Fire Tree by Prajit Ravindran

"Fire Tree" - Star Trails around North Star, and a tree lighted by a campfire ~ © Prajit Ravindran

Prajit Ravindran shot our Photo of the Day in the Little Sahara Recreation Area, Juab County, Utah. Prajit used something we don't often see here at this blog: film. He used an old Mamiya RB67 Film camera, with a Mamiya Sekor 37mm fisheye lens, and exposed onto an ISO 100 film, using an exposure of f/8 for 35 minutes. The Star Walker iPhone app was used to figure out the location of the North Star.

Prefers film and mechanical cameras for star trails: Prajit prefer his Mamiya film camera over digital for shots of star trails for a couple of reasons. First, there is very little noise when using film vs. digital. Secondly, he doesn't have to worry about running out of battery power since the Mamiya RB67 is completely mechanical. In fact, Prajit purchased his used Mamiya mainly to take multi-hour shots of star trails, even though this photographed was exposed for less than an hour.

Prajit's biggest concern was that the details in the tree would be blown out due to excess light from his nearby campfire. He ended up taking a 35 minute exposure rather than the 1-hour exposure he would have preferred, to prevent over exposure of the tree.

Prajit Ravindran is a software engineer, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photography is his passion, with emphasis on landscapes, urban and long exposure photography. He loves the diverse landscapes of Utah. Prajit recently traveled around the state, logging 8300 miles in 8 months. He shoots mainly with a Nikon D7000. In addition to his recent purchase of the Mamiya RB-67 film camera, he has also converted his old Nikon D80 into an IR camera. More of Prajit's work can be seen at his website, and at his 500px page.