Wise Men Still Seek Him

Light painted Three Sisters Hoodoos with Milky Way, in Goblin Valley ~ © Royce Bair

Three Wise Men (aka The Three Sisters) in Goblin Valley: Before we found out these three hoodoos had been named the Three Sisters, my friend, Steve Bunderson, and I had affectionately called them the "Three Wise Men".

Star of Bethlehem: To celebrate this Christmas day, I decided to add a star from "the east" to this NightScape, and complete a desire I've had to build on my own version of this ancient, but true story. Everything is real in this starry night sky. Even "the" star is real (albeit with a little help from StarSpikes Pro 3 filter for Photoshop), it's just in the wrong place. It's the "Morning Star", Venus; and I have misplaced it in the northeastern night sky over the Andromeda Galaxy to simulate the "star in the east" that appeared over two millennia ago.

Technical Stuff: The 3-Sisters are about 80 feet (24 m.) high, and were light-painted with a hand-held 1-million candle power quartz-halogen spotlight, from a distance of about 250 feet to the left (more info here). This was a single exposure, using a 14mm f/2.8 Rokinon lens on a Canon 5D Mk3 (f/2.8 • 30" • ISO 5000).

Appearance of the Star: Have you ever wondered what caused that "star in the east" to appear at just the right time to lead the wise men to the Christ child? What caused it to be placed in its exact orbit in order for it to shine many light years later at that precise moment in time?

"The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well." (That My Family Should Partake, p. 86, by Neal A. Maxwell.)

Holy Bible: Matthew Chapter 2:  1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,  2. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  9. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  11. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com
Featured Post: Shooting Stars eBook Review — How to Photograph the Stars and the Moon

'Other World' - Blue Hour Hoodoo Light Painting

Mushroom-shape hoodoos in Goblin Valley ~ © Royce Bair (click to enlarge)
Canon 5D Mk3 • 24mm lens @ f/4.5 • 8 sec • ISO 400

Goblin Valley can seem like another world, especially at night. Add light painting and the fun really begins. This is truly a playground for night photographers. My friend, Steve Bunderson, and I spent two days and nights here last week, and had a blast!

"Blue Hour" Photography: Photographing during the "blue hour" can save-the-day when the weather produces lousy conditions for photography. We had hoped to photograph the hoodoos with a starry night sky. However, the whole day had been very cloudy and overcast. By waiting until about 20-30 minutes after sunset, the sky turned a dramatic, deep blue, and produced just a hint of shadow detail on the landscape. During this narrow window of time, Steve and I performed our magic. Steve operated both of our cameras and shouted out feedback, while I handled the light painting.

Light Painting Techniques: The large hoodoo in the foreground is about 20 feet high (over three times the height of a man). The hoodoo in the background is about 40 feet high, and the butte behind it is about 100 feet high. All were lighted using two hand-held quartz-halogen spotlights, from a distance of about 150 feet to the right of the cameras. The hoodoo in the foreground was lighted with a spotlight set at one-half power, and the background hoodoo was lighted with a second spotlight set at full power —one light in each hand (it's important to keep your hands moving during the camera exposure). Both lights are the Black & Decker Lithium Ion Halogen Rechargeable Spotlights. The glow on the front hoodoo, coming up underneath the "mushroom" is from a third spotlight, which is lying on the ground, behind the hoodoo.

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com
Featured Post: Shooting Stars eBook Review — How to Photograph the Stars and the Moon