Metate Arch [Explored]

During my family vacation in April, I couldn't resist to sneak away for a few nights of astrophotography and this was one of the best.

 

Having already captured Matate Arch in May 2017, I remembered the place to be a tight fit for a nightscape and that it didn't align well with a low Milky Way core. I therefore had no plans to shoot the arch again.

 

As the area has other nice rock firmations, I scouted the place in the afternoon with my kids, which was fun. I realized that, when shooting from the "wrong" side, the arch would nicely align with the full Milky Way bow. Now I had a reason to come back at night.

 

When I arrived after nightfall, I was surprised to have this rather popular spot to myself. I grabbed the opportunity to set up my low level lights and captured this rather complex image.

 

EXIF

Canon EOS R, astro-modified

Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART

IDAS NBZ filter

Low Level Lighting

iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sky:

8 panel panorama, each a stack of 5x 45s @ ISO1600 @ 3x 105s @ ISO6400, f/2

Foreground:

8 panel panorama, each a stack of 5x 90s @ ISO3200, f/2.8

Done