Increasing Star Glow

Stars over "The Fortress" - Bryce Canyon NP ~ © Royce Bair (click to enlarge images)

Stars over "The Fortress" - Bryce Canyon NP - with a Tiffen Double Fog 3 filter
The three brightest stars and planet appearing here are (L-R): Arcturus, Mars and Spica.
Canon 5D Mk3 • Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 • f/2.0 • 13 sec • ISO 3200 ~ © Royce Bair

Same as above, but with light painting add to enhance recognition. Note: although this was done
in a single exposure, the slight blurring and loss of contrast to The Fortress (from the fog filter),
persuaded me to use a second exposure of The Fortress, without the fog filter, and combine
it with the sky (see text below) ~ © Royce Bair

There are three ways to increase star glow in your NightScape photos: 1. Atmospheric conditions, such as thin cloud cover will give this effect, but this is unpredictable and impossible to control. 2. Post processing with software, i.e. StarSpikes Pro 3 plug-in filter for Photoshop. Their Soft Flare Intensity control sets the soft glow intensity around each star that you select. This process is somewhat laborious and can be a little unnatural, depending on your skill level. 3. Filtering over the lens when you shoot. The Tiffen Double Fog 3 filter gives the most natural glow of any filter I've ever used. The filter causes only the brightest stars to flare and glow, and has little effect on the dimmer stars. (It actually has a somewhat reverse effect on the dimmer stars, causing them to diminish slightly —which is exactly what thin cloud cover will do in real life.)

The are two disadvantages I find with the Tiffen Double Fog 3 filter: 1. Some ultra-wide angle lenses, Rokinon 14mm and the Nikkor 14-24mm do not accept filters; and 2. there is a slight loss in sharpness when using the filter. This loss of sharpness is most noticeable in foreground objects. In the top two photos there is a line of snow cover on the formation. This snow line has lost some definition and contrast in the image using the filter. In the two cropped enlargements below, you can see some edge blurring in the filtered image. In an image that I took that had light painting of the formation, this blurring and loss of contrast was more pronounced. This problem is eliminated by taking two shots (with and without filtration), and combining the filtered sky with the unfiltered landscape in post, albeit with some extra work.

Cropped and enlarged view of fog filtered image ~ © Royce Bair

Cropped and enlarged view of non-filtered image ~ © Royce Bair

 

Double Arch and Milky Way by Mike Darter

Double Arch, Arches National Park ~ © J. Mike Darter (click to enlarge)
Canon 5D Mark III • Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8 • 30 sec • 6400 ISO
(Light painting by Royce Bair)

This is one of the most unique perspectives and compositions of Double Arch I've seen in some time. What also makes this image so special to me is the persistence that Mike Darter and the other workshop members had to make this happen.

Much of our September 9-12 Arches Workshop was plagued with rain and overcast clouds, yet we continued shooting and light painting into this night and the early morning hours. We finally had this 10-minute partial parting of the clouds at about 1:00 AM on Wednesday morning. The clouds again cooperated later that evening for our Delicate Arch shoot.

Mike with his oldest daughter

J. Mike Darter worked in law enforcement from 1991 to 2002 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Dallas, Texas.  He is a co-founder and currently CEO of CCW Safe, LLC based out of Oklahoma City.  Mike has been involved in art since a young age, showing watercolor and mixed media from the age 13.  He was accepted to Pratt Institute of Art in Brooklyn, NY in 1987, but chose instead to attend the University of Oklahoma to study Criminal Justice.  He continued painting through college, and well into his law enforcement career, but became interested in photography around 2000.  He attends wildlife and nature photography workshops whenever he can, and is currently showing at a Cherokee Art Gallery in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and will be showing at a private show in downtown Oklahoma City in December.  Mike would like to get some images licensed with some of the nature media outlets, but more importantly, introduce his daughters to photography and be able to spend some quality time on the side of a mountain with them in the future watching a sunrise. The above photo is one of Mike's favorites.  It is of his oldest daughter photographing the sunrise, at Myrtle Beach, this summer.


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

Milky Way Sentinel at Bryce Canyon by Steven Waterman

A "behind the scenes" view of The Sentinel ~ © Steven T. Waterman (click to enlarge)

Thor's Hammer
(click to enlarge)

Two weeks ago, I was at Bryce Canyon conducting a workshop on starry night landscape photography. It was about 11:15 PM. I had just light painted Thor's Hammer, and Steven Waterman, one of the participants, took this photo (on the right) with the tail end, or northern view of the Milky Way behind it.

I'll let Steve tell you what happened next: "Having been taught the photographer's 'rule' to look for an image behind you, I followed the Milky Way to see the sky behind me and shot the next image [above] of The Sentinel with the Milky Way three minutes later."

It's fun to work with such talented people! My workshop attendees often teach me as much as I teach them. Each one has a unique vision that is so eye-opening.

Steve Waterman shares photography for fun and relaxation with his wife, Denise.  To support the photography hobby, he practices law, doing commercial litigation and reorganization with an international law firm.

Yan Larsen - Alone Under the Stars

"Night-Night" - McWay Fall at Big Sur, CA ~ © Yan Larsen (click to enlarge)
Nikon D800E • Nikon 14-24mm Len • Sky exposure @ 3:30 AM:
F/2.8, 30", ISO 3200 • Foreground @ 4:30 AM: F/2.8, 180", ISO 200

When Yan Larsen was a child, she was amazed by the stars and the endless sky.  She wished she could share this with others. The latest DSLR cameras, techniques, and software has made this sharing possible. Yan started to seriously try night photography only recently, after she saw some of her friends’ night shots of the Milky Way.

"I never tire of night photography, especially the Milky Way," says Yan.  "Photographing the night sky makes me feel like a wizard. The universe is so huge, beautiful and mysterious. I am amazed by the details that modern camera can do, that I cannot see it with naked eyes. Being alone under the stars, my mind often flows into the spaces."

Yan's first Milky Way attempt, with
only a little foreground planning.

Challenges: One of her biggest challenges is finding a location with an attractive foreground, clear atmosphere, and little light pollution. "When shooting night photography, it is very easy to shoot just stars with only a black foreground, and lose sight of what could be a better image," says Yan.

Another challenge she often faces is fear.  As a female landscape photography lover, she spends a lot of time alone, hiking, admiring, and being mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape. "I try to conquer this fear by taking these words with me into the darkness: 'One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.' "

The trade-off between noise and star movement. To shoot the Milky Way or stars without star trails, shutter speeds should be between 15 seconds and 30 seconds. To obtain these shorter exposures requires higher ISO's (more noise) or a fast lens (f/2.8 or faster), and sometimes both.

Milky Way over Convict Lake  ~ © Yan Larsen (click to enlarge)

Sea stack illuminated by a bonfire ~ © Yan Larsen (click to enlarge)
"I hope this is worth the $200 in parking tickets I paid." ;-)

Equipment, Tools, and Software:

• "My Nikkor 14-24mm F/2.8 has excellent optical performance, even at f2.8, making it unsurpassed as a lens for low light and night photography."
• Yan has three tripods: the Gitzo GT2541, the Feisol CT3341 and the Benro. "For night photography, a sturdy tripod is a must, and the Gitzo is my choice."
• A remote release is required for long exposure.  "I use the Nikon MC30, which is very easy to use. I bought several cheaper remote trigger releases, but my experience with them was awful. This model doesn't have a timer, so I my iPhone."
• Flashlight. "I sometimes want to light paint a dark foreground. Different colored lights can also add some fun effects."
• Photoshop is Yan's post processing tool to reduce the noise created by long exposures and high ISO's.

Bonsai Rock, Lake Tahoe ~ © Yan Larsen (click to enlarge)

Yan Larsen is a software engineer, working in beautiful Northern California. Although the outdoors and landscape photography have been a passion, she didn't by buy her first tripod in April 2010. "Being close to the nature allows me to think deeply about life, beauty, and true happiness," says Yan. More of Yan's photography can be found at her Flickr page.

Arches National Park by Rodney Lange

Double Arch ~ © Rodney Lange (click on image for a larger view)

Our Photo of the Week (POTW): Most photographers choose to crop in tight on Double Arch, in Arches National Park. Rodney's starry night scene is unique in that he has chosen to include so much of the sandstone formation that surrounds both sides of this compound arch, and the foreground leading up to it. The main subject is also dead center. Normally, this could make for a boring scene, but Rodney has overcome this by creating a diagonal line between the night sky and the landscape, as well as adding interesting texture and balance (the silhouetted Juniper tree, opposite the night sky constellations) to his composition.

Equipment, Specs, and Technique: Rodney used a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and the Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II lens @ f/3.2 • 25 seconds • ISO 2500. Lighting painting was from the left, using the Dual Xenon Spotlight by Brinkmann. Although it has two beams, he usually uses just one, because it is often too bright. In this shot, Rodney had a friend at the camera to open the shutter and yell back to him the result of each shot from the LCD monitor. Rodney says he got lucky with smooth, even results, and no hot spots; although, "You would probably think we're a couple of clowns if you saw us shooting," he adds!

You can see more of Rodney Lange's photography on his Flickr photostream, his Flickr Night Shots, and his most popular via Flickriver.

Grand Canyon Night Photography - Part One

River runners around campfire with moonglow & stars behind granite cliff in the Grand Canyon ~ © Royce Bair

I just recently returned from a 7-day assignment to photograph a Western River Expeditions trip down the Grand Canyon. Unlike John Wesley Powell's expeditions in 1869 and 1872, my mode of transportation into and out of the canyon (the plane ride and the helicopter air lift) was much easier.

My 127 lbs. in four cases

Hillers with 1,000 lbs.

1872 vs. 2013: This photo of John K. Hillers shows some of the photographic equipment necessary to record an expedition, such as Powell's Grand Canyon surveys in the 1870's. Those were the days before it was possible to make photographic enlargements from negatives. A large photograph could only be produced by a large camera. Additionally, the wet-plate process of taking and developing photographs was unwieldy—requiring Hillers to bring some 1,000 pounds of equipment on his trips.

Unlike Powell's photographer, John K. Hillers, I carried only 127 pounds (located in the three Pelican cases and one large dry bag there on the tarmac). Like the other 17 guests that went on this trip, I also carried about 25 pounds of personal gear. Still, my 152 pounds amounts to about six times more weight I had to lug around than the average guest—all of which had to be loaded and unloaded from the boat each day. Even so, Western River Expeditions makes the process so much easier than Powell and Hillers had it. It was more like a 7-day picnic that included a great boat ride!

KEY GEAR used on this expedition:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark III (A great full-frame camera. It is excellent for low-light, high ISO stills & videos. I use an older, Mark II as a 2nd body, which acts as my time lapse camera when I'm shooting stills and video at the same time.)
• EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom Lens (great all-around lens with constant f/2.8 aperture).
• Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 (ultra wide lens with coma correction for my signature NightScape photography—I shoot this lens wide open).
• Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 (This is a super fast, wide-angle lens with coma correction for starry night landscape photography. I shoot this lens wide open, which allows me to lower my ISO from a normal of ISO 6400 for Milky Way shots, down to ISO 1600!)
• Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 3-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod (I use 2 of these light-weight tripods because I often have two cameras going at the same time—one for regular night photography and the other for time lapse. One tripod has just a ball head on it, and the other has a geared head for fine adjustments and doing panoramas.)
• Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head (see above for details).
• Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head (used on 2nd tripod—see above).
• Joby Gorillapod Focus/Ballhead X Bundle (This is a pro version that is capable of serious use in low positions and in all kinds of hard-to-get positions. It can be a real life saver, and it supports as much weight as my big Manfrotto tripods and heads.)
• GoPro Hero3 Black Edition (a great sports camera with waterproof housing -- very sharp 12MP stills and HD 1080p video @ 30 fps or 60 fps, or HD 720p @ 120 fps for great slow motion).
• Steadicam Smoothee Kit for GroPro Hero (enables smooth, handheld video with the GoPro and your iPhone 4, just like the Hollywood big boys).
• Vagabond Portable Power station (I used this 120VAC portable power source, with 2 extra lithium batteries to recharge all my camera batteries, including my iPhone).
• Pelican 1510 Carry On Case (I used 3 of these rugged, waterproof, and sand-proof cases. I think the 1510 has the best capacity for the money, and a single unit qualifies as the maximum size airline carry on, even with the wheels and handle. The 4th case I use on this trip was not a case, but a "dry bag" that stored my tripods.)

Last rays of sunlight on the canyon walls at one of my favorite beaches ~ © Royce Bair

This crescent-moon shaped sandy beach was my favorite campsite on our Western River Expeditions trip down the Grand Canyon. The rich orange and red granite cliffs along this portion of the Grand Canyon are amazing, and much different than the typical sandstone layers (sedimentary) that are higher on the canyon walls. Because of these harder igneous and metamorphic layers, the canyon walls are much steeper and sandy beaches like this one are much harder to find—making this site even more special.

The campfire scene (at the top) was photographed using a Canon 5D Mark III with 14mm Rokinon lens @ f/2.8, 8 seconds, with an ISO of 3200. The quarter moon was just about to rise above the granite cliff.

Please come back every few days and see how I photographed the Milky Way and other starry night skies in this amazing canyon. (BTW, I found out today that Western still has some openings in their July and August trip schedules!)


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A Laser Strike at the Galactic Center

A laser from the VLT site in Chile used to observe our Galaxy's center ~ © Yuri Beletsky

Why are these people shooting a powerful laser into the center of our Galaxy? Fortunately, this is not meant to be the first step in a Galactic war. Rather, astronomers at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) site in Chile are trying to measure the distortions of Earth's ever changing atmosphere. Constant imaging of high-altitude atoms excited by the laser -- which appear like an artificial star -- allow astronomers to instantly measure atmospheric blurring. This information is fed back to a VLT telescope mirror which is then slightly deformed to minimize this blurring. In this case, a VLT was observing our Galaxy's center, and so Earth's atmospheric blurring in that direction was needed. As for inter-galaxy warfare, when viewed from our Galaxy's center, no casualties are expected. In fact, the light from this powerful laser would combine with light from our Sun to together appear only as bright as a faint and distant star. (Click above image to see larger and on black.)

Our Photo of the Week (POTW) was taken by Yuri Beletsky, using a Canon 5D Mark II camera and a Canon 15mm/2.8 fisheye lens. The image is actually a panorama consisting of two stitched images. Exposure time for each panel was 30 seconds. The raw images were stitched using PtGui software, and further color processing was done in Photoshop CS5.

Yuri's biggest challenge was finding the proper shooting angle. "I've taken many images of the working laser guide star facility before, and this time I wanted something different. That night I was walking around the dome trying to find the right spot. At some point I approached the dome close enough that the laser beam, pointing directly in the direction of the Galactic center, was spanning far behind and over my head. The view angle was incredible and I realized that even a one shot with fisheye lens wouldn't be enough to cover it."

Because of the two-shot panoramic view, it looks like the laser strikes the Galactic center which appears to be at zenith. In reality, the Galactic center was setting over the ocean just behind the back of the photographer. One can also see another dome "hanging" in the upper left corner of the image.

A Lesson Learned: This image turned out to be unique in many aspects. Although Yuri had taken many images of the same laser at night, countless times before, this time the composition turned out to be very special. The lesson he learned is that one should never stop exploring new fresh ideas, even in the places which have become so familiar. The image has since been published in many magazines, books, posters, used by companies. The photo has also been an Astronomy Picture of the Day (NASA APOD), and it was selected as Picture of the Year (2010) by Wikimedia Commons.

Yuri Beletsky

Born in Belarus, Yuri now lives in Chile where he works as an astronomer at Las Campanas observatory of Carnegie Institution of Washington. Yuri has been an enthusiastic amateur stargazer since childhood. During his spare time at the observatory, Yuri likes take wide-field panoramic images of the Milky Way and other natural phenomena. Short snapshots deliver fascinating views of the surrounding landscape at dusk or dawn, while longer exposures produce breathtaking pictures of the starry sky. Images obtained by Yuri have been featured on popular websites, and in press releases, books and magazines. He continually shares his passions for astronomy and astrophotography with people around the world. You can see more of Yuri Beletsky's photography at his 500px website.

Best Air in the World: The dark skies above the Atacama Desert provide a unique opportunity to reveal the majesty of our cosmos. Las Campanas, which hosts two 6.5-m Magellan telescopes, is one of four large observatories located in Chile's Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth. The conditions are excellent for astronomy because of the exceptional quality of the atmosphere. Not only are there more than 300 clear nights per year here, but due to very low turbulence of the air, they can obtain very sharp images, which is impossible to get in other places. That is why Chile is often called as "astronomical paradise" or "astronomical capital" of the world.

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Hangout with Starry Night Landscape Photographers

A Google+ Hangout w/8 "Starry Night Landscape Photographers" (click to see YouTube video)

Last night I hosted and moderated a Google+ video "Hangout" with seven other starry night landscape photographers. There was some great information shared during this hour-long broadcast, which was recorded and saved on YouTube. We discussed and reviewed 21 of our night photos. And because video quality can sometimes be lacking, you can also follow along with higher resolution views at this website.

Our eight "star" panelist were Ben Canales, Brad Goldpaint, David Kingham, Greg Gibbs, Jack Fusco, Mike Berenson, Mitchell Prout, and myself, Royce Bair.

Learning curve: There are some production errors in my first attempt at hosting this many people—such as not moving the "camera" screen to the person who is talking (I eventually get better, so bear with me).  In future broadcasts, I may bring in a full time producer, so I can concentrate on hosting my guests.

Behind the scenes: After we ended the broadcast, we all stayed online for another hour, talking, sharing stories, information, and experiences (too bad this wasn't recorded, as these off-the-record chats were the best part of the evening).

In future hangouts: I plan to do some one-on-one interviews and bring in more public discussion and interaction. Your suggestions would help me plan these future events.

Links mentioned in the broadcast. Here are some of the items mentioned in last night's hangout:

International Dark Sky Association
RegiStar by Auriga Imaging (Mike uses for stacking sky exposures)
Rigel Systems Starlite 2-RED LED Flashlight (preserving your night vision)
...Starlite Mini 2-RED LED Flashlight
Brinkmann MaxFire Marine Dual Xenon Spotlight (used by David and Mike)

Night photography forums and tutorials:
...via Mike Berenson
...via David Kingham
...via this blog (there are dozens of tutorials and how-to articles here)

Night photography workshops:
...by David Kingham
...by Mike Berenson
...by Brad Goldpaint
...by Royce Bair

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