Sky Lights

I went to the Butternut Valley SNA a few nights ago to photograph the Milky Way in the western sky but clouds moved in and reflected all the ground lights.  To get an idea where the darkest skies are check this website: Dark Site Finder

Technical: WB 2800, shadows opened in Lightroom, light on prairie from farm lights. 2 minute exposure

A Slow Start

It has been awhile since my last post. A combination of circumstances have prevented me from getting out much. I am also concentrating on video in 2015 making the stories harder to come by and produce. Anyhow, enough excuses, this was shot last week when preparing for a night photography class. This is a composition test shot for star trails using a Canon 30D at ISO 3200.  Unfortunately I did not get a chance to do star trails that night, the joy of carrying a cell phone.

Technical: Marginally acceptable noise levels that shows how far sensors have come since the 30D was introduced.  I'm still working on the best color for the night sky. This is at about 2800k with blue saturation at near 100.

Character in the Night

I love the character of oaks, even in the winter. 

Good Night 2014

Last night was a great night to look up to the stars and reflect on memories of 2014. It was a good year. Bundle up, get outside, and look at the stars tonight. May you have a marvelous new year enjoying the beauty of nature!

Merry Christmas

It seems fitting that my 500th post be a Christmas wish.  Have a very merry Christmas and may you follow the light in the east as the wise men did so long ago.

Waiting at Soda Butte

With 3 million visitors to the Yellowstone National Park each year, most taking pictures, a photographer has a challenge producing something no one else has recorded. A quote by Arthur Schopnhauer in this month's Outdoor Photographer magazine sums up the challenge.

“Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one yet has

 seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that

 which everybody sees.”

Casper the Yellowstone Ghost

I took this shot a couple mornings ago and thought of the ancient TV show. Dawn to dusk in the mountain air is exhausting but also very refreshing. Happy Halloween!

Terrestrial Comets

I looked at this wondered what was going on. Any ideas? During the exposure the flashlight was above the camera causing moth wings to reflect back, much like red eye when using on camera flash. I moved the light to the side for the next shots and eliminated the problem. Another adventure in night photography.

Looking for Night

I went out last night looking for the fabled meteor shower and we saw lots of meteors but none went through the frame.  I was in southern MN and ground light is everywhere with each farm having a security light and the closely spaced towns.  This was shot earlier at the cabin and shows the city lights of the north Metro, 60 miles away.  I'm still experimenting with white balance in these mixed lighting situations.  On some I like 2500K, this was about 3800K.

Dusk

Dusk, the transition to night, is a magic time.  Natural sounds of frogs calling, birds singing, and the wind flowing become more acute, man made sounds diminish as everyone goes indoors. Landscapes darken and the sky takes over as the focus of attention.

Milky Way Landscape

The night sky has been my subject lately with the clear, moonless nights.  The amount of light pollution has been surprising, especially at Crex Meadows where there is a clear horizon during the day. It seems counter intuitive to get in a depression to get the best night sky shot but that's the best way to minimize the Metro lights in the south or pin points of city light in the other directions. Camera settings: wide angle, wide open aperture, 30 seconds, ISO 2500.  White balance at 2500 K for starters.

Milky Way

I did some night photography to celebrate July 4th. I am an early bird but 2 AM is a little too early so this photography might not happen very often.  The conditions need to be right with a moonless, clear night to get the stars to "pop". Technical: ISO 4000, 30 second exposure.  For a detailed but understandable tutorial see Beginner's Guide to Astrophotography by Ben Canales.  Ben is a young photographer with an unbelievable future ahead of him. The next post will tell you how to find the Milk Way.