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A New Dimension

by Neil Bond
Burrow Mump
8/10/20158/10/2015, 10:03 PM (77 minutes after sunset)
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
30 s200

Burrow Mump, Somerset Levels. A local landmark that I've visited a few times in different conditions when the weather looked to have been doing something unusual or interesting.

I had set out to capture this old ruined church at sunset. My plan was to stand way back and capture the mump from a distance with a magnificent red sky behind it. As things turned out there was a lack of significant cloud anywhere but to the east of the mump. This scene followed a pretty, but less than sensational sunset. I decided to wait around until the light dropped and the stars revealed themselves, as I have been wanting to test my (Bargain basement, £216 brand-new) Samyang 14mm 2.8 lens.

I have to say my first impressions are that this is a stellar lens for the money. Being super-wide, it has a great depth of field, as this single exposure, wide-open at 2.8 shows. I did add a little light to the foreground grass and side of the building with a handheld torch (I didnt take my usual speedlight), but the main illumination comes from some distant security lights in Burrowbridge. The grey on the front of the building is where these lights were obscured by trees

For anyone interested in the lens, it's cheap because it is purely manual - both for focus and aperture, yet with live view it is still possible to see and focus in very dim conditions. Set to 'AV' mode, the camera will still meter to give a 'default' exposure. Certainly a cheap way to enter astro photography and hard to beat for image quality at any price.

ISO 200! 30 Seconds f/2.8