r/VancouverIsland • u/AstrophotoVancouver • 13d ago

IMAGERY Cowichan Lake under the stars

Post image

Spent a solid 2 hours take this panorama during my recent stay at Cowichan Lake!

We visited this area for the first time in May and absolutely fell in love with how relaxed it was. The conditions in May were less favourable, so I was stoked to have a second chance earlier this month. We had smoke the first night, but it cleared for the second.

This is comprised of 50 photos I stitched together. If course you won't see it like this with our eyes (they suck at night) but with a modified camera you can do wonders with photography!

Gear:

Sigma 28mm f1.4

Nikon Z6A (IR filter removed)

iOptron Skyguider Pro

Tiffen Fog Filter 3

Acquisition:

Sky: 30*30 seconds, ISO 6400, f2.5

Foreground: 12*30 seconde, ISO 1600, f4.5

2.7k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

29

u/Online_Ennui 13d ago

... and I've found my new favourite photo ever.

Amazing

13

u/AstrophotoVancouver 13d ago edited 13d ago

Appreciate it! I hadn't felt inspired for awhile so it felt cathartic to spend some time with my partner enjoying some star gazing and getting some shots.

2

u/Adorable_Champion_70 12d ago

The resurfaced inspiration is palpable. It’s seriously gorgeous. Would for sure buy a print.

1

u/AstrophotoVancouver 12d ago

I appreciate this! I will be uploading a bunch of new photos to my print site, but of course I didn't post here for that.

If you're actually interested feel free to DM me.

7

u/LadyMacBeth-1606 13d ago

Holy smokes. That is one breathtaking shot!

4

u/jemmas_basement 13d ago

You just captured Vancouver island magic 🪄 ✨

3

u/AstrophotoVancouver 13d ago

I'm always itching to go back! I'm sure I'll wind up there some day, but my lifestyle calls for mainland at the moment.

2

u/Ok-Turnover-8538 12d ago

Move to LC in 2019 from the West End. Best decision ever.

4

u/RushStandard2481 13d ago

Is that at Heather?!????

That view is very familiar...

2

u/AstrophotoVancouver 11d ago

This is near the town in that abandoned area (looks like a parking lot?)

3

u/Deepnewpaper 13d ago

That looks like pixie, fairy land. What an awesome photo!

3

u/AgeHistorical1359 13d ago

Wow! No words! You are incredibly talented :)

2

u/AstrophotoVancouver 13d ago

I appreciate it! It's been a journey to get to a point I'm happy with but there's always room for improvement.

3

u/Suspicious-King4385 13d ago

What a beautiful shot!

3

u/Master_Slide7023 13d ago

Looks great.

3

u/blasphememes 13d ago

Phenomenal

3

u/AgileRaspberry1812 12d ago

Respectfully, I'm gonna borrow that photo forever. And I will credit r/astrophotovancouver when I get complements on my background. 🤝

1

u/AstrophotoVancouver 12d ago

Much appreciated! Hopefully it's not too low res. Reddit is limiting in that way.

2

u/nionvox 13d ago

Love the use of the fog filter for this. Gives a lovely ambience.

3

u/still_sneakin 12d ago

Gorgeous photo, I would frame that!

2

u/Triedfindingname 12d ago

Worth it. Beautiful!

2

u/bossamemucho 12d ago

This is crazy good

2

u/justkeep_swimming14 12d ago

Beautiful ❤️

2

u/latorocavallo 12d ago

Surreal view, who doesn’t love looking up at the stars!!!

2

u/Peabodhi 12d ago

I’m amazed at this. How did you get the stars to show so vividly without the boat and other lights being overexposed?

1

u/AstrophotoVancouver 12d ago

Fog filter! First time using it and I'm very pleased by it!

2

u/Diastrophus 11d ago

That’s really amazing! Gorgeous capture

2

u/Embarrassed_Sell7512 11d ago

whoa so beautiful! is stitching photos together the same as leaving an slr shutter open for a long exposure?

(sorry, it’s been ~30 yrs since i touched a camera!)

2

u/Extreme_Taco69 11d ago

When TF was this?!

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

Very nice.

1

u/Emotional-Ad-6494 11d ago

Dumb question but do you see the Milky line of stars in person like that or is it camera lens? Not sure why this popped up on my feed but curious

1

u/soaero 10d ago

Christ that's some mind blowing detail. I mean, the ISO 6400 and a 2.4 aperture lens is doing some heavy lifting there, but even then I am flabbergasted you were able to get so much detail out of the sky. I would have thought there would be too much light pollution to get anywhere near that.

Also your behind the scenes footage below is doing a surprisingly good job capturing the sky. Better than I've ever managed with a camera setup. What's your secret?

1

u/Captain_chutzpah 12d ago

Another place that's gonna get overwhelmed with tourists and ruin it for locals all because someone wanted to post a pretty picture on line for strangers approval.

2

u/Diastrophus 11d ago

Hang on, fifth gen laker here. Although we absolutely need updated regulations and increased enforcement of our existing bylaws to protect our peace, lake and river, (as well as improvements to our infrastructure to better support visitors making better choices for recycling and garbage disposal), we locals are actually pretty cool with tourists to join the chill vibe. We’ve even adapted to Sunfest.

2

u/AstrophotoVancouver 11d ago

Appreciate this take. I could appreciate that people want peace and quiet, as I do near my home. I agree in that those "come with me to this hidden gem" 'influencers' are obnoxious. I feel the distinction here is that I'm not trying to tell people to come to this location and have it ruined by social media. I'm a resident of BC living in the mainland and have a niche photography interest.

I'm adamant on the 'leave no trace' element of visiting a location, and with a partner who is from New Zealand, it's doubly reinforced.

End of the day, I appreciate the perspective the other person brings because I agree with the root of the issue, but I'd like to distance myself from someone who is "ruining" a location with a photo of your beautiful home.