Old Navajo Hogan By Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Inside Of An Old Navajo Hogan

The Ears of the Bear by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook This is Bears Ears National Monument, and these are the unusually symmetric and matching Bears Ears Buttes, the Buttes for which the new National Monument was named. I suspect most people are now aware that President Trump has made it one of his missions to eliminate or reduce some of the National Monuments, this being one. Sigh... This is located in southern Utah, and this part of the monument lies very near Natural Bridges National Monument, which is better known. The are around Bears Ears is mostly high desert on the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is huge, occupying large portions of 4 states around the 4 corners region. It averages about 5,000 - 6,000 feet elevation, and there are numerous canyons cut into the plateau, including the Grand Canyon. This portion of Bears Ears is different though. You drive up through the pass between the 2 Buttes which is about 8,000 - 9,000 feet. Once you get over the pass you emerge into lush alpine meadows and a forested landscape that seems completely different from the surrounding area. There are shallow ponds which you do not see elsewhere. I was on a mission to get a panorama of the two Bears Ears Buttes with the Milky Way between them. This proved somewhat difficult because there were so many trees. Anyway, I spend a day driving down barely identifiable tracks through a beautiful wooded landscape until I found this spot. I returned the next new moon to capture this panorama. At this time of the photo I thought it was a bust, but it came out OK after all. I would have liked to move a few feet to the left for perfect symmetry, but there was deep ravine present. As an aside, the days of scouting and looking for places like this are some of my most pleasant days ever. For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. It's a pleasure to post here. Cheers, Wayne

Morning Twilight at the Trona Pinnacles by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This one is a bit different. I overstayed my welcome, trying to get as many photos around the Pinnacles as possible before the sun rose, but despite my best efforts, the sun rose anyway. I was still shooting when the morning twilight started. As I took this photo the sun's glow was starting to be seen on the horizon, and with light pollution created a yellow glow. There were clouds near the horizon which were illuminated also. The sky was becoming noticeably lighter, but you could still see the Milky Way surprisingly well. There are 2 static lights helping to light the spires, one downhill to my right, and one downhill from my feet. There is also a fair amount of ambient light present from the twilight hour. It was a kind of "golden hour" before sunrise. Canon 1Dx Camera, Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 20 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec, and ISO 6400. Hope you enjoy!

The Aged and the Ageless by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook This is a Bristlecone Pine encompassed by the Milky Way. One is the oldest individual species on earth, and the stars are the oldest thing we can see. For perspective, a human generation is estimated to be the average time between the birth of a mother and the average birth of her children, approximately 25 years. Bristlecone Pines are the longest living single multicellular species on earth, living up to and beyond 5,000 years. That is basically the length of recorded human history, 200 generations. The Milky Way above is estimated to be 13.21 billion years old, and the universe 13.77 billion years old, so the life of the Bristlecone Pines are but a blink of the eye. Since the light from the stars and galaxies can take millions or billions off years to reach us, when we look at the night sky we are looking back towards the beginning of time. Thanks for all the kind comments! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family for all the support and encouragement! Cheers, Wayne

Utah’s Canyon Country by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook The Colorado River passes through the canyons of Utah. This is a breathtaking vista and one of my favorite spots to visit in central Utah. This is a panorama of multiple vertical images with the long exposure foreground images and separate images for the sky (from the same location consecutively), blended in PS. FG: 35 mm, 240 sec, f/1.8, ISO 2000. Sky: 24 mm, 15 sec, f/2.8, ISO 8000.

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

Ancient Bristlecone Pines on Flickr.

Ancient Bristlecone Pines in Bryce Canyon National Park, with the Milky Way above.

It's a Long Way From Here To There by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Bryce Canyon National Park. Canon 6D Camera, 16-35 mm lens, f 2.8, 20 mm, ISO 6400. Single Exposure. 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

Mono Lake by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Blend Sky: 16 images, 20 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400, 14 mm Foreground: 5 minutes, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 14 mm Mono Lake, California. These are tufas arising out of Mono Lake. They are formed from mineral deposits from springs beneath the lake bed over centuries and are exposed when the water level falls. The water level varies greatly. The paths I recorded 2 years ago during the drought are mostly underwater now. The largest concentration of tufas is along the south shore. When including the Milky Way you are usually facing south, so this makes it more difficult to photograph the tufas, lake, and MW at the same time. There are a few small “peninsulas” that stick out into the lake making it possible (but tricky) to shoot across the water facing S and include both tufas and the MW. There is a stack for the sky and a long exposure for the foreground (5minutes), blended in PS. Cheers, Wayne Pinkston

Small Canyon in Nevada by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Small Canyon in Nevada. 7 images stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker. 12 mm fisheye lens, f 2.8, ISO 8000, 25 sec. Why 7 images? Who knows, probably lost count, lol. Love that “red” Navajo Sandstone! Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!

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