The second of my posts from my adventure in Bloomington. Was there for 3 days for a performance, and had a photo session each day. My second day there I went to the Cascades Golf Course for a sunset photo session with Rachel. However due to scheduling and timing, and a late uber, we ended up running a behind. Ended up shooting the entire session at ISO 25600 or higher. Thank goodness for modern cameras. Oh, and everything was shot by available light, no strobes.
So we started with alright light. Still had to crank pretty high, but not too bad. Only 25600 ISO. The sun was just barely visible behind the tree tops.
Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, f/1.2, 1/60, ISO 51200
Then it got dark, very quickly. Around this point I began needing to use my cellphone as a flashlight to aid the autofocus system, as it was too dark for it to find focus. I would turn the light off for each exposure, keeping the camera in the same spot. So we kept going, pushing the camera to the max of ISO 102400.
Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, f/1.2, 1/40, ISO 102400
Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, f/1.2, 1/30, ISO 102400
By this point, the only light source was a security lamp by one of the golf course buildings about 100-150 feet away, and the moon. Note the shutter speed and aperture. It was dark! Never in my life did I think I would do a session just by moonlight, and get usable photos.
Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, f/1.2, 1/30, ISO 102400
Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, f/1.2, 1/30, ISO 102400
After an hour, we called it a night as it was quite dark, and being Indiana in December, starting to get quite chilly.
Overall, we were both happy with the photos considering the conditions, and the lack of time. It actually ended up working with a film look that we were going for. Definitely had a blast, and it was great to see an old friend. Stay tuned for part 3 of my adventures in Bloomington coming up at the end of this week.