42 Fall 2020 LOCALadk Magazine
LOCALadk
Image of Comet NEOWISE setting over Whiteface. The key
to photographing this image was capturing it at the right
time of day. If you waited too long, the sun would wash out
the sky. If you were too early, it wouldn't be bright enough.
The comet had an awkward time of day to photograph it. In
the early stages of the comet's appearance, when it was the
closest, the prime time to photograph it was around three
in the morning. Not ver y convenient. That's when this image
was taken. The reason 3:30 a.m. was the optimal time was
because the glow in the atmosphere blended well with the
surrounding landscape and wasn't washed out by sunlight.
Also, the comet was at its lowest point of the day, resulting
with my being able to photograph landscape along with it. I
took this image from Henr y's Woods right in Lake Placid.
The key to capturing it correctly was making sure it was
the right time of day, focal length and exposure settings. It
seemed that at least 100 mm focal length was necessar y, but
nothing more than a 5- to 10 -second-long exposure.
Jonathan Zaharek
