The Ghost of Rhyolite (4 pics)

Last time I was in Rhyolite, I got the idea to try some long exposure shots while trying to get myself into the picture also. I did a couple 30-minute exposures, while standing still in the frame for five or ten minutes. It didn't work. I was invisible. So, I got the idea of triggering the flash on another camera to light me up. My Olympus was the obvious choice, since I have an infrared remote for it, allowing me to fire that camera while standing in the frame for the 20D. I didn't have the remote with me that time, so I had to go back for this experiment. Here are the results (click on the pictures for larger versions showing the detail much better):

In front of the Cook Bank. I wasn't facing the Olympus' flash, so only half of me is visible.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.ldphotograp​hy.net/cdpf/CookBank01​Large.jpg

IMAGE LINK: http://www.ldphotograp​hy.net/cdpf/CookBank02​Large.jpg

IMAGE LINK: http://www.ldphotograp​hy.net/cdpf/School01La​rge.jpg

IMAGE LINK: http://www.ldphotograp​hy.net/cdpf/School02La​rge.jpg

Wow, I love these shots. One can see the star trails. very much like Troy Paiva's "Lost America".

O-kay,. next time you need to bring a big huge fan to make sure all the shots have your duster flying in the breeze,. that first shot the effect is awesome,. I think the "half there" look is a bonus too for the effect.

on the 20d you can have the shutter open for 40 minutes or have i looked at it wrong :S, It is late thats my excuse,

One suggestion for the ghost theme, have the "ghost" be not easily seen (at a glance you dont even see it until you really look) This makes the picture creepyer

I worked on something similar - though not nearly as nice as these - earlier in the summer. You really got what I was trying to do. What a great looking place to shoot!

These threads have what I was trying:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=80688
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=86908

Again, I didn't even come close to what you have here. These are great. Really great.
Thanks.

That was the point of the long shutter speeds. I've been experimenting with star trail photos a bit lately. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I'd need a video camera for that, wouldn't I? The duster would just be a blur if it was flapping in the wind. I do like the first one. I was surprised at first when I reviewed it in the LCD and saw I was only half there. I "fixed" it with the second shot, but I think I like the first better. I might have to reprocess the third. I think I overdid it with the levels. I'm actually transparent in the original, but it didn't come through like that here. Apparently I darkened it too much, and it isn't obvious now.

Turn the dial to M (Manual), then set the shutter speed to "Bulb". Now you can leave the shutter open as long as you keep the shutter button pressed. For something like this, you'll need a remote (timer remote preferably). You don't want to stand there with your finger on the camera for 40 minutes.

By the way, I think I've decided 30 minutes is about as far as I can reliably take it. At 40 minutes, I got way too many hot pixels. I subtracted them with a black frame, but I still had to clone out 40 or 50 manually in Photoshop on that last picture.

That's what I was trying to do, but I'm new to this. I think the first two (especially the second) fit this criteria a little. I'm too well hidden in the fourth one.

I saw yours before, too, as well as a couple other people on here. That's what gave me the idea to try it myself. Rhyolite is a great place to visit. I was a little disappointed this time, though. They're starting to close off these old buildings (as they should, really -- I know why they're doing it, but I still don't like it). On all my other visits, the buildings were completely open and freely accessible. This time there were signs posted all over saying "Unsafe! Do not enter!" and the Cook Bank (that three story building in the first two shots) and the Porter Brother's Store (my favorite building there) have small barbed wire fences around them. It makes it difficult to get a decent picture now. Fortunately, I already have a few hundred. If you want to see some shots of the buildings in daylight, here's a thread I posted a while ago: http://www.photography​-on-the.net …=63298&highligh​t=Rhyolite

There are plenty more pictures of Rhyolite on my website (and in a week or so, there will be about 100 more).

WOW! that is great, I really like the first half ghost one the best. Neat effect. Maybe if you moved slightly it would be even more of a ghost look to it, just enough to give it a little blur.

My mistake,. the bushes in the background are creating the shape that I mistook for the duster in the wind,. seems my imagination got the best of me Of course I had not even considered the logistics of such a thing.

wow i might try 6 hours

but i dont have a remote so i might just have my finger there,

I'll try that next time. I intend to keep experimenting with this kind of thing. I just need to find more places to use for the backdrop.

How about standing by that old car at Bodie, move a little like you are leaving it. Might be a neat effect, Course I have no idea if you can be there in the dark.

Wow! Didnt know we can go up to 30mins for the 20D - Damn I should start getting out there and exploring what my 20D can do. - Thanks!

stoneylonesome wrote:
How about standing by that old car at Bodie, move a little like you are leaving it. Might be a neat effect, Course I have no idea if you can be there in the dark.

That might work, especially if I put the camera real low to the ground. I see another trip to Bodie sometime in the near future. Well, maybe not too near. The road is probably already impassable because of snow.

I don't think I'd have any problems staying there after nightfall. It isn't fenced or anything. There is no camping allowed though, so I'd have to drive back down that road in the dark. That could be a bit of an adventure.