These photographs were shot sans Comet, the night before the morning of my fall, with the X1D. Given its slower lenses, the X1D is not a particularly adept night shooting platform. Still, I couldn’t resist. So, with monopod attached I headed out into a cold night. Given the necessary slow shutter speeds the monopod, while helpful, was not exactly the right choice as it could not be kept perfectly still. The digital “grain,” however, is not just a focus issue but a digital noise issue from the low light. I don’t mind it. What I do mind is the overexposed decorated tree. It’s that white blur of light in the second shot. It annoys the hell out of me. I was unable to fix it in post production because there are no details to recover. Even so, the X1D’s rendering of the just breaking clouds was so good I’m including that photograph. In the photograph of the tree that’s the Judd Gregg Marine Research Complex in the background. Note the difference in the warmth of the street lights used by the Town of New Castle compared to those used by the research complex. Until this photograph, I hadn’t realized how dramatic is that transition.
I’ve also included a photo from the shore of the Potomac shot the morning before I headed North. Again, the rendering of color tones and the sharpness of the Hasselblad 45mm lens is impressive.
