Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/04/06

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Subject: Re: Photographing the Comet
From: "Charles E. Dunlap" <cdunlap@rupture.ucsc.edu>
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 11:56:33 -0800

>Ted,
>
>>>And after all the fuss about this comet thing and what I see on film from
>an 800mm, I really can't get excited about it other than, "gee whiz there
>is that thing they are talking about!"  Just maybe I'm becoming synical in
>my old age.<<
>
>The comet is best photographed with a 50 to 80mm lens wide open under an
>extremely dark sky.  Long exposures with fairly fast color films will
>reveal the faint colors, wisps, and tentacles of the tail that extends for
>thousands and thousands of miles.

It's also helpful to frame the comet with something in the foreground. The
comet itself is very pretty, but for a good photograph it needs context.
Some of the best comet photos I've seen have used barns and mounains to put
it in perspective. I'm going to experiment with using flash to illuminate
the foreground during a long exposure in the dark. Any suggestions?

- -Charlie

- --------------------------------------------
              Charles E. Dunlap
         Earth Sciences Deptartment
          University of California
            Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Tel.: (408) 459-5228    Fax.: (408) 459-3074
- --------------------------------------------