Partition Arch By Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: The Milky Way Shining Partition Arch In Arches National

The Alien Throne with Comet 252P/Linear by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: No Aliens, just the Alien Throne. The unique Hoodoo is in the New Mexico Badlands, north of Chaco Canyon. I have been fascinated by the appearance since I first saw it's photo, and finally got to photograph it at night. The atmosphere is surreal. I love the melted wax appearance of the rocks in the region. 14-24 mm lens at 24 mm, 20 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400. The small blue-green fuzzy object just above the right side of the large hoodoo is the comet 252P/LINEAR. 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

Whispers of the Past by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook An old house in New Mexico. Lighting with Low Level Lighting with a Gaol Zero Micro Lantern. There are 2 exposures for focus stacking, one for the foreground and one for the sky, both at 14 mm. Sky shot at 15 sec., f 4.5, 15 sec., and ISO 10,000, foreground shot at 25 sec., f 4.5, and ISO 10,000. I shot the foreground at f 4.5 to get more depth of field and forgot to change it for the sky. Oops... Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!

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

Cedar Breaks Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook This is a panorama made of 2 sets of 13 vertical images from the Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah. This is less well known as compared to the "Big 5" National Parks in Utah, but is a remarkably beautiful place. It resembles a huge eroded bowl or huge geode cracked open exposing innumerable red to orange hoodoos. Breathtaking! It is very close to Cedar City and Zion National Park. This is a blend of 2 panoramas, taken back to back and with the tripod unchanged in position. The sky images were taken at 18 mm, 20 sec., f 2.8 and ISO 12,800. The foreground was taken at 18 mm, ISO 3200, 300 seconds and f 2.8. The images were blended in photoshop. For anyone counting, lol, the foreground images took a little over an hour at 5 minutes apiece. Sitting around and quietly staring at the sky for an hour can be very pleasant. :-) For more images like this please take a look at my website here . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. Cheers, Wayne

Questions and Answers

The very basics of getting started in nightscapes

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!

Q: What do I need to do to get a night sky photo with my Canon 20D?

A: Here's a start to night sky photos with your 20D.

1)  Put the ISO on "H" which is 3200. The image will have noise but you need the high ISO.. That is the highest ISO for your camera.

2)  Use the fastest wide angle lens you have. F2.8 is good but if the fastest wide angle lens you have is f3.5 or f4.0 then use that. Open the aperture as wide as you can. You want a lens that is 24 mm or wider optimally. A 20 mm lens or wider is even better.

3)  Put your camera on manual or "M" mode.

4)  Focus on infinity

5)  Use an exposure time of 15-30 sec. 

6)  Use a tripod

7)  Use RAW files, and not jpegs (or save both). RAW files are better for processing later.

8)  Here is a starting guide to processing the images:

lightcrafter.smugmug.com/About-Nightscapes

Scroll down until you see "Workflow" and follow that lead.

Hi Can you just prepare tutorial about how to edit milkyway? Also if possible can you share the camera and EXIF? All your milky way photos are amazing. Thanks in advance.

Hi, and thanks for looking at my page. I have already made a “blog” describing how I process the Milky Way and you can find it on my web site here;

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

Just scroll down until you see “About Processing” and you are there!

Hope this helps,

Wayne

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

Three Sisters, Together for Eternity by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook The Three Sisters, Goblin Valley State Park, Utah. There is lighting with LLL (Low Level Lighting) . This is not light painting but is very dim constant light that is left on and attempts to match starlight in intensity, typically done with light panels on tripods. One advantage is that it creates little or no visible light pollution and does not destroy your night vision. You cannot even see the light until your eyes become dark adapted, and then you can barely see it. Please see: www.lowlevellighting.org Why Care? Arches and Canyonlands Nat’l Parks have recently banned light painting for workshops in 2017 and may ban all night photography in 2018. LLL is less disruptive and invasive. Arches officials are considering the lower impact of @lowlevellighting and need further input. It is up to us to define LLL as a different technique, differing from Flash Photography or Light Painting, so it can be judged on its own merits. For more images like this please take a look at my website here . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. Cheers, Wayne

The Castle Gate by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook The Castle Gate: There is Low Level Lighting (LLL) from 2 sources. There is a small Goal Zero Micro Lantern just behind the tunnel turned down low, and a Ceneroid LED light Panel on a light stand behind me and to the left, also turned down low. The Cineroid has a variable color temperature and is set to about 4000-4200K. The rock here is very red-orange, and if you use a light temperature much lower (warmer) that this then the rock turns very unnaturally red. Stacked image, 19 mm, f/2.8, 15 sec., ISO 10,000.

Hoodoo Hill by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Hoodoo Hill, New Mexico Badlands. Single exposure with Low Level Lighting. Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!