+Black Dog Trackers Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 Sometimes night is the only time you can get a chance to go benchmark hunting while on a trip away from home. I was recently on a business trip to New York city. My only time for benchmark hunting was after dark. Out on the town for some Broadway shows? Not for me - a bit of benchmark hunting is far more amusing! If you go benchmark hunting after dark, you will want to know how to set your camera to take longer exposures; in the 1 to 10 second range. A tripod or a way to rest the camera on something solid is genarally essential. You might also want to review how to get your camera to wait a few seconds between the moment you press the button and when it actually takes the picture. This will allow the camera to be free of your hands when taking the shot. Another thing to be aware of is the 'reach' of your camera's flash unit. Usually the flash will work for only about 10 feet or so. Beyond that is wishful thinking. I have seen people take night pictures with a small camera flash shooting things a hundred feet away or more. A waste of battery power and megabytes! The worst I've seen, though, is people taking flash pictures of 4th of July fireworks! It is usually best to take several pictures of the same view with different exposures and views so you can pick the best one later. One mark that was really difficult was a mark carved in building stone. I tried several times to take the picture with the flash, but the shadows revealing the mark were always washed out. I finally had success with a time exposure using local night lighting and no camera flash at all. My other experience was hunting a benchmark in New York's Central Park at night, noticing someone walking in the dark circling around behind me. I left the area after getting the location averaged and the pictures taken. Quote Link to comment
ArtMan Posted October 3, 2004 Share Posted October 3, 2004 I was recently on a business trip to New York city. My only time for benchmark hunting was after dark. Out on the town for some Broadway shows? Not for me - a bit of benchmark hunting is far more amusing! Maybe we could collaborate on a benchmark-themed musical with show-stoppers like "Oh What a Beautiful Benchmark!" Further suggestions welcome. -ArtMan- Quote Link to comment
+California Bear Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 "West RM Story" "Tie-In Line" "Little Mark of Horrors" "Best Little Benchmark in Texas" Quote Link to comment
+GEO*Trailblazer 1 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 The GOOD The BAD The UGLY HOWDY PILGRIM Have TRUCK Will Travel. Quote Link to comment
+Zhanna Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Maybe we could collaborate on a benchmark-themed musical with show-stoppers like"Oh What a Beautiful Benchmark!" Hmm ... show tunes. Well, let's try these show titles, to start ... Two of my personal favorites: Sunday in the Park With GEORGE Sweet CHARITY For those Destroyed marks: Bye Bye Benchmark One that applies to those questionable benchmark logs: Anything Goes And one that, on some days more than others, applies to the Geocaching site in general: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. ~Zhanna Quote Link to comment
+1setter Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 I've had some trouble taking pictures of disks with my auto focus camera in the dark. Ended up with just a white blur. Mine needs at least some light to help with the focus. Quote Link to comment
+GEO*Trailblazer 1 Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 (edited) Back on topic,sorry, I get good photos at night I just take several from diffrent angles. With the flash the striait on one's reflect,foget water tanks,and beacons,elevators,unless it is right at that one special time right at dark,with just a fringe of light is creeping in. edit,add I really like hunting them at night,have found several. One of the chisled squares in the face of a limestone stood out better at dark with a light shined on it,that is another thing that can be done is a backlight like a flashlight,or even to what I have a 1,000,000 candle power light,just be careful which water tank you light up ,or Mast!!! Edited October 6, 2004 by GEO*Trailblazer 1 Quote Link to comment
+choude Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 I've had some trouble taking pictures of disks with my auto focus camera in the dark. Ended up with just a white blur. Mine needs at least some light to help with the focus. Yeah, the washed out photos are a big letdown. One way to minimize the washout is to cover about halfway with your finger. I recently took a picture for my TB that I used this for. Quote Link to comment
+Black Dog Trackers Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 Movie greats: The Wizard of Az This is Final Cap Moby Disk Reservoir Disks One Hundred and One Mal Stations Blazing Satellites Quote Link to comment
+Black Dog Trackers Posted October 7, 2004 Author Share Posted October 7, 2004 My old digital would wash out closeups because the flash had no automatic metering. I used a piece of electrical tape on the flash unit's window that I could move around, depending on how the last picture looked. The new digital has a flash metering that works well. It also has a little tiny spotlight that it uses for focusing at night. Quote Link to comment
+GEO*Trailblazer 1 Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 Check out this Night shot to a Benchmark. Well it was dark were I was. Quote Link to comment
+superpowerdave Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Great photo Trailblazer, think I'd frame that one as a memento of my benchmarking experiences! Quote Link to comment
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