Latest Posts by wayne-pinkston - Page 7

Wolfe Ranch by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Still standing after all this time... This is the Wolfe Ranch in Arches National Park, Utah. John Wesley Wolfe and his son Fred moved to the area in 1898 and built this home in 1906 when his daughter, son-in-law, and their 2 children moved to the area to join them. The 6 of them lived in this 17 X 15 foot (5.2 X 1.6 m) home. There is a meteor just above the house. If you look closely you can see it turning from green to red as it descends. This is a single exposure. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Questions and Answers

About Focusing in the Dark

Question: I use a 5Dm3 and a 17-40mm f4 lens. and I struggle to get a good focus point for a one shot photo where everything must be sharp. Any suggestions?

Answer: Yes I do,and it's a problem for everyone. BTW the 5Dm3 is an excellent camera. First of all, the wider the lens the more Depth of Field. When up close use it at 17 mm. The fisheye lens are best when you are really close to something in the foreground. I have a sigma 15mm fisheye that works well. I use lens distortion correction on Lightroom. /use the widest lens you have. Next, take your lens out in the daytime and play around with hyperfocus distance. For example, at 17mm f 4 if you focus at around 10 feet or 3 m then everything should be in focus from about 4-5 feet up to infinity. Try it in the daytime and take a photo and check the focus near and far. Once you get it right, then tape the lens focus ring with masking tape (does not leave a residue) so it will not move. Use the lens at 17mm and do not change the focus.   Second way: go to liveview and mag live view up to 10X. Pan around to Find a star in the field of view and focus on that star until it is sharp. Take a photo and view it and mag it up to make sure everything is on focus. If not then make tiny adjustments and check again.  Third way: At 17 mm and f 4 shine a bright light on something farther than 10-12 feet or 3-4 m away, say 4-5 meters. Focus on that spot. Take a photo and check. Everything should be in focus from about 3-4 meters on. If not then make tiny adjustments and recheck. Cheers, Wayne

Hi Wayne, I just wanna pop by and say 'thank you'. It's very kind of you to share your tips and experience with us in taking good landscape astro photos. I wish you all the very best in your journey. Asteria.

Thanks for taking the time to look and write. It’s much appreciated. Cheers, Wayne

16 Room Ruin by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Anasazi Part 6: This is a selfie taken outside of the Ancient Puebloan Ruin called The 16 Room Riun, near the San Juan River and Bluff, Utah. This is a single exposure. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Questions and Answers

About Panoramas

Question: Do you use a panorama head for your pano shots, or single frame ultra-wide angle?

Answer: When I call it a panorama I have taken multiple images and stitched them together, usually vertical images. 

I use an Acratech Ballhead that I like a lot. I also use an Acratech Leveling Head which I love. The leveling head makes panoramas much, much easier to get all the images in a horizontal plane. There are lots of leveling heads out there, and this is the one piece of equipment that I would strongly suggest. As long as it works the brand does not matter. At first I only used it for panos, but then I started using it for every night photo and life got a lot easier. Once you level the camera and take that first long exposure photo, it is so much easier to recompose the shot. If the camera is level then you can just swivel it from side to side, or up/down (a little trickier) and the camera remains level. I can usually get the composition right in 2 shots rather than taking multiple shots. Sometimes it takes more, but it is a lot faster to get the composition right with the leveling head. Also you can switch from Hor to vert and not have to change much. I also use an Acratech “L” Bracket almost always when mounting the camera vertically and it helps a lot with panos. It’s much better to help preventing parallax. 

I just wing it on overlap, and overlap a lot. I also use a Acratech Nodal Rail to position the focal plane over the point of rotation. This prevents parallax and the computer can reconstruct it better. In reality though, I only use the nodal rail when there is something  in the foreground that is close, and parallax might be an issue. If everything is far away then I just use the L bracket and it all works out just fine. 

I am learning double row panos, and using special software for that like PTGui pano software. If you want double rows think about this software. For the really high MWs I use the widest lens I have and do them vertically. I have had decent luck with my 15 mm Sigma fisheye lens vertically. I do some lens correction on each image in Lightroom or Adobe RAW and then stitch them together and it works out OK. Just do lots of overlap.

Cheers, Wayne

Questions and Answers

Avoiding Star Trails

Question: I've tried to figure out night photography and am falling incredibly short. How do you keep from getting star trails with 30 second exposures

Answer: With a really wide lens you will not get obvious star trails at 30 seconds. You can use a rule of 500. If you divide 500 by the focal length of the lens then you will get the upper limit of time in seconds for the exposure to avoid noticeable star trails. For example for a 16mm lens 500/16 = 31 sec. You should keep the exposure under 31 seconds. For a 24 mm lens 500/24 = 21 seconds. You should keep the exposure under 21 seconds (15 would be even better). Some people use a rule of 400 or 600. 500 seems to work OK for me. Cheers, Wayne

Milky Way above Turret Arch by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: The Milky Way rises behind Turret Arch in Arches National Park, Utah, USA. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Imperial Point Milky Way, Grand Canyon by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is an image taken at Imperial Point on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. This is a combination of 2 photos, a 30 second exposure for the sky and a 12 minute 40 second exposure for the foreground. Sky - 30 sec, f 2.8, Sigma 15 mm fisheye lens, ISO 6400. Foreground - 12 min 40 sec. f 2.8, 15 mm, ISO 2000. It is really dark down there, than I thought! Since the canyon is lit by starlight, which is basically coming from everywhere, the lighting of the canyon itself is very flat, with few shadows. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Nighttime with the Gods by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This was taken in the Valley of the Gods in Utah, USA. This is one of those "gems" that not many people visit, and is not widely known. This area is usually bypassed for the more famous Monument Valley. This valley lies just north of Monument Valley and contains similar but somewhat smaller isolated buttes and mesas. This valley is not owned by the Navajos and there are no restrictions on traveling there at night. It lies just north of the town of Mexican Hat, Utah. The area has been used to film several Western Movies as well as 2 Dr. Who shows. The formations are still quite large and consist of red sandstone. The Andromeda Galaxy is just on the edge of the horizon on the bottom left. For perspective there is a car (SUV) silhouetted along the horizon on the bottom left also. To the best of my knowledge the butte is called "Castle Butte". This image is a series of vertical images combined in Photoshop, taken with a Canon 6D camera and Rokinon 24 f 1.4mm lens at f1.4, 20 sec., and ISO 6400. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Visions in the Valley of Dreams by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Landscape in the Valley of Dreams, in the Badlands of NW New Mexico.

What are you using as light sources? These are amazing photos.

Hi and thanks for looking. Yes, I am using light sources for many of these photos. The lights are turned down really low to match the intensity of the stars, and them the scenes are captured as a single exposure. The lights are so low that they are hard to see in person, but show up well on a 30 second exposure. I have an earlier post on Tumblr that talks about the brands of lights I use. Most are dimmable Video LED light panels with warming filters of Halogen hand held spotlights that I reflect off of nearby objects (reflected light). I describe the types of lights I use here:   

http://lightcrafter.smugmug.com/About-Nightscapes

Scroll down until you see “About Equipment”

Cheers, Wayne

Night on Fire by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Anasazi Part 4: The Anasazi were a Pre-Columbian Indian people that lived in the SW region of North America. This is the Anasazi or ancient Puebloan ruin called House on Fire or Flaming House ruin in Mule Canyon, Utah. The name comes from the appearance on the rocks just above the ruin. In the morning at a certain time the rock takes on a color that looks like flames. I wondered just what it might look like at night, and found that the warm lights on the rock did reproduce the appearance, perhaps even better. I shot the standard close up views of the ruins but liked this wide view as well, which is a bit more unusual. The ruins are tucked in below a large rounded or elliptical rock dome with the arching Milky Way overhead. Disclaimer: No rooms or ruins were touched or entered in the making of this photo. The lights were placed in the rooms using a fishing pole and string. (No fish were harmed in the making of this photo either!). This is a panorama of multiple vertical images combined in Lightroom. Nikon 810A camera, 14-24 mm lens, at f 2.8, 14 mm, 30 sec., and ISO 8000. If you visit these sites please treat them with respect and care. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Delicate Light by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is the iconic Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, in Utah, USA. I had wanted to try my hand at this for a while, but the site had become so popular that I had major reservations about competing with others over "territory" for filming. Fellow photographer Eric Gail and I made the hike and found 20-25 people there including 2 people who said they were from the BBC making a time lapse. Two of the parities did indeed get into a hostile shouting match and the location "heated up". After everyone calmed down we were able to take turns and everything worked out just fine. Thanks to everyone there for such good co-operation. We did set up this lighting scheme which most found acceptable. A few people preferred the blue light of LEDs, and they had their turn. The time lapse people just filmed it all. There is smoke near the horizon from the fires in California. This obscures the stars near the horizon. You can see a layer of smoke above the light pollution. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Window to the World by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Anasazi Part 3: Image... Your picture window is 100 feet (30 m) hight and 200 feet (60 m) wide. It looks out over a wash filled with cottonwood trees, small brush, wildflowers, and intermittenty a small stream. In the distance are ridges and hills, and beyond that is a broad plain or wash where you may grow crops in wetter times. The trail winds up the side of the ridge. The glow of cooking fires illuminates the alcove or cave with a golden glow. Above the plains you look out on a star filled sky and seasonally on the Milky Way. The night sky is woven into your life as naturally as the day. The stars and seasons flow past endlessly. We may have electric lights, TV, movies, You Tube, and Flickr :-) , but the Anasazi or Ancient Puebloans had a view to die for. Since some of the structures are defensive, they may well have died defending their home. The Anasazi or Ancient Puebloans lived in the four corners region of the Southwest USA in pre-columbian times, approximately from 700 AD to 1200 AD, abandoning the area in the 13th century, possibly because of drought. This is a panorama of the Monarch Cave Anasazi Ruins in the Comb Ridge region of SE Utah. There are 11 vertical images combined in Lightroom.. Taken with a Nikon 810A camera and a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec., and ISO 6400. There is one very large alcove but separated into two sections. I am sitting on a 30 - 45 degree stone wall that separated the two sections. To the left is the larger section and the easiest to reach. Most of the structures there are destroyed, but there are a few low walls and many pits for grinding grain, as well as some petroglyphs and pictographs. The section to the right is harder to reach and in better condition, with several rooms and rounded walls. A wide overhang unites the two sides. The Milky Way hugs the far left edge of the sky, only partially seen. As a consolation prize, we have the Andromeda Galaxy in the left center sky, the double cluster, and several additional faint galaxies. Disclaimer: No ruins were harmed or touched in the making of this photo! Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

Where a Civilization once Thrived... by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is the Anasazi or Ancient Puebloan Riun called the 16 Room Ruin. It has many other names but this one seems most common. It is located just south of Bluff, Utah adjacent to the San Jaun River. This is part of an experimental series to see if the Anasazi Ruins are amenable to photography at night. I would love to combine an interest in the Anasazi with nighttime photography. I spent several days in August in the SE corner of Utah photographing several ruins at night, to be processed over the next few weeks. One thing I did discover is this: Being in these ruins at night is fascinating. To see the starlit sky, and be surrounded by ancient habitations where people once thrived is magical. It's like going back in time. The alcoves just glow with the light. You can imagine the glow of fires illuminating the ceiling and walls centuries ago. This ruin is in one of a small minority of Alcoves or Caves that opens facing North, and faces a fertile plain overlooking the San Juan River. Because it opens to the North, the Milky Way is seen overhead to the South. Most of the Anasazi Ruins purposefully open facing South, providing shade in summer and sunlight and heat in winter. It seems they were more concerned with these mundane everyday matters than with the needs of photographers that would come 800 years later. On the other hand the Milky Way may be visible looking out of many alcoves at some point in the year. There are limited choices for photo ops. Sometimes the only decent choice is looking into the Alcove, sometimes the only choice is to look out. Most of the flat "bench" in the Alcoves was used as building sites, and there is not a lot of room to roam around. The maintained and easily accessed Anasazi tourist locations in parks are closed at night. You can get a permit to photograph these at night for hundreds of dollars. There are, however, numerous sites on Bureau of Land Management land that are not maintained. There are unmarked trails to many of these ruins, and if you can find them you can photography at night. Many require a hike of a mile or more through rough trails. They are open to visitation but the BLM does not make them easy to find, sometimes knocking down cairns that mark the way. This is a panorama of 10 vertical images combined in Lightroom. Taken with a Canon 6D camera and a Bower 24mm f 1.4 lens at f 1.4, 15 sec, and ISO 6400. There are 6 lights used. There are 4 very small lights shining up on he ruins from just in front, and there are 2 larger lights lighting the whole alcove. Warming filters were used on the lights. The ridge looks more domed than it really is because of looking upwards at a relatively close structure. Disclaimer: No ruins were harmed in the making of this photo! So what do you think? Is this kind of image interesting or worth pursuing? Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

Hello Wayne- I came across your Flickr page and subsequently your web site. Your photos are absolutely stunning! I myself am planning a trip to Joshua Tree National Park to photograph the Milky Way on 9-13. I don't know if this is a faux pas, but where (at least in the vicinity) did you shoot your JT pano from? Studying Google Maps, it looks like a good area with large rock formations and yucca trees would be somewhere in between Jumbo Rocks and possibly Key's View on Park Blvd.?

Hi Anonymous. The panorama was shot out the “back” of the Hidden Valley area. If you consider the main road entry as the “front” of Hidden Valley, then go as far into the deepest part of the parking lot as possible. I parked there and hiked a short distance directly out the back going away from the main road. I had planned to be somewhere else (Trona Pinnacles) that night but relocated to Joshua Tree when the weather forecast said the skies would be clear there. I did not have a lot of time to scout it out, but this area seemed to have all the characteristics of Joshua Tree, and also was “open” allowing you to move around and get the angle of the Milky Way you wanted. It was spring, so the Milky Way will be at a different angle now. Another good spot to check out is Arch Rock. Good luck! Cheers, Wayne

Questions and Answers

How to manage noise in night photography

Question: I've looked as many of your nightscape photos as I could and it seems that all of them are so noise free. Like you, I use a Canon 6D or the  but I always seem to get that magenta colored noise in the foreground when I shoot at 25-30 seconds. That's why I do composites for most of my nightscapes. I see that you are using a Nikon 14-24 mm lens. Is that your secret weapon? Or do you some other secret?

Answer: I use the Canon 6D or the Nikon 810A cameras. The magenta color comes from lightening the underexposed dark areas.It is a little worse on the Canon as compared to the Nikon, but can occur with any camera. There is no secret weapon unless it is the cameras themselves. Both do incredibly well at hight ISO. The key is to pay attention to detail at every strep of the process. Remember that anything you do early in the processing can snowball and make noise worse at each subsequent step in the processing. Remember also that contrast and sharpening can make noise worse so you want to minimize or simply eliminate any sharpening and contrast increase EARLY in the processing. Also remember that the sky and foreground have to be treated separately. The sky is a very high contrast subject (light stars and dark sky), and the foreground is an extremely flat or low contrast subject. Also remember that the appearance of sharpness is created by 2 things, resolution and contrast. Since the sky is hight contrast you do not need to do much sharpening. You will only increase the appearance of noise there. The foreground in low contrast and may need sharpening. 

This is what I do (1) Image acquisition - try to shoot to the right (of the histogram). There is a lot more info in the pixels to the right side of the histogram, and less on the far left dark side. A lot of respected Astrophotographers are going to ISO 12,800. The D6 or 810A can handle this ISO. When you push the histogram to the right then you are moving the dark pixels more to towards the middle of the histogram, and there is a lot more info in the pixels. The thought is that the same photo taken at ISO 12,800 has more info in the pixels that the same photo taken at 6400, or 3200. You can deal with the noise in Lightroom of Adobe RAW. 

(2) Open the image in Lightroom or Adobe RAW. Always acquire RAW images when shooting. I use the temp and tint sliders to make the darkest part of the sky as neutral as possible (grey). If I cannot make it neutral then I err to the slightly blue side. Concentrate on the upper and darkest sky, not near the horizon. Do not make the sky too blue at this early step. Use the lens profile correction function. The vignetting will pop up at 100%. Reduce it to about 50-60% or so. Too much vignetting removal will bring out that magenta color in the lower corners. DO NOT use Clarity at this time. DO NOT do any real sharpening at this level. Leave the shahrpening at the default of 25%, and increase the mask to 75%. DO NOT do any contrast adjustments at this level. If you do it will only get worse later. I use a Luminance Noise factor of about 50 for the 6D, and detail of 50%. There is not a lot of Color Noise in the 6D files, and I use a Color Noise Factor of 17-20, and set the Smoothness to 100%. Use the Shadow Slider to lighten up the dark areas to your personal taste. Again, DO NOT use the Clarity Slider.  The image will look very flat. Click Edit or Export to Photoshop or click the "Open Image" in Adobe RAW. 

(3) Select or Mask the Sky or Foreground to separate them in Photoshop, by whatever means you want. You need to treat them differently. I place the sky and foreground in separate layers and process then separately. For the Foreground/Ground Selection: I May use the Shadows/Highlights Function the lighten up the dark areas using a setting of 3 to 5 (very low). Then increase the contrast a Little, by using the Curves function and place a Minimal"S" shaped curve on the foreground.  Alternatively you could open the Levels function and move the shadows slider to the right.  I may use the Topaz Denoise plugin to further decrease noise in the foreground. It may make the foreground soft. I then do some limited sharpening. Remember, sharpening increases the appearance of the noise, so I go about it differently, and use the Unsharp Mask or Smart Sharpening to INCREASE LOCAL CONTRAST. This is a lot like the Clarity function. Do this only after you have done any color correction on the foreground, and you are happy with the foreground otherwise. It is the opposite of normal sharpening. Use use an amount of 10-20 and a radius of 40-60. I usually use 15 and 60. It increases local contrast and the Perception of sharpness without increasing the perception of noise. If there is magenta in the corners I select that area and go to Hue/Saturation function, choose Magenta, and decrease saturation. Alternatively you can select the magenta area and go to the Color Balance function and add green, or a third way to get rid of the magenta is to paint or brush over it with green. You will not need to do that much usually. 

(4) For the sky, I first use the Levels Command and take the Shadows slider and move it to the right, making the darks darker. This does not do much to the lighter shades. I AVOID the Curves function as much as possible. You do not really need it, and adjusting “Curves” changes the colors, making them much more saturated, and they get out of hand very quickly. You can adjust Contrast with the Levels Command and the Contrast Command, and it is MUCH easier to keep the colors and noise under control. Curves can also make the noise look worse, I may increase the vibrance about 10 or so. It helps to darken the sky without increasing the Contrast so much. I then go to the Color Balance Command, and increase Blue slightly. It does not take much. I then go back to the Levels or Contrast Command and adjust the Milky Way and Sky to the brightness or darkness I desire. I may use a little Dodging or Burning. I Do Not sharpen the sky. I prefer the sky to look a little softer rather than crunchy or crispy. Remember the sky is already a high contrast subject, so you do not really need to sharpen it to have the perception of sharpness. Remember,  perceived sharpness is a function of contrast and resolution, you already have one component of sharpness (hight contrast) in abundance. 

So managing noise requires you to be diligent throughout the process, from acquisition to the end of processing. The most important thing is to not make noise worse in the processing.

Cheers, Wayne

Whispers of Time Past by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is false Kiva in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. this is a bit of a different take on the composition, shooting from the far left corner, and covering the whole opening of the cave in a panorama. The right rock wall (outside the alcove) usually looks like a large dark void at night, so I decided to light the wall to give some definition. This was shot with fellow photographer Eric Gail, and the shadows on the ceiling of the cave were his idea. He had the idea of using an Indian Headdress to cast a shadow on the walls, using a small headlamp. The effect was really interesting to the eye as well as in the photo. The sky was nice and clear except for lots of smoke in the air from the wildfires in the Western USA. The smoke mostly stayed near the ground and created the ruddy coloration just above the horizon. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

Stranger in a Strange Land by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This was the name of a book published in 1961 by Robert A. Heinlein (a very good early sci-fi book), and this is how I felt wandering around the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico at night. It is an extensive area with no marked trails, and a maze of washes, ravines, hills, ridges, etc. It is a broken landscape full of small to moderate sized hoodoos of every shape imaginable. There are also a number of petrified trees. It is incredibly easy to get lost at night because you cannot walk anywhere in a straight line. I used a GPS app and still had trouble getting back to the car because of deep ravines. Anyway it is an amazing place and well worth a trip. This is a single exposure. This photo was lit with reflected light from a hand held halogen spotlight/torch. I reflected the light off of a formation to my left, diffusing the light, and also illuminating the scene from the side. Hope you enjoy! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

In The Still of The Night by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is Flattop Arch in the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico, located about 36 miles (60 Km) south of Farmington. There are relatively few visitors here and at night the probability is that you will be there alone. It's a rough terrain after you traverse the initial flat area near the parking lot. It's a highly varied landscape with areas of clustered hoodoos, flat areas, ridges and ravines, and a number of small arches. There are a number of hoodoos that look like wings or tables balanced on a rock pedestal. In this photo there is a constant or static light behind the arch, and the front lighting is reflected light from a hand held halogen spotlight. The light is reflected off a formation to my right. This was taken with a Canon 6D camera and a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at f 2.8, 30 sec, 14 mm, and ISO 6400. This is a single exposure. Hope you enjoy! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

Joshua Tree at Night by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Joshua Tree National Park at night, with the Milky Way above. Canon 1Dx, Nikon 14-24mm lens, f 2.8, 20 sec, 14 mm, ISO 6400. This is an attempt to capture the feel of Joshua Tree National Park at night, with the scattered rock formations and the scattered but exotic looking trees. There are 2 very small dim lights hidden in the rocks, and another on a small tripod about 40 meters off to my right at about 45 degrees. My intent is to light the scene enough to see well without making it "in your face" bright. The lighting does make the colors more interesting than the same non-lighted scene. The yellow-orange color is light pollution probably from the town of 29 Palms. This is a single exposure. Hope you enjoy! All comments are welcomed. Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog Twitter

A Walk in an Alien Land by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is the most delightfully "otherworldly" place I have experienced at night. This is the "Egg Hatchery" or "Alien Hatchery" of the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico. They are appropriate names. This is a small flat plane between the hills, maybe the size of 1 or 2 football fields (whichever kind of football you prefer). Scattered around the surface are rock formations that look like giagantic petrified eggs and broken eggs. Many look like they are setting on egg cups or holders. At night the erie shapes and shadows let the imagination run wild. This is a panorama, and it may not show the detail well, but I wanted to show the feel of the landscape. I still need to process the closer version of the "eggs". It's a wonderful place to visit but take a GPS device. There are no trails and you find the areas of interest by GPS co-ordinates. Otherwise you wander around forever. This is a panorama of 210-240 degrees, created by 12 vertical images combined in Lightroom. All are single exposures (the sky is not added). Canon 6D camera, Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec, ISO 6400. Hope you enjoy! All comments are welcomed. Thanks! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

Questions and Answers

Do You Go Out Alone for the Night Photos?

Question: Thanks for sharing this fantastic photo. Question: Were you in the park alone? Do you travel with a group? I'm curious.I'm thinking about taking a trip out to Vegas to shoot the parks in the area and am thinking about doing some night shoots alone. Any thought?

Answer: Usually I go out at night alone, although that might not be the best choice for everyone. I have gone out a few times with workshops, and occasionally I find someone at the site and we shoot together. Being out there at night is something you have to get used to. A lot of people are unnerved by the isolation and darkness. This says a lot about our society. It is estimated that 80% of people in the USA have never seen the Milky Way. Many people ask me "what is that cloud in the sky"? Once there was a complete blackout in Los Angeles and people called the police to report a suspicious cloud hovering over the city. It was the Milky Way. We are not used to being out in the dark except for moving from place to place. And we are not used to being so utterly alone. I love the feel of being out there at night, but it is not for everyone. You need to be really careful. I wear really high boots and keep an eye out for potential rattlesnakes. I really pay attention to where I step, always. You have to make sure your footing is always secure, because you may be standing on rough ground or ledges and you are going to spend a lot of time with the lights totally turned off. Before I turn the lights off I look around and see just where it is safe to step. I always keep an eye out for any people or large game. Take bear spray for example. Anyway it has been safe for me so far, but you do need to be careful. Some people even take a dog with them! It's a great experience, but remember to think about how to be safe.

Cheers, Wayne

Lake Mead Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of Lake Mead between Arizona and Nevada, a man made lake created by the Hoover Dam. This was taken from Stewarts Point near The Valley of Fire State Park, and about a one hour drive from Las Vegas. I had made a trip to photograph the Valley of Fire Park but a Park Ranger stopped me and told me I could not photograph there at night without a permit, so it was on to "plan B". I drove to Lake Mead trying to salvage something from the night. This is a 15 photo panorama combined in Lightroom, taken with a Canon 1Dx and a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at f 2.8, 30 sec, 14 mm and ISO 6400. This is about a 240 degree panorama so the sides of the photo are looking in opposite directions. The light pollution on the right is Las Vegas about 60 miles (100 Km) away, and the light pollution on the left in Moapa Valley about 15 miles (25 Km) away. The streak in the sky is a plane with very bright lights (coming in to land at Las Vegas). It looks a bit like a comet and I thought it was a point of interest. The water level has dropped in recent years due to drought and the bank where I am standing used to be many meters below the water level. Pierreeau photographie suggested the light was a UFO. This is a very reasonable guess since I am pretty sure there are lots of aliens in Las Vegas disguised as Elvis. Hope you enjoy! All comments are welcomed. Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

After Midnight Landscapes by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This will take about 3 minutes of your time if you are interested. This is a somewhat frenetic tour of a variety of landscapes at night. This "Take 2" of this video. The first one did not meet Flickr guidelines and got cut off. Here is an edited version that should confirm to Flickr guidelines. Thanks for you patience. Locations in this video include Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Goblin Valley State Park, Escalante, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Mauna Kea Hawaii, Port Douglas Australia, Shiprock, Bisti Badlands, Bryce Canyon National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest,, Trona Pennacles, and others. A big Thanks to Royce Bair! Your photos were the inspiration that got me hooked! Let me know if the video is to frenetic! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

Joshua Tree Arch by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Does anyone know the name of this "Arch"? This was taken near Hidden Valley in Joshua Tree National Park, Utah. I thought I had scouted the area pretty well in the day, but I never saw this in daylight. Towards the end of the night I was stumbling around in the dark (literally) and stumbled on this structure that looked like an arch, or either 2 large rocks with another one stuck between them. It was around 20-30 feet (6-10 meters) high. Anyway, the sun was about to rise so I set up the photos as fast as I could and was able to get this composition before it got overly light. There was not much time for adjusting lights. There is one constant light behind the "arch" and another on a small tripod about 45 degrees to my right. One problem with Joshua Tree is that there are enough trees and rocks to get in the way and cast shadows, so you have to find a window between the trees for any lighting. Another problem is the light pollution. There is considerable light pollution, but in general you can work around it in processing. This is a single exposure. Hope you enjoy! All comments are welcomed. Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog Twitter

Hoodoos in the Bisti Badlands by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This photo was taken in the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico, USA. This is an area of severely eroded rock formations creating a wonderland of small to medium sized Hoodoos and a number of small arches. Bisti is part of the Bisti/De-Na-Zen Wilderness, with Bisti being on the western side. The concentration of Hoodoos is some areas is amazing, with scores of small Hoodoos clustered together. Some Hoodoos are so small you have to avoid tripping on them, others up to 4-6 meters tall. After seeing other locations it's like "Honey, who shrank the Hoodoos"? The variety of shapes is very diverse, with Hoodoos looking like wings, birds, tables, golf balls, pillars, mushrooms, golf tees, dinosaur eggs, animals, etc. The moderate size makes the Hoodoos much more accessible, and actually easier to photograph. It's like nature went out of it's way to show us just how inventive it could be. These hoodoos are about 3-4 feet (1-1.3 m) tall. This is a single exposure. Oops! Just realized I uploaded the wrong file format, distorting the color.. This was corrected 10 pm EST July 9. Hope you enjoy! All comments are welcomed. Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog Twitter

Lighting

People have asked me a number of questions about equipment, issues, and technique in Nightscape or Landscape Astrophotography. Since many of these questions are recurring, I am going to post the questions and answers here. I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability!

Question: I took a chance visit to Joshua Tree this past weekend and took shots until I heard coyotes calling and got scared. My question for you is what wide aspect illumination do you use to get general cover during night shots? I've been using flashlights and as you'll see from the below photo the coverage is not uniform. I got some great results with light from the side (not posted on flickr) but I need something wide angle and low key.Fyi I used to work in theatre lighting so I'm pretty good with types of lighting, I just don't know the best options for close-to-dark photography lighting.

Answer:   For small to moderately large areas I used reflected light. I have had no luck with shining a light directly on areas of interest. I use a halogen hand held spotlight, and try to find something off to the side to bounce it off, like another hoodoo or ridge. If you can find something about 45 degrees off to the side you can get some nice shadows, and a feeling of depth. This is what I used mostly in Bisti. You need only 6-10 seconds of light in a 30 sec exposure. Bouncing the light makes it much more even. The halogen lights (not LED) give a nice warm color. This is the one I use:

www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-Cordless-Spotlight-Integrated-Cigarette/dp/B00HES8JI6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436649113&sr=8-1&keywords=luminar+worktm

The charge lasts about 15 min total, but if you use it 10 sec at a time that is up to 90 exposures. I do take test shots and get everything set up before I use it. There is a small learning curve. Sometimes I just bounce it off the ground. I use a "snoot" on the end of the light to prevent or diminish scatter. That is just a rolled up tube or cylinder of flexible material I place over the end of the light.

 www.flickr.com/photos/udijw/2862636559/in/set-72157602232660459/

For bigger areas I use constant on or "static" video lights. They are dimmable LED lights. I place them on a small tripod about 30 - 60 yards away. I use this small tripod:

www.amazon.com/dp/B004W4BAUO/ref=sr_ph_1?m=A2LM6ZPY06LT1N&ie=UTF8&qid=1436649689&sr=1&keywords=small+tripod

It is 42" high and weighs 1 lb, and fits in my luggage and pack easily. If I did not have to take airline flights I would use something taller or bigger. You need to get these lights up off the ground to decrease shadows. The LED lights are to blue, so they come with a warming filter and a diffusion filter. I use both all the time. I tape around the sides to prevent light leaks around sides of the filters. When you see one of these you will see want I mean.The one light I use the most is the F&V Z96 light:

www.amazon.com/HDV-Z96-96-LED-Light-Kit/dp/B003UCGDSS/ref=pd_sim_sbs_421_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=02WSRH8S48KXA07J6GEP

I turn it on low and leave it on and take a photo and adjust accordingly. It is best to place it about 45 degrees off to the side. Here are some others I have tried:

Neewer 160 LED:www.amazon.com/NEEWER®-Dimmable-Digital-Camcorder-Panasonic/dp/B004TJ6JH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436650355&sr=8-2&keywords=video+light+neewer

This one is usually too bright even at low settings.Ones I have tried recently and like:

Neewer 56 LED:www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008B3SISO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

It's dimmable, light, and pretty powerful, and costs $20. I like it a lot.

Newer 36 LED:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009YQP3TE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

It's small, dimmable, and pretty powerful, about $19. I place it inside arches and small spaces. If it is still too bright I place a cloth napkin, or handkerchief, or lens cloth, or even paper napkins over the front to damp the light.Since you are exposing for the stars, it does not take much light. I usually use the on the lower settings and leave them on. You can barely see them in person until your eyes adapt.

Here are more photos from Bisti. For the panoramas I used the video lights. For the individual hoodoos I used bounce light from the halogen spotlight.

lightcrafter.smugmug.com/Nightscapes/Bisti-Badlands-New-Mexico/

Hope this helps! Cheers, Wayne

Chimney Rock by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Chimney Rock, Escalante, Utah, USA. This was taken during a workshop with Royce Bair. His workshops are highly recommended. Escalante is one of the darker places I have seen in the USA. The sites are very spread out, and there is quite a bit of driving on dirt roads involved, but the scenery is great, and there are relatively few visitors compared to other places. This was taken with a Canon 6D, Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec, and an ISO of 8000. Phil did a great job of standing still for 30 sec. It's a lot harder than it sounds! Hope you enjoy! All comments are welcomed. 

Shiprock by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is the iconic Shiprock for which the town of Shiprock is named in NE New Mexico. The rock rises 1583 feet (482 meters) above the desert plain, and can be seen for miles around. It is sacred to the Navajo people. The formation is similar to those in Monument Vally about 90 minutes to the West. This photo is Panorama of 11 vertical images combined in Photoshop and taken with a Canon 6D camera, and a Bower 24 1.4 lens at f 1.4, 20 sec, and ISO 6400. I wanted to get a more horizontal Milky Way and so this was taken relatively early in the night, near the crossover from twilight to true dusk (darkness). The illumination is from a very small crescent moon to my back, as well as some light pollution. The presence of the moonlight also tends to make the sky bluer in the photos. The yellows and oranges are not a sunset! The sun set to my back. This is light pollution from the town of Shiprock (population of around 8,000) approximately 10 miles (16 km) away. There are many reasons why this photo almost did not happen. I did not know that this monolithic rock even existed and I was traveling across northern New Mexico to get to the Bisti Badlands near Farmington. But you can see this huge rock for an hour or more as you drive across NW New Mexico. As I stared at the rock my driving dazed brain started to think "I wonder what this looks like at night"? And then there is no easy access to the rock. The nearest paved access is more than 2 miles (3 km) away and was on the wrong side of the rock (south side). As I was riding around I noticed a couple filming off of a dirt road and pulled over to talk. The woman seemed to be a Native American and assured me the land was not private or restricted. When I told her what I wanted to do she pulled a map out of her car that showed a maze of dirt roads. She showed me how to get to a position north of the formation and how to avoid impassable ravines and ridges. Thank you nice lady! And then there was the light pollution. It is best to be shooting away from the light pollution, but this time I had to shoot right into the brightest spot. I had doubts that the photo would succeed. As it turned out the light pollution could be used to enhance the photo. It is not a truly "dark" night photo, but is still interesting. And then I was supposed to be in another park, but the nice park ranger told me I could not shoot there at night as he gave me a speeding ticket. This was not the way I wanted to meet a ranger. And then the sky was so hazy near the horizon that night that I believed there was no way to get a clear photo. I just went ahead with the attempt just because I was already there. Anyway it turned out to be more colorful and interesting than expected. Thanks for looking. All comments are appreciated. Hope you enjoy!