'Starry Night Quotes' 2018 Wall Calendar

Starry Night Quotes - 2018 Wall Calendar • 13-month • Jan 2018-Jan 2019 • click to enlarge

TWO CALENDAR OPTIONS:

1. FREE Download - You can download a mini PDF version of this calendar to view on your hand-held device or to print out from you own inkjet or laser printer (15 - 8.5" x 11" sheets). I can also email this PDF directly to you, if you want to sign up for my NightScaper newsletter:

Get my FREE 2018 calendar

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2. Order a Pre-printed calendar from my Etsy website for $24.99 - This spiral-bound, 28-page wall calendar looks similar to the above photo and is printed on beautiful glossy coated card stock. Folded, it is 11" x 8.5". Hanging on your wall it is 11" x 17". Because it is a 13-month calendar (January 2018 thru January 2019), you can order through January 2018 and still have a full calendar year!

$5.00 of your purchase is will be donated to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) to help preserve our dark sky areas. (Your name and address will not be shared with IDA, unless you so designate.)

Inspiring quotes. Each month of my calendar includes quotes from great thinkers in our world's history that inspire us as we contemplate our relationship with the universe above us.

The above quote is from the rarely sung fourth verse of "Home on the Range" (click to enlarge).

Finding Darkness in rural America. The "Starry Night Quotes" calendar is part of my Finding Darkness project —a quest I am on to help find and protect our dark skies. These are places where we can still clearly see the night stars. My goal is not to be an alarmist about light pollution, but to promote the use and benefits of dark sky areas as sanctuaries for creativity and solace —areas where we can remove the noise from our busy lives, to think, dream and be inspired.

A Santa Fe astronomer has said, "...as light pollution spreads, we are slowly losing one of the oldest and most universal links to all of human history." As late as 1889, Van Gogh was able to experience and paint his famous “Starry Night”. If he were alive today, there would be nothing in the night skies over Saint Rémy, France to inspire him, as the Milky Way can no longer be seen from there.

Can you really see the Milky Way at night with your naked eyes? I'm often asked this question by people who have never seen the Milky Way —and over 80% of people in the United States have not had this amazing experience because of increasing light pollution. Here's an article wrote on the naked eye experience vs. what the camera sees under a Bortle class 1 to 3 sky.

Light pollution affects how we see the starry night sky. Persons in a bright suburban area or a city like Salt Lake City (Bortle sky class 7-9) can only see a few of the brightest stars. Those who are far the from city lights can often see the Milky Way and millions of stars (click to enlarge).

Our ability to see stars in the night sky lessens as light pollution increases. Feel free to download and share this image on social media (click to enlarge).

Press Release: Please feel free to share my Finding Darkness press release with your local media.

Popular Links: How to Shoot the Milky Way • Post Processing NightScapes • Workshops and PhotoWalks • Tutorials and Tips • Overcoming Lens Coma • Video Hangout with my Friends

NightScape Photo Walks

Milky Way rising over Silver Lake near Brighton, Utah ~ © Royce Bair (click to enlarge).
Reddish glow on the left is light pollution from Park City, and on the right is from Heber City.

NightScape Photo Walks: I've been doing free, local astro-landscape photo walks near the Salt Lake City, Utah metro area for the past few years, like the above location, which is only 11 miles (18 km) from the edge of the city, and this recent photowalk in Utah's west desert. We've had as many as 100 people participate in these free events, and the response has been incredibly positive and rewarding. Our next NightScapeWalk is March 11-12 near Wendover, Nevada.

This Dark Sky Finder map shows that Brighton, UT (the middle purple marker) is only 15 miles from the
inner city lights of Salt Lake City, UT. Brighton and nearby Silver Lake are still in a fairly light polluted
Bortle Scale Class 6 (orange color). However, the rising Milky Way in the eastern sky (to the right)
lies across darker regions (yellow, green, blue and gray with Bortle Scale Classes 5 through 2).

Acceptable Astro-Landscapes in a light-polluted environment: Even though the site is affected by light pollution from the nearby city, and is in a Bortle Scale Class 6, acceptable images of the Milky Way sky were still obtainable because the camera was pointed away from the largest source of light pollution and towards a region having darker skies (Bortle Scale Class 5 through 2).

NightScape Photo Walks near your city. I'm looking to do free photo walks in other areas around the world. Like our Salt Lake City event, the location needs to be conveniently close to a major city, yet far enough away to provide reasonably good photography of the starry night sky. You can check to see if your favorite area meets this criteria by referring to this Dark Sky Finder map of the United States. Your location should have a Bortle Scale Class 5 (yellow) or lower. Use this Dark Site Finder map for all other locations in the world.

An invitation: I invite photographers everywhere to suggest future photo walk venues by tagging your favorite astro-landscapes with the hashtag: #NightScapeWalk (capitalization is not required) — on Instagram, Facebook or Google+. Please include the location of your NightScape and any other interesting background information in your photo description. To qualify, locations should be within 50 miles (80 km) or 90 minutes drive time (which ever is less) from a major city or metropolitan area (over 100,000 population). You can also suggest a location on my NightScape Meetup page.

Showcasing your images: From time-to-time, I will feature some of the best images on my @RoyceBairPhoto Instagram account, complete with credits and links to the photographer. The featured images will also appear on my Facebook fan page. These suggested locations may also become venues for future NightScape Photo Walks that I will organize and provide free to the public.

Paid Workshops: I also do paid group workshops. Past and future workshops are listed on my NightScape Meetup site. Private workshops of 1-4 people are also available.