Star Trails over Lake Ballard
Star Trails over Lake Ballard - Click to Zoom
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About: This star trail image was taken at Lake Ballard, Western Australia over the warm Xmas holidays. This lake is known for its many iconic metal statues that stand upon the lake, crafted by artist Antony Gormley. I had travelled to Kalgoorlie (my home town) and then took the further 2.5 hour drive to Lake Ballard in hope of doing some nightscape shots. However, upon arrival I discovered to my dismay that I had left my camera tripod back in Kalgoorlie. So...resting my camera on my esky, I decided to do a star trail shot instead - something I rarely do as it occupies a camera for one image for an entire night.
Method: Images that make up this star trail was taken with a Samyang 14mm f/2.8 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS5D mark III DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 60sec each.
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Desert Fire
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About: Getting close to the horizon, the galaxy takes on a reddish tinge (just like the sun at sunsets). In the distance you can just sea the Indian ocean where clouds are forming off the coast (seems to always happen at this time of year). This shot was taken deep in the dunes near Cervantes, Western Australia.
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Method: This image is a mosaic of 12 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Carina Reflections
Carina Reflections - Click to Zoom
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About: In the southern hemisphere we are blessed with one of the most spectacular bright nebulas in the nights sky - the Carina Nebula. On the shores of Lake Dumbleyung, Western Australia, I was fortunate enough to even catch the nebula reflected in the lake water between the shore and a sand bank. On this horizon, fires burn from the many fields surrounding the lake...
Method: This image is a mosaic of 9 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 3 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Forever Searching
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About: Here I am, lost again in some forsaken place...:) Not really. On the shore of Lake Dumbleyung I pause by some dead trees on the shore line to take this dramatic panorama of the milkyway. I find that the 14mm I have is not very sharp (its a budget Samyang ultra wide angle, so I can't expect too much), but it can still do adequately for these sort of sweeping galaxy arch cliche type shots.
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Method: This image is a mosaic of 20 shots taken through my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 5 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Desert of Stars
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About: Near Cervantes, Western Australia, there are sweeping dunes that rise out of the bush - fantastic locations to explore and image. On this night the wind was quite brisk and was picking up alot of sand off the dunes, making this session quite a harsh environment for optical equipment and human alike. Being in this sort of environment before, I made sure that my camera bag always hung off the tripod above the sandy floor to avoid filling up with sand, and I never changed lenses to avoid sand particles getting into the camera sensor area. Jacket zips were done up, and so were all bag zips.
Here, I am about 30 minutes walk into the dunes from my car (a long hike across soft sand with two heavy bags of camera equipment and tripods). The galaxy core is getting low on the horizon, with Antares almost at the horizon and Venus (the really bright star illuminating some low hanging cloud) almost equal in brightness to my flash.
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Method: This image is a mosaic of 20 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Off My Shoulders, Galaxies Ascend
Off My Shoulders, Galaxies Ascend - Click to Zoom
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About: The Green Pools at William's Bay, Denmark, Western Australia is a fantastic and popular beach. Not only is it clean and scenic, but it has lots of rocks just off shore that break up the waves before they reach the beach, making Green Pools nice and calm and easy for young kids to swim. At night, I had the beach all to myself. Walking under the moonlight and stars with only the wind and waves making a sound, wonderful. Here I'm look back off my shoulder to view the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds - galaxies separate to our own and easily visible to the naked eye.
Method: This image is a mosaic of 4 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 1 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details:
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Moonlight over Green Pools
Moonlight over Green Pools - Click to Zoom
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About: The bright moonlight (at 33%) dominates over the Green Pools at William's Bay, Denmark, Western Australia. With a bit of processing I managed to get some of the Milkyway visible, being downed out by the bright moon.
I wanted to light up the wonderful rocks in the water a bit, so waded out there in the cold surf. Alas, I walked into a hole there and got soaked waste down - it was cold, miserable shooting after that.
Method: This image is a mosaic of 20 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 5 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Heaven of Light
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About: Did I actually manage to take a photo of the Milkyway Galaxy in broad daylight? No, in actuality the "sun" is in fact the moon (and only at 33%) - however it is almost bright enough to dominate the night sky, especially under a long exposure.
Here at William's Bay near Denmark, Western Australia, the Milkyway is setting in the west, cradling the moon over Green Pools (the favourite local swimming spot). I was on holiday and had been keeping an eye on this place for a nice nightscape shot, but the weather had been quite bad. Then on the last night it all cleared up - but the moon was high. Well, bugger that - I'll go anyway. On positive thing about the moon - it really lights up the landscape / seascape which would've otherwise been dark shadows if I had gone on a dark night.
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Method: This image is a mosaic of 15 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 5 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Between Fire and Water
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About: The Milkyway galaxy (seemingly large in this shot as I used a 50mm rather than the more popular ultra wide angle lenses) sets over Lake Dumbleyung, Western Australia. On one part of the lake is a rock island which is walking distance to the shoreline. So, why not, I waded out there with my flash and used it to light up the island a bit.
One might ask why the reflections of stars in the water are blurred...well the effect of me walking through the water disturbed the water' surface, causing uneven blurring in the reflections. Worse, as this was a mosaic, the degree of blurring varied between shots - so this image is a bit flawed. The bottom right had to be patched up a bit - apologies to purists.
For those unfamiliar with the galaxy, the core is roughly where the constellation Sagittarius resides. The pink blob in the middle is the Lagoon nebula, and the big reddish "star" next to it is actually the planet Mars. Slightly to the right and down from the Lagoon nebula is the Trifid nebula. And then further to the right are two more dim red blobs, the Omega and Eagle nebula.
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Method: This image is a mosaic of 15 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 5 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Desolation
Desolation - Click to Zoom
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About: Walking on the shore of Lake Dumbleyung, Western Australia, under the dim light of the Milkway, there are many trees long since dead that remain silent on the salty dry bed. On the plus side, they make great features for photographs. This image was taken soon after sunset, so the sky is still orange from the last glow of the sun. To the bottom left there is a pink nebula next to the tree on the left - this is the great Carina Nebula, one of the brightest nebulas in the night sky.
Method: This image is a mosaic of 9 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 3 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
The Dying Light
The Dying Light - Click to Zoom
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About: The Milkyway galaxy sets on the western horizon on this desolate shoreline of Lake Dumbleyung, Western Australia (note that this lake is actually quite picturesque, but this section of it in darkness takes on a different character). The lake features some wonderful barren trees on the shoreline, and some fantastic rocky outcrops (to be featured in a later post), although from my home base from Perth it is quite far out - a three hour drive just to get there. I just missed the galaxy being exactly horizontal, I guess I could've done some photoshopping to fix it, but that would be going against my rules. And did I mention it was cold...about 0.6 degrees C, well that's cold for Australia anyway.
For those unfamiliar with the galaxy, the core is roughly where the constellation Sagittarius resides. The pink blob in the middle is the Lagoon nebula, and the big reddish "star" next to it is actually the planet Mars. Slightly to the right and down from the Lagoon nebula is the Trifid nebula. And then to the right are two more dim red blobs, the Omega and Eagle nebula.
Method: This image is a mosaic of 13 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 5 shots of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Fields of Green and Stars
Fields of Green and Stars - Click to Zoom
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About: Taken near Dumbleyung, Western Australia - this image reveals the spectacular milkyway galaxy shining brightly from the dark skies of this region. Here, I took the opportunity to wade my way through green wheat fields to try and capture the stars over fields of green. I like how the "arcs" (really distortions) of the galactic plain and the edge of the fields are almost mirrored...pure luck rather than any planning on my part.
Method: This is a mosaic of 15 shots taken through my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 5 shots of the foreground with me using a handheld flash to provide some lighting of the fields, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the sky / galaxy. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Under the Magellanic Clouds
Under the Magellanic Clouds - Click to Zoom
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About: From the shores of Lake Dumbleyung, Western Australia - the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds (irregular dwarf galaxies) rise above the waters into the night sky.
Method: A different image from the usual Milkyway panoramas, this image is a mosaic of 4 shots taken through my Canon 50mm f/1.2 prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 1 shot of the foreground with a static mount, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the night sky. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details:
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Against Mars
Against Mars - Click to Zoom
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About: One could read alot into this scene, Mars shining brightly (top left) against the star Antares (meaning "against Ares"), looking down upon the burning fire and smoke-like core of the galaxy as it rises above the desert. Here I stand in the darkness of Nambung National Park, Western Australia amongst the stone monoliths called Pinnacles.
I like this shot better than my previous ones, as shooting from a ridge down to foreground means that the horizon remains relatively dark even with the flash. This makes for a better horizon transition between the sky and the ground, where usually the abnormal brightness of the flash can make the composition look a little "fake" (as the artifical light contrasts too much with the natural ambient light from the sky).
Method: This is a mosaic of 21 shots taken through an 85mm f/1.2 (@f/2.8) prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30sec each. I took 3 shots of the foreground with me using a remote flash to provide some lighting of the pinnacles, and then the rest on a tracking mount for the sky / galaxy. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details:
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So Far From Center
So Far from Center - Click to Zoom
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About: This is the full image of a previous post, showing off more of the expanse of the milky way galaxy. I previously said this was through an 85mm lens, but actually it was with a 50mm (cut'n'paste error).
Over a ridge located near Cervantes, Western Australia, the core of the galaxy rises above the desert. This is one of the few times of year where it is practical to use my 50mm lens to capture in fantastic detail the core of the milkyway whilst still being able to fit in a foreground (i.e. the core must be close to the horizon). One of the tricks is to compose the shot such that the core is a little way above the horizon and the camera view is slightly upwards. This way you aren't shooting through so much atmosphere which tends to wash out the scene a bit.
Method: Taken through an 50mm f/1.2 (@f/2) prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. The foreground with the ridge and thankfully only a silouette of myself, consists of 2 shots at ISO3200 for 30sec each on a stationary mount. The sky consists of 6 shots at the same settings taken immediately afterward on a tracking mount. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
Arch of a Billion Suns
Arch of a Billion Suns - Click to Zoom
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About: Those who are familiar with my work know that I don't usually do wide panoramas of the milkyway, preferring rather a narrow and more intimate field of view. However, in this instance where I couldn't really find a good foreground object to focus on I decided to go for it. This panorama was shot overlooking the silent monoliths of the Nambung National Park, Western Australia. Revealed under only ambient star light, the land is transformed and almost looks otherworldly...but alas the bright yellow glow on the horizon is not the sun but rather a distant town which somewhat spoils the shot. And if you are really bored, see if you can spot my car amongst the desert rocks...?
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Monuments to the Core
Monuments to the Core - Click to Zoom
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About: A few hours before this shot I was at work in an ordinary office in the city (actually Rio Tinto's remote mining operations center). A few hours later I'm here at my favourite nightscape location at the Pinnacles in Nambung national park, Western Australia - beholding the core of the galaxy rising above the desert and monoliths.
This is my favourite time of year, as the milky way's core is close to the horizon and I can use my higher zoom lenses without an impractical number of shots / mosaic (in this case an 85mm prime lens). The higher the zoom, the more "dominating" it makes the galaxy appear in the sky (i.e. bigger).
Still, even when the core is this low on the horizon I needed 15 shots because of the relatively high zoom, 3 x 5. The foreground shots were taken with a static mount, and then I turned on the tracking mount (iOptron) which is definitely required to take the remaining shots of the sky without causing star trails. With a time delay, I ran into the foreground with my flash to try and light up the foreground a little.
Method: Taken through an 85mm f/1.2 (@f/2.8) prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. 15 shots at ISO3200 for 30sec each. Stitching of the shots was done using PTGui Pro, and processed in Adobe Photoshop. Details: | ||||
The Resting Hunters
The Resting Hunters - Click to Zoom
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About: The constellation of Orion sets early in the evening making it possible to catch it and myself in the field of view of my 85mm zoom lens. Whilst trying to compose "nightscape" type shots through such a high power lens takes a bit of planning, I find the extra effort worth it to bring out the wonder of the skies and yet still include part of the landscape.
In this shot the bright pink Orion nebula can be seen clearly in the sky, and to the right you can just see a faint orange smudge of the flame nebula. Nearby is an even fainter cloud of red where the horsehead nebula resides, but it is downed out in the glow of the sky. In the foreground I've found a little ridge at the Pinnacles in Nambung national park, Western Australia to sit down on, taking a rest in between other nightscape shots. Whilst the night gets down to around 15 degrees C, I'm sweating a bit as I've been running around trying to make the most of this session.
Method: This image is a fairly straight forward composition of two shots through an 85mm f/1.2 (@f/2.8) prime lens using a standard Canon EOS6D DSLR. The exposures were at ISO3200 for 30 seconds. One shot was taken of the sky using an iOptron tracking mount to avoid star trailing, then followed immediately by a shot on a stationary mount to capture the foreground clearly. A remote flash was used to light up the foreground. The shots were then composed in photoshop. Details: | ||||
On the Shores of Ancient Earth
On the Shores of Ancient Earth - Click to Zoom
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About: Towards the end of my trip to the Peel region, Western Australia, I revisited the Thrombolites on Lake Clifton located at the north end of Yalgorup National Park. Thrombolites are built by tiny micro-organisms whose ancesters are believed to be one of the earliest known forms of life on Earth. They convert the fresh groundwater which is high in calcium carbonate into these dome like rocks that reside at the lake's edge. There are now few places left that Thrombolites remain.
Last time I photographed here all the Thromobolites were under water, but now at the waning of summer the lake's water is low revealing them all in this eerie alien like landscape of dome rocks and mud. Taken after midnight, this image shows the southern milkyway night sky arcing over the prehistoric scene. At the very top (and suffering a fair bit of lens distortion) is the great Carina nebula looking like a pink flower. Tracing down there are a number of open clusters, like IC26012 "southern Pleiades" and NGC3532. Further down is the southern cross constellation, and then the dark sploge of the Coal Sack nebula. And then a little below are the two bright stars of Alpha and Beta Centaurai. Method: This is a stitch of 15 shots with a Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens (@f/1.8) using an EOS6D. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30 seconds. This makes it a bit tricky for the stitching software, even when I used an iOptron tracking mount to keep the stars in the sky from trailing, as the interface between the sky and ground is usually not handled very well requiring some manual alignment. The final image was so large that couldn't even save it in Photoshop as it breached the 2GB limit. Even on this reduce resolution image you can zoom in heaps to see all the details in the stars and foreground. Details:
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Ascension
Ascension - Click to Zoom
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About: Beside the dry lake Newnham, Western Australia I caught the milkyway rising nearly vertically from the bush-fire ravaged Peel region. With my favourite 50mm lens you can really make the galaxy shine like a heavenly waterfall filled with the sparkling of stars uncountable.
Standing amidst blackened bushes and trees I hoped to get an interesting affect with my flash leaving radial shadows in the foreground darkness. Method: This is a stitch of 13 shots with a Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens (@f/1.8) using an EOS6D. All shots were at ISO3200 for 30 seconds. This makes it a bit tricky for the stitching software, even when I used an iOptron tracking mount to keep the stars in the sky from trailing, as the interface between the sky and ground is usually not handled very well requiring some manual alignment. Still not happy with it, but its not too bad either. Details:
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Pillar of Stars
Pillar of Stars - Click to Zoom
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About: At last, after a long drought I finally got the opportunity to go out and take some nightscapes! In this shot I'm standing on the edge of a dry lake (Lake Newnham) in Western Australia's Peel region. The outer edge of the galaxy stands tall, with the Eta Carina nebula prominent as the pink patch at the very top, the southern cross constellation and dark coal sack nebula close to center.
This site has semi-dark skies, you can see the visible effects of light pollution as the yellow glows on the horizon, although before processing the entire image was washed with yellow glow. Method: This is a mosaic of 9 shots with a 50mm f/1.2 lens on a Canon EOS6d. I took 2 x shots of the foreground with a large amount of overlap, and 7 x shots of the sky (using a tracking mount). All shots were at ISO1600 for 30 seconds. Zoom in, there is a lot of detail. Details:
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Into the Dark Forest of Night
Into the Dark Forest of Night - Click to Zoom
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About: The Peel region, Western Australia, recently suffered bush-fires which left amongst various tragedies blackened and leafless trees and shrubs. Walking into them in the darkness at night is quite an experience, one can almost imagine that they are haunted and terrifying. Thankfully, I have walked alone in many a dark sky now and enjoy the experience rather than fearful of it - which is fortunate otherwise nightscape photography may not be the best hobby if you are afraid of the darkness.
Whilst other places there are often night noises (insects, small animals), this place is unusually quiet, no doubt due to the lack of vegetation and thus little food for critters. Just the gentle night breeze and the faint star-light... Method: This shot a stitch of 3 shots with a Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens on a Canon EOS6d. Details:
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On the Shores of Infinity - Redux
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About: It's been months since I last did some nightscape photography, and I'm getting restless. In the meantime I've reprocessed a scene that I did last November, sorry for re-posting it but often my first attempt at processing is rushed as I'm too impatient and usually can't wait to share it with everyone. Anyhow, this one I spent more time to improve the colour balance and trying to enhance the milkyway from the significant atmospheric effects when close to the horizon. Hangover Bay being around 30 degrees south latitude means that the setting galaxy is horizontal when it is reasonably close to the horizon. This makes for some great opportunities - but the closer to the horizon the more faded the galaxy as you end up shooting through more atmosphere (pesky atmosphere - what is it good for :). In Western Australia, this also means shooting over the Indian Ocean - if only I could get the waves to stay still in between shots, makes post-processing the mosaics of the foreground "interesting".
This is a large mosaic of 25 shots with a 50mm f/2 lens on a Canon EOS6d. I took 10 x shots of the foreground with a large amount of overlap, and 15 x shots of the sky (using a tracking mount). All shots were at ISO1600 for 30 seconds. The original final image was a whopping 17391 x 6010 pixels, but google can't handle that so had to reduce it significantly. But zoom in, there is a lot of detail. |
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