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Jason Gambone Photography

A New Jersey outdoor photographer who captures images of nature, night skies, and much more.

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You are here: Home / Uncategorized / The Midnight Special

The Midnight Special

April 22, 2016 by jgambone 4 Comments

 

Night Time Photography at the Barnegat Light State Park, New Jersey

 

Who's up for a nice midnight snack under the stars? At Barnegat Lighthouse. It looks like I also captured a satellite or meteor.
Who’s up for a nice midnight snack under the stars?

 

One of the most important ingredients in outdoor photography is light.  In my opinion, it’s the primary factor to a good photo.  When the sun sets, you need to use a different set of skills to capture the things that lurk in the darkness.  When shooting the milky way, you don’t want a nearly full moon up in the sky at the same time which is how the night started.  The above shot was taken just before 4am, and the moon was so low in the sky, that the milky way was revealed by the darkness.  I also like trying out new things, so here’s a behind the scenes fun-fact.  I took my flashlight and set it up behind the middle pillar of this picnic area to light it up.  It gave the area a nice and indirect glow.

 

Barnegat lighthouse night scenes April 2016 Jason Gambone-272-PSedit

 

Walking out on a beach, lit up by the moon, with no one in sight can really put life in perspective.  It’s absolutely peaceful and I’ll never get tired of it.

 

Barnegat lighthouse night scenes April 2016 Jason Gambone-295-PSedit

 

I wonder how many people have walked down this path at night, and will never see the sky like this at night.

 

Barnegat lighthouse night scenes April 2016 Jason Gambone-1-PSedit
Midnight Special

 

Now here’s the main reason why I came to this location, a lighthouse star trail.  The amount of time that has passed in this shot was around an hour and fifteen minutes.  Each shot was 20 seconds long for a total of just over 300 shots.  I combine all those shots together, and this reveals the path of the stars.  I will be going back to this spot to try out a different angle I have in mind.  I also often have a title for shots I really like.  I had just watched the sci-fi movie “Midnight Special”, and the name stuck with me.  (No spoilers!) If you have seen the movie, you know that light plays an important role in it.  Combine that with the Creedence Clearwater song of the same name.  I had the chorus, “Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me” stuck in my head the entire time.  I knew I had my title then.

 

 

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Comments

  1. Peter Alessandria says

    April 22, 2016 at 11:55 pm

    Awesomenessdom Jason! Good job!

    Reply
  2. jgambone says

    April 23, 2016 at 9:53 am

    Thanks Peter, looking forward to see your take on that night now.

    Reply
  3. JAMES P WEBSTER says

    October 29, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    Great pics. Did you need a permit for the park for after-hours access? I’ve been looking to take some shots in there myself?

    Reply
    • jgambone says

      October 30, 2017 at 8:34 am

      Thank you! No permit needed. The parking lot for the park technically closes at dusk, but there is plenty of parking just outside. You’ll have no issues. Have fun!

      Reply

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