Illuminating a barn

[naiku]

What do you guys recommend to evenly illuminate a large old barn? I have been trying to take a shot of the Milky Way rising above an old barn nearby but after some first attempts last night in between clouds, the foreground is too dark and not illuminated evenly making for a pretty poor overall image.

Initially, I had hoped to utilize some light that was in the area, a house nearby has a bright streetlight that lights up a large portion, turns out it only lights up about half though. I don't want a bright white light, but am not sure what I can use to light the entire building.

Has anyone used headlights on a vehicle to light up a building? I may be able to position my truck that I can put the high beams on and aim it at the barn, either from behind where the camera will be located or from the side. My concern here is that I possibly introduce some shadows that are then going to be problematic to remove.

About 3 weeks until I can try again due to the Moon phase, but I want to be ready for next time!

Thanks.

 

[smoke665]

Read up on this https://luminous-landscape.com/sculpting-with-light/

 

[naiku]

Thanks, I figured light painting might work, my only concern is if I show up in the image while light painting. The barn is about 40-50' from where the camera will be located. Really, I get the feeling the best way to tackle this is going to be, grab an assortment of flashlights and go experiment! I have about 3 weeks to test out different lighting effects so can be well prepared.

 

[smoke665]

Also go to this recent thread Rocky Mountain Milky way good info on how he did the shot. Like he did you might need to do a composite. One of the barn at sunset while there still enough light and another later of the sky.

 

[naiku]

That is a great idea. Taking that approach might also give the barn and grass in front of it a really nice color depending on the exact time of day and where the sun is located.

 

[smoke665]

Also, no idea what your camera is, but my Pentax bodies have an "interval composite" feature which allows me to take multiple images over a period of time combine them in camera into a single image. That created composite can be set to take an average exposure of all images, as an "additive" composite that combines all images cumulatively into a single image (which would be the case here), and Bright where succeeding images replace only those spots which are brighter. Personally I prefer to do the composites manually in post.

 

[JBPhotog]

As long as you are behind the light source, you won't show up in the final composite. Photoshop experience is an asset in case you need to clone out anything. You will probably find the best light source is something that projects a smooth source so you can control spill. It is fun and worth the experiment, give it a go.

Wear black clothing etc, no reflective bits on your shoes as well.

 

[Dyslexicbloke]

Have you considered using a day light CF with a big difusaer.

I can't comment on this approach from a photographic perspective, well above my skill level, but daylight lamps with good CR index are not hard to find a cheap pure sine inverter will run a 100W or 150W lamp easily from a truck battery.

I suspect, given there long exposure, you could almost treat a week flood like a fill flash from an exposure point of view.

BTW if that is all rubbish I would welcome being shot down.
I would treat it as a learning opertunity...

I have a huge tree in the garden that I plan to get into some sky shots at some point so all this is talk of dark foreground is going too be useful.

I am also planning on using the same light to attract and photograph some moths...