Sounion In the Moonlight
Sounion In the Moonlight
Written by Wednesday, 16 September 2009 00:00
"Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out, and I will tell you how old you are, and I shall know if you are happy.” Henri Frederic Amiel
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The temple of Poseidon in Sounion under Full Moon Following our visit to the Temple of Poseidon in August 2008 we promised ourselves to pay another visit this summer. This is a unique place which somehow manages to conquer your heart and mind. We carefully planned our visit since this year we wanted to photograph the temple under completely different conditions, i.e lit by a full August moon. We were lucky; it was decided that a number of archeological sites would remain open till after midnight during the full moon on August 6, 2009 for visitors to enjoy them under a bright night sky. The temple of Poseidon in Sounion was one of them. The full moon in August is the brightest of the year and the moon disk is larger than ever. We spent the previous two nights checking our equipment with an almost full moon so we knew exactly which equipment we should take with us and how to use it. We decided to opt for prime lenses; the lenses of choice were two fisheye lenses (10 mm for the DX and 15 mm for the FX camera, both f/2.8) and two wideangles (20 and 28 mm, both f/1.8). We also got with us two zoom lenses (the Sigma 12-24 and the Nikkor 70-200 VR) just in case we needed to compose a photo under unfavorable conditions. A tripod was a must since some shots, taken with the D2x and the D3x at ISO 100, would probably need exposure times in the range of seconds. We knew that the moon would be considerably overexposed in most shots since shooting the temple correctly was the priority, yet, in this instance, that was not a problem. The first couple of photos show the temple and the full moon, taken with fisheye lenses. In the first of them we exposed for an interesting sky while in the second we exposed for the temple itself. In the third photo, the temple is the dominant figure over figures of humans, as if telling everybody that it will still be standing there when all of us are gone. Then comes a classic shot of the temple, a combination of moonlight, the ground lamps lighting the temple and flash. The contrast of the pillars against the black sky emphasizes the beauty and simplicity of the temple. It is a pity that such a photo can only be taken once a year. The fifth photo shows the temple shot from the back corner with the full moon facing its front. Last comes a shot taken from a distance, which was only possible because of the excellent VR of the Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm, which was handheld for this shot. Photos by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos Shooting data: 1. Camera: Nikon D2x 6. Camera: Nikon D700 |
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