascinating...
Don`t know if the shots i got was worth the struggle though...
Canon 5d w/17-40mmL
60 sec
17mm
f/4
iso 1600
oh...i almost forgot. I have made a small and not so interesting website. I really don`t know my way around these things, but hey...atleast i have a website.
Here it is...and don`t laugh :-)
Thanks for looking!
-Arild-
Nighshooter...
The night before friday we finally got snow. And i dont mean 5 cm...we got 50-60cm in one big portion. While i was shuffling snow like an idiot in the morning, all i could think of was where i was gonna shoot in the evening. It`s dark when i leave for work and it`s just as dark when i get home from work. This means i`m stuck with nightshooting at the moment.
I spend large portions of the day trying to figure out where to shoot. I decided to visit a remote spruceforest. I wanted to shoot large sprucetrees covered in snow...
When i put on my skis in the evening i was feeling quite confident. My fear of the dark was not gonna ruin this evening. When i turned on my headlamp my confidence got bruised... The headlamp had been turned on in my pocket for god knows how long. The light was so weak it was like i had a candlelight attached to my forehead...
I tried to ignore everything and started fighting my way into the woods. The snow was pure powder and i kept sinking to my knees in snow. It was a struggle... After a while i was too tired to be scared. I said to myself: " i better return with something nice...or i`ll never do this again..."
I got deeper and deeper into the woods. It was almost total darkness. No moon to help me this time. In moonlight i feel quite comfortable since it lights up a snowcovered landscape nicely. Now i was surrounded by darkness....and silence. Complete silence. I set up everything. Trying to compose with the aid of a candlelight was not easy. I felt like a complete idiot... But to those reacting to the "falling trees"..that was on purpose since i think that adds to the atmosphere. Creating a more threatening image..
Every exposure was a nightmare. This one took 60 seconds. 60 seconds of silence and fear of being slaughtered by whatever lives in these woods. I had shivers down my spine constantly... But i liked what the lcd told me. I did a few shots and started skiing down towards my car and safety...
Now i faced another problem. Going downhill in the woods with a broken headlamp.... I`m norwegian, so skills on skis is something we are born with...at least thats what i`ve heard. I somehow managed to get home in one piece, so the myth of norwegians and skis must be true.. Anyway, i`m starting to think that my nightly adventures are helping my fear of the dark. I no longer think of Friday the 13th every time i`m out. Ok..i admit that i still close my eyes every now and then and count to ten because i`m sure i`m about to be murdered...but i`m really getting better :-)
When i started processing the images i was struck at how far artificial lights can reach.Every shot was coloured by the lights from the local airport...far far away from where i was shooting. Fascinating...
Don`t know if the shots i got was worth the struggle though...
Canon 5d w/17-40mmL
60 sec
17mm
f/4
iso 1600
oh...i almost forgot. I have made a small and not so interesting website. I really don`t know my way around these things, but hey...atleast i have a website.
Here it is...and don`t laugh :-)
Thanks for looking!
-Arild-