Chip Willis

Persied Meteor shower 2021

Added 2021-08-16 18:50:57 +0000 UTC

Been doing this for a number of years going back to 2011 I think.

We didn't catch any meteors this time, but still was very fun and memorable.

Trish and I went down to Pomeroy Ohio to meet up with Kelsey who is working at this beautiful location.

A few people have asked how to do this - here is the technical deets.

Camera: Sony A73. Lens. Canon 16-35 2.8 L ( rental ).

First shot of Trish, is long shutter 30 seconds, iso 6400 at F4 I think. Her motion blur is because she was being lit for a few seconds with a led light. I used a Led Headlamp to compose the scene and get distance to subject correct. Takes a few shots to dial in Focus and the next step is to use a off camera flash - First set Used a AD400 ( overkill, had to move it far away at lowest power setting to balance exposure.

For the second set at the pond, switched to a small regular godox flash that is remote trigger capable, and aimed it by hand for each shot. Its a few feet above the camera. Could have mounted on a stand but handholding it works because that raft was drifting back and forth. To my surprise you can see some fish in some of the shots!

Lastly, I cannot say enough great things about Trish and Kelsey. I have been photographing both of them over 10 years and they are such great models.

Now, back to work, gotta finish this book!