Star - Blog Posts
Set the Table for One... by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: A quiet night in the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico. There are many of these "Table Top" Hoodoos scattered around the area. These develop when the base , a softer rock, erodes faster than the top, making for a wide variety of shapes. These table tops are one of my favorites. When the flat tops are really long or wide, they have been given the name of "winged hoodoos", and some are quite long and wing-like. Here I was playing around with the lights. Canon 6D camera, Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec., and ISO 6400. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Racing the Clouds by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is an image of Cyclops Arch in the Alabama Hills of California (eastern part of Ca. adjacent to the Sierra Nevada Mtns.). I arrived and got a couple of unlighted shots, and this one decent lighted shot before clouds rolled in and obscured the beautiful sky. There is a thick layer of clouds just above the frame, but I was able to salvage this one shot. I ended coming back the next night. One good thing is that cloudy skies = a good nights sleep! This is a single exposure. Canon 6D camera, Nikon 14-24 mm lens, f 2.8, 30 sec., ISO 6400. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Balanced Rock by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Balanced Rock in Arches National Park, Utah. There is a light panel creating some illumination on the foreground, and Balanced Rock itself is also partially lit by reflected light from a hand held halogen spotlight. This was shot with a Nikon 810A camera and a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at f 2.8, 30 sec, 14 mm, and ISO 6400. This night I was shooting with Eric Gail, an excellent photographer and now friend I met here on Flickr. Check out his wonderful gallery here: www.flickr.com/photos/dot21studios/ Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Lost in a Dream... by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Hoodoo in the Valley of Dreams East, in the Badlands region of NW New Mexico.
Winged Hoodoo in the Bisti Badlands by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Winged Hoodoo in the Bisti Badlands, New Mexico. There is a marvelous variety of hoodoos in the badlands. Over millennia sedimentary rocks of different hardness were laid down, and the softer lower layers erode faster than the harder upper layers, resulting in unusual shapes. I accidentally left a light on in the back canyon, and did not realize it until the photo came up on the display, but I think it added to the appearance. This is a single exposure. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family out there. Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Dreaming... by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Valley of Dreams, in the Badlands of NW New Mexico. The hoodoos are mostly mudstone hoodoos, with a softer clay like base and a harder rocky cap. This was taken with a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 15 mm, f 2.8, 25 sec., and ISO 12,800. This is a single exposure. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family out there. Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Wandering in the Badlands by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of one of the flatter areas in the Bisti Badlands in NW New Mexico. A few photos back I downloaded a view of a small wash or ravine surrounded by steep stony hills or ridges. www.flickr.com/photos/pinks2000/22455038082/in/dateposted... This badlands are a mixture of both broad flat areas (with many moderate to small hoodoos), mixed with long areas of water cut ravines and ridges. Both have their own unique beauty. It's certainly easier to walk around in the flat areas, and the flatter areas have most of the named hoodoos, but to get to these areas you usually have to negotiate the hills and ravines. It's a fun but lonely and desolate place at night. The first night I went there a German couple was trailer camping in the parking area and I parked near them. I was going out a little before sunset, and he said, "You're going out there? Now?" The chances that you will be alone out there at night are just about 100%. After all, who is crazy enough to go out there at night? This is a series of single vertical exposures combined in Lightroom. BTW, this was taken on May 18, not April. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family out there. Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Solitude in the Bisti Badlands by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a small a wash or small valley,ravine in the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico, located in the NW section of N.M. near Farmington. I took this in a attempt to give a representation of what most of the landscape looks like. There are numerous small valley-like washes like this, intermixed with flat areas with numerous small to medium sized Hoodoos. Many of those ridges are steep enough to be tricky to climb over, and so you go around and around to get by them. It is impossible to walk in a straight line. There are no paths and so it is easy to get lost. A GPS device is a must! It beautiful and erie scenery though, and well worth a visit. This was taken with a Canon 6D, and a Nikon 14`24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 30 seconds, and ISO 6400. 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
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
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
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
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
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
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!
Coral Sea Milky Way by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a vertical panorama taken on the NE coast of Australia between the towns of Cairns and Port Douglas, in the region of the Great Barrier Reef. This part of the Pacific is called the Coral Sea. This is a stack of 8 horizontal image stacked vertically, each horizontal image taken with a Canon 16-35 mm lens at 16 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec, ISO 8000. So this image is pretty wide as well as "tall". From the perspective of an observer from the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way is fascinating in the Southern Hemisphere, and presents its own unique challenges. Here I am talking about the arch MW as a whole, and not just the core. First, the Milky Way arches high overhead at this time of year (April). The arch starts out lower on the horizon, but as the night progress it rapidly assumes a position high overhead. As a result the MW in the early night is a lot like the MW arch in the NH (Northern Hemisphere) in early spring, and then later in the night it is a lot like the NH MW in late summer and fall (more vertical) where it meets the horizon. Another difference is that the core of the MW is in the middle of the MW arch, and not near the horizon as we commonly see in the NH. As a result you need a really wide field of view or stacked panorama images to get good photos of the core and landscape at the same time. As a result you see a lot of panoramas of the MW taken from the SH (Southern Hemisphere). As for this image, it was taken after Moonset at around 2:30 pm. By this time the MW core was high in the sky, and I used a vertical stack to include the core. Since we did not plan the trip around night photography, I had to take the chances available, and this night I had a couple of good hours of shooting, after Moonset, but before the MW core got to high. A couple of nights later the MW was just about directly overhead before the Moon set, high enough to cause problems. When it is that high it is hard to include much landscape. This was probably as clear as mud. Hope you enjoy! Thanks in advance for taking the time to look and comment.
Trona Pinnacles by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of the Trona Pinnacles in California, USA, another small step in my efforts to photograph landscapes at night (this time a larger area). For orientation the parking lot is on the left and the dirt road in the foreground goes around the right side of the formation and carries you deeper into the park. There is "static" light painting. There is a light far to the right, and several small lights among the pinnacles. There was a lot of light pollution aiding in the lighting. The bright area along the horizon to the left is Ridgecrest, Ca., and I believe the light pollution on the bottom right is Barstow, Ca. The image wraps around more than 180 degrees, approx. 210 degrees. There is some airglow near the horizon creating the greenish effect in the sky. Many night photographers remove or diminish the light pollution and airglow to make the scene look more natural or to make the sky look more like people expect it to look. I have decided to go along with what the camera detects rather than what you expect to see. As a result this produces a somewhat surreal effect, which to me has a more exotic feel. The rock spires are called Tufa Spires, and are up to 140 feet (43 meters) high. Over 30 movies and TV shows have been shot in this alien landscape, including Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek V, and Planet of the Apes. This is a series of 15 vertical images combined in Lightroom (the new version has a panorama merge function). The images were taken with a Canon 1D X camera and Nikon 14-24 mm lens at f 2.8, 14 mm, 30 sec exposures, and ISO 6400. Hope you enjoy! Thanks in advance for taking the time to look and comment.
Milky Way over the Coral Sea by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is another night shot taken on a beach on the NE coast of Australia, between Cairns and Port Douglas. This is a panorama of 14 vertical images combined in Photoshop, taken with a Canon 6D camera, Canon 16-35 mm lens, at f 2.8, 30 sec, 16 mm, and ISO 6400. As compared to the Northern Hemisphere in April, the Milky Way arches high overhead, and continues to rise as the night progresses, Soon the MW is directly overhead, and it takes a really large field of view to capture . The challenge is fun in a different way. Also the core of the MW is more centered, and is very high in the sky, as opposed to the Northern Hemisphere where it is closer to the horizon. Frequently in the Northern Hemisphere the low positioned core competes with light pollution, or features on the horizon. In the Southern Hemisphere its high position places it in the darker portions of the sky, and detail and color in the core is better preserved. Alternatively, it is harder to get the core and interesting features in the same frame in the Southern Hemisphere. Disclaimer: Unfortunately several unruly pixels were harmed in the making of this image. Hope you enjoy!
Joshua Tree and Milky Way Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of Joshua Tree National Park at Night, in an attempt to capture to feel of the park at night. This is a panorama of combined vertical images, taken with a Canon 1Dx camera, and a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 20 sec. exposures and ISO 6400. there are 2 small lights hidden among the rocks and a larger light approx. 40 - 50 meters to my right. There a a considerable amount of light pollution around Joshua Tree. This creates aa background ambient light so the park does not seem "pitch black", and actually helps to light the foreground somewhat. This ambient light is a very "flat" light however, and does not create a very pleasing look. The added lights create shadows and create some depth to the photo. Thanks for looking. All comments are appreciated. Hope you enjoy!
Sunset Arch Panorama, Escalante by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of Sunset Arch in the Escalante National Monument, Utah. This was taken in a workshop with Royce Bair (his workshops and ebook are highly recommended). This is a combination of 12 vertical images, taken with a Canon 6D Camera, and a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 20 sec., and ISO 8000. The arch is about a 20-30 minute hike from the parking lot, and is less visited than many of the well known arches in Utah. It's petty much in the middle of nowhere, off the beaten path. Our group settled in for the night and we were blessed with great weather. Escalante is one of the least light polluted areas I have seen in the USA. This makes for excellent detail in the sky. The faint light pollution on the horizon is from Paige, Arizona or Lake Powell, many miles distant. Doesn't the Arch look like a sleeping dragon? Thanks for looking. Hope you enjoy!
Trona Pinnacles by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of the Trona Pinnacles in California, USA, another small step in my efforts to photograph landscapes at night (this time a larger area). For orientation the parking lot is on the left and the dirt road in the foreground goes around the right side of the formation and carries you deeper into the park. There is "static" light painting. There is a light far to the right, and several small lights among the pinnacles. There was a lot of light pollution aiding in the lighting. The bright area along the horizon to the left is Ridgecrest, Ca., and I believe the light pollution on the bottom right is Barstow, Ca. The image wraps around more than 180 degrees, approx. 210 degrees. There is some airglow near the horizon creating the greenish effect in the sky. Many night photographers remove or diminish the light pollution and airglow to make the scene look more natural or to make the sky look more like people expect it to look. I have decided to go along with what the camera detects rather than what you expect to see. As a result this produces a somewhat surreal effect, which to me has a more exotic feel. This is a series of 15 vertical images combined in Lightroom (the new version has a panorama merge function). The images were taken with a Canon 1D X camera and Nikon 14-24 mm lens at f 2.8, 14 mm, 30 sec exposures, and ISO 6400. Hope you enjoy! Thanks in advance for taking the time to look and comment.
The Milky Way over the Coral Sea by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This image was taken along the NE coast of Australia, between Cairs and Port Douglas, along the area known as the Coral Sea. This is the area of the Great Barrier Reef. We had planned a vacation with some friends, and the conditions did not to look favorable for any night photography, so I almost did not take my tripod. I happened to notice that this area was remarkably dark on the Dark Sky Finder App, and there would be a few hours of darkness after Moonset in the early a.m. on 2 nights we were there, so I took the tripod along and I was glad I did. After the moon set the Milky Way and stars were as beautiful as I had ever seen them, with the structure of the Milky Way and gas clouds clearly visible to the naked eye. It was a great experience to be there just to see the sky. The light pollution in the distance is a resort and the town of Cairns. This is a panorama of approximately 210 degrees. This is a combination of 15 vertical images, taken with a Canon 6D camera, and a Canon 16-35 mm lens, at f 2.8, 16 mm, 20 sec exposures, and ISO 12,800. Combining images in a panorama remarkably decreases noise. The Milky Way arches high overhead in the Southern Hemisphere, so you need a lot of vertical coverage to include it all, especially later in the night. The moon had just set so the was a little ambient light still remaining when I took this series. Hope you enjoy!
Landscape Arch on Flickr.
Landscape Arch Panorama in Arches National Park, Utah, USA. I have posted a similar panorama previously from the same spot that I was not satisfied with. I decided to give it another try. Hope Thanks for your patience if you have seen this before. This is a series of 9 vertical images combined in photoshop, taken with a Bower 24 mm f 1.4 lens, at f 2.0, 20 sec exposures, and ISO 6400. This arch is really large (290 feet, 88 meters wide) and a real challenge to light uniformly. There were lots of messed up shots on this one, and I never quite got the right side fully lit, but at least you can see the whole arch! Hope you enjoy!
Fairyland Canyon on Flickr.
Fairyland Canyon in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. Lighting set up by Royce Bair in one of his workshops.
Goblin Valley at Night on Flickr.
Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, at Night with the Milky Way above. Walking through Goblin Valley at night is like walking through an alien land, erie and otherworldly. It's definately worth a visit! Canon 6D camera, Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, f 2.8, 30 sec exposure, ISO 6400. Hope you enjoy! The rock formations have been likened to Goblins. If you let your imagination run wild, you can imagine that the rising sun turned the Goblins into stone in some ancient time, and the passing eons have eroded them into these shapes. The place certainly has a lot of atmosphere especially at night
Ancient Bristlecone Pines on Flickr.
Ancient Bristlecone Pines in Bryce Canyon National Park, with the Milky Way above.