Photographer Terrance Siemon shares a couple of his favorite shots and what it takes to capture it on camera
Alvord Desert Lightning
I wanted to make it there for sunset.
Camping overnight and shooting a timelapse in this dry lake bed called the Alvord Desert was the first stop in a 10-day solo road trip across Oregon. Getting there in time for sunset required speeding along a gravel road, an effort nearly deflated by a flat tire. Once I had the spare on, I thought I’d missed the shot.
When I did finally arrive to set up for the shot, the sun was set but a storm had just begun. A little concerned about lightning since my tripod and camera were the tallest point for a least two miles in every direction, I dialed in settings for a medium-exposure timelapse and lied on my back to wait for the storm to pass in hopes that I would catch a few lightning shots.
I got what I asked for.
Specs
Camera: Nikon D800
Focal Length: 14mm
ISO: 50
Exposure: 6 seconds
Aperture: f/11
Bisti Badlands
The Bisti Badlands is one of those places that lures photographers from all over. Its otherworldly landscape looks like another planet, and shooting it at night just amplifies that outer space element.
I went there on another solo photo/camping trip. Any photographer and timelapser knows these trips mean little to no sleep if you’re going to be shooting the night sky. I had a timelapse set up with my Nikon D800 to shoot the stars all night long, and since that takes many hours I wandered around with a second camera taking still photos and playing with lights. This is one of those shots. I used my headlamp to hit the voodoo from the side, tried several different angles, set up my camera on a tripod. From there it’s just trial-and-error until you snap something you like.
Specs
Camera: Sony A7sii
Focal Length: 16mm
ISO: 1600
Exposure: 30 seconds
Aperture: f/4
