View allAll Photos Tagged STARSCAPE
I captured this image in The "Valley of The Gods" in Southern Utah. This place is magical with otherworldly views in every direction but it's when night comes that this place really transforms into a place of dreams.
This is a two-part image.
Foreground: Blue Hour image
Nikon D 850
1 Image
2 minutes
F 8
ISO 200
The Milkyway:
Nikon D 850
16 images stacked
ISO 4000
4 Sec
2 Dark Frames
Blended in Photoshop
Edited in Lightroom
Many of the boulders you see here are as large as cars
Zoom in for the details
"What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
My favorite poet certainly didn't have such a luxurious fountain in mind, when he wrote those words in his famous novella "The Little Prince", but when I saw it during my visit to Death Valley National Park in May, I knew I had to return to shoot it with the rising Milky Way.
EXIF
Canon EOS R, astro-modified
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART @ f/2
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 6x 45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 5x 105s @ ISO6400, filtered
Foreground:
Focus stack of 5x 4s @ ISO100 during blue hour
The Milky Way rising above the Ward Charcoal Ovens.
The Ward Charcoal Ovens operated from 1876 through 1879, the silver boom years of the Ward mines. The ovens were eventually phased out completely due to depleted ore deposits and a shortage of available timber.
If you ever visit the region, I highly recommend stopping at this small State Historic Park. The history of the ovens and the impact they had on their environment is extremely interesting. There is also a nice hike along the nearby creek, where, during my visit, thousends of wild roses were in full bloom, filling the air with their sweet scent.
Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Low Level Lighting
Sky:
8 x 30s @ISO6400, tracked
Foreground:
8 x 30s @ISO6400
In landscape astrophotography, we try to create a relation between the starry sky and the earthly foreground, and when I saw these red flowers with the dead trees behind them, I knew I had hit a nightscaper's jackpot.
The scene immediately reminded me of the red hydrogen emission nebulae and the galactic dark clouds and was perfectly positioned to align with the vertical Milky Way, which would be dominated by such structures later that night.
When the Milky Way had moved into position, some green and red airglow made the scene even more colorful than expected.
EXIF
Canon EOS R, astro-modified
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 @ 15mm
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 6x 90s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 180s @ ISO6400, filtered
Foreground:
Focus stack of 5x 30s @ ISO100 during blue hour
Nikon d810a
50mm
ISO 8000
f/2.5
4 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This might be the first night sky image I have ever taken which doesn't actually have any kind of target in the sky - no Milky Way, no Carina, no Magellanic Clouds, just an 'empty' part of the night sky. But that wasn't the purpose of this shot, it was to capture the dead tree perfectly reflected in the still waters of the shallow lake.
The Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud can be seen overhead. The LMC is a satellite dwarf galaxy of the Milky Way that is among the closest galaxies to Earth. At about 163,000 light-years from Earth, the dwarf galaxy looks like a faint cloud in Southern Hemisphere skies. The SMC, or Nebucula Minor, is a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way. It is classified as a dwarf irregular galaxy. Red and green bands of airglow can also be seen in the night sky and in the reflection of the sky on the water.
A star trail of Selsey with the moon making a tiny appearance. The milkway makes up much of this trail, so I like to add my own twist and blend in one of the single shots to produce what you see - gives much more meaning to a standard trail I feel.
I met this little guy on a remote planet named Arizona. Communication with the rocky lifeform was not easy, but if I understood him correctly, he was visiting from somewhere north of the Sadr the region.
He was very calm until that huge black cloud creeped in and slowly started eating up the Milky Way. I tried to calm him down by telling the story about the intelligent Black Cloud from Fred Hoyle's equally named science-fiction novel. That did not seem to help, though, and the little guy decided to call home for help. His pose kind of reminded me of E.T., although I was missing the glowing finger...
EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Tamron 15-30mm, f/2.8
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky
2 panel panorama, each a stack of 10x 90s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 5x 180s @ ISO6400, filtered.
In May, I met with Peter Ensrud and Abe Blair at Lake Tahoe for a night of astrophotography.
After shooting the panorama I published a while ago, we raced to this spot, which we reached with just enough time to capture the scene before dawn washed out the contrasts in the sky.
Abe used his drone to provide some low-level lighting from above. While I liked the increased foreground detail and the colors in the transparent water, the lighting was a tad bright for my taste, and it made the reflection of the stars and the faint Milky Way completely disappear.
That's why I also shot the foreground conventionally, without any lighting.
During post processing, I played around with both versions and finally decided I liked a blended version best. The sky was captured separately with my usual tracked narrowband filter technique.
PS: I like the result a lot, and I think it shows the potential of low-level lighting with drones. For those who do not know me very well: that's a big compliment coming from someone who does not like drones at all.
EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 @ 15mm
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Low Level Lighting with a Lumecube attached to a drone.
Foreground:
Blend of 2 exposures of 60s @ ISO3200 with and without drone lighting.
Sky:
Stack of 6x 60s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 150s @ ISO6400, filtered
It has been either cloudy or the moon has been up at night for ages. I finally got one night out shooting just before new year. In one of my images I captured the faint Gum Nebula.
The Gum Nebula (Gum 56) is a vast, almost circular emission nebula that sprawls across nearly 40° of the southern constellations Vela and Puppis. It is so large, yet faint against a bright and complex background, that it is hard to distinguish; its front edge is as close to us as 450 light-years, while its back edge lies about 1,500 light-years away.
The Gum Nebula is believed to be the hugely expanded (and still-expanding, at 20 km/s) remains of a supernova that took place about a million years ago. It contains the Vela OB2 Association, the hot stars of which (among them, Naos) cause it to shine. Also embedded in the Gum are the Vela Supernova Remnant and the Vela Pulsar, though both these are very much younger.
It is named after its discoverer, the Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum (1924–1960), who published his findings in 1955.
Lots of photos of this on Flickr recently inspired us to go out last night and try to see it. I found it in binoculars and thought I might have seen it faintly with my eyes. But we have a lot of light polution and with the haze on the horizon it was tough to pick out. Camera saw it ok, though.
More info: edrosack.com/2020/07/26/comet-stacking/
I discovered this amazing place while scouting off the beaten track in Joshua Tree National Park. A quick check of PlanIt for Photographers showed that the rising Milky Way aligns nicely behind the rock, which looks to me like a giant eagle's head.
I couldn't wait to shoot the composition, but as it was full moon, I reluctantly marked the location for a future visit.
A month later, it was the obvious target for the first night of my astrophotography trip as it was still within range after a 12 hour flight to LAX and a subsequent 3 hour 30 minute drive to Joshua Tree NP.
Although fairly exhausted after the long journey, I hiked to the marked spot and set up my low-level lighting and camera just in time to capture the rising Milky Way.
Only now did I notice that the eagle's head was positioned exactly in front of the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. The title of the image was, therefore, a no-brainer: Caput Aquilae - The Eagle's Head
EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 @ 15mm
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Low Level Lighting
Foreground:
Focus stack of 5x 60s @ ISO3200
Sky:
10x 60s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 5x 150s @ ISO6400, filtered
Crater Lake National Park has been on my astrophotography wish list since I visited this stunning place for the first time after watching the solar ecilpse in 2017. Unfortunately, heavy smoke kept me from producing anything useful back then and I promised myself to come back as soon as possible. To my disappointment, I was smoked out again, during my second visit in 2018.
Earlier this month, I had a San Francisco layover, which I had planned to use for some astrophotography in Yosemite NP, but the weather forecast predicted rain and snow, while all my alternate spots in California expected solid high cloud cover. A few apps however showed a reasonable chance for a patch of clear skies during the night at Crater Lake NP. After picking up my rental car in the morning and checking the forecasts one more time, I decided to take the risk and drive to Crater Lake for my 3rd try.
When I arrived in the afternoon, it was rather cloudy, but I neverteless started scouting for nightscape compositions, as the spots I knew from my previous visits wouldn't align with the sky this late in the season.
After a colorful (which means cloudy) sunset, it magically cleared within half an hour and I finally got my Milky Way shot over Crater Lake.
Due to the orientation of the Milky Way in October, the famous composition with Wizzard Island in the foreground was not possible. Instead, I had to shoot the cinder cone across the lake and you have to zoom quite a bit into the image to be able to see it.
I nevertheless like this image with the Milky Way becoming visible during astronomical twilight and setting Venus reflecting in the water.
EXIF
Canon EOS Ra
Sigma 28mm f/1.4
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Low Level Lighting
Foreground:
Stacked focus stack of 10 x 60s @ ISO1600, f/1.4
Sky:
10 x 90s @ ISO800, f/2
This image shows one of the coastal watchtowers that are dotting the perimeter of the Salento Peninsula (southern Apulia, Italy). Most of these towers were built in the 15th and 16th. century to create an “early warning system” against pirate attacks. Many of these towers are now in very poor conditions, which despite beeing a pitty, is a blessing for night photography, as this means that most of them are unlighted at night.
I just reurned back home from a two week vacation in the Salento. Staying 1000 miles away from my computer and without a stable internet connection guaranteed a relaxing time. Of course I nevertheless took my camera along and tried a few nightscapes, despite the rather fierce light pollution plaguing the region.
I took this image during a short trip to the same region in 2018, as I have not yet found the time to download the images from my current stay.
Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Samyang 24mm f/1.4
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Low Level Lighting
nachtlicht° light pollution filter
Sky
Stack of 5 x 60s @ISO1600, tracked
Foreground
Stack of 3 x 60s @ISO1600
Alnitak, the 5th brightest star in the Constellation Orion, is the star to the left (from our view) of the triad of stars in the belt. It has two large nebulae, the Flame Nebula and the Horsehead Nebula. The Horsehead Nebula is a cloud of dark, cold gas seen against the large Orion molecular cloud complex. The Flame Nebula is an emission nebula--it absorbs energy from nearby stars, which releases an electron from gaseous hydrogen atoms. When an electron is replaced, light is emitted, causing the cloud of hydrogen atoms to glow.
Forty photos were taken (ISO 10,000, 560 mm, f/8.0, 60 sec) with the aid of an Ioptron SkyGuider to track the stars. Starry Sky Stacker was use to rotate the stars to reduce streaking and minimize long exposure and high ISO artefacts. Photoshop and Topaz Denoise AI were used in processing.
Shot from the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area in western Colorado.
This chapel with a breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps not only is one of the most tranquil places I know, it is also perfectly oriented for astrophotography. The reasonably dark sky allowed me to capture it under the setting winter Milky Way with its wonderful plethora of red emission nebula.
Prints avalable: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified
Samyang 24mm f/1.4 @ f/2
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
2 panel panorama, each a stack of 21 x 30s @ ISO1600, tracked
Foreground:
24 x 30s @ ISO1600
River bends always make for nice foregrounds, and this one at the Swiss-French border is no exception. I visited the place in November with benjaminbarakat
Shooting this image was a rather scary endeavor. As you can see, the hills around the bend are heavily forested. The only spot with an unobstructed view is a ledge with an area of a few square meters on top of a towering cliff. Reaching the ledge involves clambering down a slippery slope, which I found pretty creepy by itself.
The reward for the scary scrambling was this beautiful view. The stars reflected in the calm water of the river reservoir and some thin fog banks lingered along the hill on the opposite shore.
EXIF
Canon EOS Ra
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 @ 15mm
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky
2 panel panorama, each a stack of 15 x 50s @ ISO1600
Foreground:
2 panel panorama, each a stack of 5x 90s @ ISO3200
Grand-Staircase Escalante has some of the darkest skies I have ever seen. The lack of light pollution in combination with very dry and clear air makes the atmosphere perfectly transparent and lets the starlight pass without washing out contrast. Under these extraordinary conditions a camera can capture the colors of darkness.
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Sigma 35mm f/1.4
iOptron SkyTraker
Low Level Lighting
Foreground:
3 x 50s @ ISO1600, fixed tripod
Sky:
5 x 50s @ ISO1600, tracked
Prints available:
ralf-rohner.pixels.com
Nikon d810a
85mm
ISO 8000
f/2
Foreground: 7 x 30 seconds
Sky: 25 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Hoya Starscape filter
This is a 42 shot panorama of the Milky Way rising above Yenyening Lakes, 2 hours east of Perth in Western Australia.
I don't know how long the slide has been at this lake, I've been here a few times and don't remember seeing it but it makes for an interesting foreground subject. The reflections, thanks to a very calm night, are an added bonus :)
Another view of the Milky Way over Ribbleshead Viaduct. Jupiter gets framed nicely between the arches in this image. A beautiful location that i can't wait to return to.
On the first day of my San Francisco layover in August, I drove south towards Big Sur. This area appeared to be the least affected by the smoke from the forest fires. I was hoping to shoot the Milky Way at some of the famous spots along the coastal highway, but unfortunately there was solid fog in the lower elevations. After searching around for quite a while, I finally found a rather hairy dirt road that took me towards the coastal ridge and above the fog.
The landscape up there was a California cliché: Sun bathed, rolling hills with solitary Oak trees above the low laying sea fog and California Condors soaring high above my head. It was immediately clear that this was my place to stay for the night.
After a laid back afternoon, I did some scouting for nightscape compositions. While checking the Milky Way alignment at this nice little valley, a truck arrived below me and I walked down the greet the new arrival. While chatting, we found that we actually knew each other and I was pleased to meet fellow landscape astrophotographer Henry Hungerland
I learned from Henry that I had accidentally stumbled over one of the best spots for nightscape photography in the area. After shooting the sunset together, we parted again to realize our own visions of the area.
I headed back to this valley view, where the Milky Way aligned perfectly right after nightfall. The spot was between mine and Henry's campsite and you can actually see part of Henry's truck hiding behind the oak tree on the right side.
EXIF
Canon EOS Ra
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 6 x 90s @ ISO1600, tracked
Foreground:
Stack of 5 x 90s @ ISO3200
A starry night with this lone tree at Dog Rocks in near Australia, near Geelong.
Good photography's about good storytelling, check out www.driftandwander.com.au
This image shows the Winter Milky Way with Canis Mayor, Orion, and Taurus above Mono Lake's Sand Tufas.
The Tufas at Mono Lake are quite popular for landscape astrophotography, and the place was rather crowded during my visit in late June. I, therefore, was pleasantly surprised to have it to myself in early October. Obviously, many nightscapers still put their cameras away once the 'core season' is over. I have been trying for years to spread word that the Winter Milky Way is at least as great a target as the Milky Way core, but sometimes it is good to see that those efforts haven't been too successful...
EXIF
Canon EOS-R, astro-modified
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Vertical panorama of 3 panels, each a stack of 10x45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x105s @ ISO6400, filtered
Foreground:
Focus stack of 6x5s @ ISO400, during twilight
It is really amazing how life always seems to find a way to thrive, regardless of the difficulties...
This beautiful Blue Mount Teide Bulgoss (Echium auberianum) is endemic to the Canary Islands. I found it growing on a completely barren, stony and arid patch of land. What a stunning discovery!
For me, this beautiful little plant is the perfect symbol for hope. It proves that, even in the most difficult moments, beauty might be just around the next corner.
EXIF
Canon EOS Ra
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 6 x 60s @ ISO1600
Foreground:
Focus stack of 4 x 15s @ ISO1600, f/2.8 during twilight
Here is the vertorama of my Lassen Volcanins NP nightscape that served as the base for the panning movie in my last post: flic.kr/p/22fRiuQ
Which one do you like better?
Disclaimer:
I decline any responsibility for the broken necks of viewers trying look at this image in a handstand or any other inverted position... ;-)
Prints available:
This spring, the weather hasn't been very kind with us in Switzerland and I was really itching to shoot another panorama of the Milky Way arch.
Despite a less than perfect forecast with some thin clouds, I took the 3 hour hike to the top of this peak in eastern Switzerland.
After a disappointing start, with almost solid cloud cover and a very strong breeze, the weather gods had mercy and made the clouds part, exactly as the Milky Way core started to rise.
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L
iOptron SkyTracker
Sky:
13 panel panorama, each a single exposure of 75s @ ISO1600, tracked
Foreground:
13 panel panorama, each a stack of 5 x 60s @ ISO3200
+ Selfiie: 20s @ ISO6400
In May 2022, I spent several nights in Death Valley National Park. During the day, I talked to the rangers and scouted for possible shooting locations. The rangers told me that the mudcracks had not formed nicely thus spring, but when I found this area, I decided that it was nevertheless worth a visit at night.
I like the resulting image, because of the huge contrast between the pale, barren foreground and the colorful splendor of the Milky Way core section.
EXIF
Canon EOS R, astro-modified
Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART @ f/2
IDAS NBZ filter
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Panorama of 3 panels, each a stack of 5x 45s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 105s @ ISO6400, filtered
Foreground:
Focus stack of 5x 60s @ISO3200, f/2.8
For more info about this location and photo, please see my blog entry at: edrosack.com/2016/08/21/shenandoah-starscapes-sunsets-sto...
Looking out over Shenandoah Valley from Skyline Drive.
The wildflowers were beautiful when we were there.
Another calm and soothing view as we zip home somewhere above southern Germany. The massive anticyclone parked over most of Europe these past few days has been a boon for star photography - even though the people on the ground, in the snow and fog, would likely disagree!
Nikon d810a
85mm
ISO 5000
f2.8
Foreground: 6 x 30 seconds
Sky: 16 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Starscape filter
This is a 24 shot panorama of the Milky Way rising above a barren farm, with yours truly looking on in awe, at Bejoording, about 1.5 hours north east of Perth in Western Australia.
During my August vacation, I finally baged my first lighthouse nightscape. The lighthouse of Punta Palascìa was built in 1867 and is Italy's most easterly point. According to nautical conventions, it marks the point where the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea meet.
For this shooting, I met with Angelo Perrone and a few more local nightscapers. Angelo not only is a great guy and one of the best astrophotography teachers in southern Italy, but also an excellent programmer of Photoshop CC plugins for stacking and processing of astrophotos. For more information visit astropanel.it and fusion.angeloperrone.it
Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Samyang 24mm f/1.4
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 10 x 15s @ ISO1600 f/2, tracked
Foreground:
Stack of 5 x 15s @ ISO1600 f/2
"Come to the sunset tree!
The day is past and gone;
The woodman's axe lies free,
And the reaper's work is done."
John Milton
Strange creatures roam the night and as a nightscaper I have met a few of them. At this scenic dead tree in the Swiss Alps I met the creepiest of all. Fortunately, he was just there to enjoy the view.
Another fun shooting with Alex Forst and Benjamin Barakat. Special thanks to Alex for bringing along the costume and posing as the reaper.
Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D astro modified
Samyang 24mm f/1.4
Single exposure of 12s @ ISO6400, f/2
The Churfirsten are a prominent mountain range in the eastern part of Switzerland. They consist of a limestone ridge running east to west, with the seven individual peaks formed by erosion. The ridge drops sharply towards the south, with an almost vertical drop of several hundred meters.
When viewed from the rural Toggenburg Valley in the north, the terrain rises more gently, but the peaks still form clearly defined teeth. The countless alpine huts with the scenic backdrop of the Churfirsten range form the perfect foreground for Milky Way nightscapes.
Prints available: ralf-rohner.pixels.com
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified
Samyang 24mm f/1.4 @ f/2
iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Sky:
Stack of 7 x 50s @ ISO1600
Foreground:
Stack of 5 x 60s @ ISO3200
A very tranquil campsite under the starry skies of the Swiss Alps, but make no mistake: there is quite some action in the sky.
While Milky Way is moving majestetically through the night and the planets Saturn and Mars seemingly follow it, a high atmosperic phenomenon called red sprite, is making a fleeting appearance.
Sprites are large-scale electrical discharges that occur high above thunderstorm clouds,giving rise to a quite varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky. They are usually triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground.
Sprites appear as luminous reddish flashes. They often occur in clusters above the troposphere at an altitude range of 50–90 km (31–56 mi). Sporadic visual reports of sprites go back at least to 1886, but they were first photographed on July 6, 1989 by scientists from the University of Minnesota.
Sprites are sometimes inaccurately called upper-atmospheric lightning. However, sprites are cold plasma phenomena that lack the hot channel temperatures of tropospheric lightning, so they are more akin to fluorescent tube discharges than to lightning discharges.
EXIF
Canon EOS 6D, astro modified
Samyang 24mm f/1,4
iOptron Skytracker Pro
Low Level Lighting
Panorama with 4 stacked panels:
Sky
2 x 6 exposures of 30s @ ISO 1600, tracked
Forground
6 x 30s @ ISO 1600
Reflection
6 x 30s @ ISO 1600, tracked