Tag

Landscape Astrophotography

Blood Red Moon Madness! A Tetrad of Total Lunar Eclipses Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Blood Red Moon Madness! A Tetrad of Total Lunar Eclipses

Lunar eclipse sequence, showing total eclipse (left) through full moon (right). While the moon lies in the full shadow of the earth (umbra) it receives only faint, red-tinged light refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. As the moon passes into the penumbra it receives increasing amounts of direct sunlight, eventually leaving…
December 23, 2015
Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, August 2015 Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Perseid Meteor Shower over Joshua Tree National Park, August 2015

Each August the Perseid meteor shower takes place. This year it peaked during a new moon, which offered prime conditions for seeing many meteors. I photographed the Perseid meteor shower in Joshua Tree National Park using two compositions/locations: with Arch Rock as one feature and with a single joshua tree…
August 16, 2015
Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, 2015 Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Perseid Meteor Shower over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, 2015

The Perseid meteor shower occurs each August, peaking on the evenings of August 12 and 13. It happens because the Earth is plowing through the trail of dust left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseid meteors are named for the constellation Perseus in the northern sky, from which the meteors…
August 14, 2015
Lunar Eclipse Sequence, Juniper and Standing Rock, Joshua Tree, 2014 Astrophotography and Night ScapesDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Sequence, Juniper and Standing Rock, Joshua Tree, 2014

For the eclipse of April 14/15, 2014, I wanted to depict the course of the eclipse across the sky with some recognizable landscape features in the foreground to anchor the composition. As the day of the eclipse went by, I watched the weather reports and decided Joshua Tree National Park…
June 9, 2014
Delicate Arch, Milky Way and Iridium Flare at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Delicate Arch, Milky Way and Iridium Flare at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

I have shot Arches National Park a number of times, including a very fruitful trip some years ago to shoot astrophotography landscapes. I returned earlier this month for more, and found that I have reached a point where I need to find alternatives to the usual compositions. This one was…
May 13, 2014
Lunar Eclipse Sequence over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, April 2014 Astrophotography and Night ScapesDesertJoshua TreePanoramasThe American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Sequence over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, April 2014

The lunar eclipse of April 14 and 15, 2014 was a wonderful event to see. I went up to Joshua Tree National Park to photograph it for two reasons. First, the weather forecast in the high desert was for clear skies and, for the most part, the skies were indeed…
April 29, 2014
Lunar Eclipse Blood Red Moon Sequence over Joshua Tree National Park Astrophotography and Night ScapesDesertJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Lunar Eclipse Blood Red Moon Sequence over Joshua Tree National Park

This is the first of my photographic efforts shooting the lunar eclipse the evening of April 14/15 2014. I spent the entire night out under the stars in Joshua Tree National Park, where I often shoot when looking for clear skies and stars at night. I photographed several compositions and…
April 17, 2014
Venus, Milky Way and Arch Rock at Astronomical Twilight, Joshua Tree National Park Astrophotography and Night ScapesJoshua TreeThe American Southwest

Venus, Milky Way and Arch Rock at Astronomical Twilight, Joshua Tree National Park

Things are always better at astronomical twilight. Venus was often referred to as the “Morning Star” by ancient civilizations (and as the “Evening Star” as well). On this day, it was indeed the morning star, rising just moments before astronomical twilight began. This allowed for a very brief window of…
April 11, 2014
Milky Way over Sky Rock Petroglyph, Volcanic Tablelands, Bishop, California Astrophotography and Night ScapesSierra Nevada

Milky Way over Sky Rock Petroglyph, Volcanic Tablelands, Bishop, California

Milky Way over Sky Rock Petroglyph, Volcanic Tablelands, Bishop, California. I made this image several years ago but neglected to share any images from that evening's photographic efforts on my blog. I have made many visits to the Volcanic Tablelands, at all times of day, to explore the rocks, admire…
February 27, 2014
Owachomo Bridge and Milky Way at Night, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah Astrophotography and Night ScapesNatural BridgesThe American SouthwestUtah

Owachomo Bridge and Milky Way at Night, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Night Photo of Owachomo Bridge and the Milky Way After making the long drive to Natural Bridges National Monument, we arrived in time to enjoy a colorful sunset and eat some dinner while waiting for the sky to become dark enough for us to begin our photography. The weather was…
July 22, 2013
The Wave Under Stars at Night, North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness ArizonaAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestThe Wave

The Wave Under Stars at Night, North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness

Astrophotography and Night Photography at the Wave, North Coyote Buttes The Wave, a fantastic area of ancient, stone-frozen sand dunes and tortured rock, is a real favorite of mine. Among photographers it is both something of a Mecca as well as a cliche. There are quite a few photographers who…
July 16, 2013
Ancient Bristlecone Pines, Full Moon and Starry Night, Patriarch Grove Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaTreesWhite Mountains

Ancient Bristlecone Pines, Full Moon and Starry Night, Patriarch Grove

This is the best image I made during a May trip through the White Mountains and Tioga Pass. I set out to find new, photogenic ancient bristlecone pine trees, something other than the two iconic brutes along the Discovery Trail near Schulman Grove and the oft-photographed leaner near the Patriarch…
June 25, 2013
Landscape Astrophotography Astrophotography and Night Scapes

Landscape Astrophotography

New: check out my website for Landscape Astrophotography! What is Landscape Astrophotography? Here is my take on it! Landscape Astrophotography is the discipline of photographing scenes that include both astronomical elements and terrestrial landscape elements. The motivation for landscape astrophotography is a desire to depict the night sky, including stars,…
January 10, 2013
Delicate Arch and Milky Way Stars at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Delicate Arch and Milky Way Stars at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Delicate Arch at Night, Milky Way and Stars Overhead. Arches National Park, Utah. I spent a wonderful evening photographing Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. It was warm and dry, with a clear star-filled sky overhead and just a speck of breeze. I photographed Delicate Arch and the moon at…
October 15, 2012
Pillar of Stone, Milky Way, Stars and Clouds, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Pillar of Stone, Milky Way, Stars and Clouds, Arches National Park, Utah

This sandstone pillar in Arches National Park, which probably has an official name, looks to me like an enormous totem pole. I photographed it at night with a short enough exposure to freeze the stars but long enough that the quick moving clouds blurred across the sky. Lighting was tough…
October 11, 2012
Balanced Rock and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Balanced Rock and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Balanced Rock at Night, Arches National Park Balanced Rock rises 128' (39m) above the surrounding land, just off the main road in Arches National Park. It is an outstanding example of erosion and sandstone layering. The precariously perched capstone rock is made of harder sandstone than the layers beneath. As…
October 8, 2012
Milky Way Over Mesa Arch, Panorama, Canyonlands National Park Astrophotography and Night ScapesCanyonlandsPanoramasThe American SouthwestUtah

Milky Way Over Mesa Arch, Panorama, Canyonlands National Park

Panoramic Photo of the Milky Way Arcing Over Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Earlier this year I spent an evening photographing Mesa Arch, the famous and oft-pictured natural stone arch at the precipice of Canyonlands National Park. I photographed Mesa Arch at sunrise twice previously -- quite fortunately alone…
October 2, 2012
Tower of Babel and Starry Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Tower of Babel and Starry Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Stars over the Tower of Babel, Arches National Park, Utah The Tower of Babel is one of the most imposing and distinctive sandstone structures in Arches National Park. An enormous narrow freestanding wall or "fin" of Entrada sandstone, the Tower of Babel may, over the course of eons, erode into…
September 27, 2012
Landscape Arch and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Landscape Arch and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Landscape Arch and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah Landscape Arch in Arches National Park, Utah, is considered to be the longest natural arch in the world, having a span of 290 feet (89m) . Landscape Arch is gradually falling apart, with at least three sections of the…
September 26, 2012
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, Pinus longaeva, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaTreesWhite Mountains

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, Pinus longaeva, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, Pinus longaeva, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest Ancient Bristlecone pine trees (Pinus longaeva) live in a relatively restricted area of eastern California, Nevada and Utah, typically at altitudes above 9500'. The ancient bristlecone pine tree is considered to be the world's oldest species of tree (and…
June 12, 2012