Lohan in the Dark

This shot is a simple "point the camera and hit the shutter to see what the result might be" shot.

f2.8
1/125 of a second (with anti vibration to win me a couple stops of light)
70-200mm 2.8 AV at 125mm

At an ISO of 400 this shot is nothing but black. At 400 with a much slower shutter an image appears, but is too blurred at that shutter speed on the long lens to be usable. At 800 with the above exposure (2.8 & 1/125) you can begin to see The Buddha's faithful Lohan in the shot, but not in any detailed way. Those variable I tried after this getting this shot.

This was shot at ISO 6400. Sharpened for the web. NO noise reduction applied. Yes, grainy as hell with noise, but frankly it makes the shot of a 150 year old statue with its own textures of cracked wood and cracked and peeling paint.

Not an award winning photo, but the resulting effect of the noise is great, me thinks -- plus, of course, there is an image to behold in the first place with the luxury of keeping the shutter fast enough to eliminate most shake while the high ISO grabs every bit of light you've got...