Shining

During my time off on a Los Angeles flight, I had the chance to drive to Trona Pinnacles for a night session. My friend Eric Gail was able to join me on short notice. Not only was it great to have pleasant company and the expertise of a local, but Eric also saved my night by borrowing me his spare tripod head, when I discovered that I had forgotten to pack my ballhead. Thanks for that mate!

 

The moon phase was already past optimum and the quarter moon was too close to the Milky Way to allow core shots. With the moon above the horizon, sky contrast was considerably lower, but the moonlight helped to illuminate the foreground.

 

We set up our equipment early, set up two low level lights and started shooting when the moon moved behind the pinnacles. Shooting directly into the bright setting moon is not what I would normally do, but the result exceeds my expectations by far.

 

Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com

 

EXIF

Canon EOS 6D astro modified

Samyang 24mm f/1.4

iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Low Level Lighting

 

Sky:

Stack of7 x 10s @ ISO1600, f/2, tracked

Foreground:

Stack of 7 x 20s @ ISO1600, f/2

Done