Questions And Answers

Questions and Answers

What are some good places to shoot the Milky Way in the SW United States?

Question: I was wondering if you could offer up your recommendation on a getaway spot for Milky Way photography? Any issues at the national parks in Utah? I would travel either in June or September to avoid crowds....and hopefully a bunch of workshop photographers too. I loved wondering the beaches of the Pacific coast...I feel like I had them all to myself and access was relatively easy...and I'm trying to scope out locations for future trips that are the same....I don't want to be hiking 3 days into some crazy remote area for a milky way shot. Looking at your badlands shots and Joshua tree pics has me bouncing around with different options for sure. Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. 

Answer: Overall Utah and the area has limitless possibilities for dark night skies and astrophotography. I'll tell you good spots for good foregrounds. All of the areas I mention are good for dark night skies.  Just as a generalization, when I go there to do astrophotography I literally chase the clear skies to maximize the number of clear shooting nights. I rent a car and drive to wherever the clearest skies are predicted for the next few days.  The rental companies probably hate me. I usually fly into Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. I have found that the eastern part of California (Sierra Nevada Mtns), Utah, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon(really,really dark), and the NW corner on New Mexico (N.M. Badlands) can have very different weather, so if one area gets a bad weather front there is a good chance that one of the others will have clear skies. The longest drive is to Eastern California, but it is doable if you are going to be there a few days.

Anyway, if one spot clouds up, like Utah, you can go off to California or New Mexico (or vice versa) and have lots to photograph there.

Here are some ideas:

Utah:

 Arches National Park has wonderful iconic landmarks to photograph, and the good part is that there are lots of good spots that are relatively close together. May and June are best. Arches NP is getting crowded at night, but the only really "zoo" like scene is at Delicate Arch. I went there last summer and almost witnessed a fight. The other iconic places like Double Arch, Broken Arch, Balanced Rock, Landscape Arch, etc., do not get as much night traffic. Sometimes I see one other person there. Sometimes there are workshops, but you just go to another location to avoid them. There are lots of less well known arches that you will have to yourself.

My favorite park at night is Bryce Canyon NP. Occasionally you will see someone else out at night near the trailheads but you usually have the area to yourself. The trails are easy, and you can make endless photo ops. Shoot one spot and walk 200 meters and shoot another. Great place.

Zion NP is also excellent at night.

False Kiva in Canyonlands NP is a good spot, but it is about a 2 km hike in.

Goblin Valley State Park is a fun spot to photograph for a night. 

 In SE area of Utah is a place called the Valley of the Gods, a little visited area that has excellent buttes and mesas to film at night. Just south of the Valley of the Gods is Monument Valley, a classic spot. You have to get permission from the Navajo Indians to go out at night there.

Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument has really good stuff to photograph at night but it is really spread out. There is lots of driving involved there. Good spots: Sunset Arch, Chimney Rock, The Devils Garden, Metate Arch, The Toadstools, Dance Hall Rock, etc. The Wave is good if you can get a permit.

Northern Arizona: 

 North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Try Imperial Point and Bright Angel Point and Cape Royal. They face in the right direction to see the Milky Way. Monument Valley is excellent.

Northwest New Mexico: 

I love the New Mexico Badlands. The chance you will see someone else there at night is pretty close to zero. You may have to hike up to about 3 km or 2 miles or so in one direction at most, usually less. There are no trails so you need a GPS device to avoid getting lost, or maybe just less lost. I just use an app on my phone. The Bisti Badlands, about 30 miles or 50 km or so south of Farmington are great. There are many photo ops in a small place. Also good are the Valley of Dreams (with a hoodoo called the Alien Throne), the Valley of Dreams East, an area with a hoodoo called the King of Wings, and a nearby area called Ah-shi-sie-pah. All of these areas are in the same general vicinity, within a 1 hour drive. In the Badlands, once you get into the good ares there are numerous good photo ops. I get the GPS coordinates of the specific spots I want to visit ahead of time. Here are some links:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zJCKjjljTPpw.kTu66ZH6E1zQ&hl=en_US

http://www.thewave.info/AhShiSlePah/index.html

http://www.thewave.info/BistiBadlandsCode/Map.html

Eastern California:

 In Eastern California there is a long valley that extends from North to South with the Sierra Nevada range to the West and the White Mountains to the East. There are a lot of great places to do night photography there.

 Near the Northern End of this area is Lake Mono, a very "otherworldly" place with lots of large spires called Tuffas rising up from the lake bed. 

Going south you get to the area of Bishop, Ca. where you can go to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, a great place at night.

Still going south you get to Lone Pine, Ca., and the Alabama Hills, with a number of iconic spots, like Mobius Arch and Cyclops Arch. Lots of movies were shot here.

Still going south you come to Ridgecrest, Ca, and the nearby Trona Pinnacles. This is another place with an unusual otherworldly landscape. A number of movies were shot here also.

Still going south you get to Joshua Tree NP. There is some light pollution there but I have come away with decent photos.

Still going south you come to Borrego Springs, Ca. Outside the town there are 140+ life sized metal statues or works of art scattered through the desert, like dinosaurs, mammoths, dragons, and many other ancient and current animals. These are fun to photograph at night with the MW in the background. You can create an interesting atmosphere. Check this link for sn ides of what you might see:

https://www.google.com/search?q=borrego+springs+statues+night&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2g4mm5oHKAhVEzGMKHfOdAaQQ_AUIBygB&biw=1398&bih=1285

Also, just east of the Alabama Hills is Death Valley NP with very dark skies.

Cheers, Wayne Pinkston,  2015

Landscape Arch on Flickr.

Landscape Arch Panorama in Arches National Park, Utah, USA. I have posted a similar panorama previously from the same spot that I was not satisfied with. I decided to give it another try. Hope Thanks for your patience if you have seen this before. This is a series of 9 vertical images combined in photoshop, taken with a Bower 24 mm f 1.4 lens, at f 2.0, 20 sec exposures, and ISO 6400. This arch is really large (290 feet, 88 meters wide) and a real challenge to light uniformly. There were lots of messed up shots on this one, and I never quite got the right side fully lit, but at least you can see the whole arch! Hope you enjoy!

Questions and Answers

Do You Go Out Alone for the Night Photos?

Question: Thanks for sharing this fantastic photo. Question: Were you in the park alone? Do you travel with a group? I'm curious.I'm thinking about taking a trip out to Vegas to shoot the parks in the area and am thinking about doing some night shoots alone. Any thought?

Answer: Usually I go out at night alone, although that might not be the best choice for everyone. I have gone out a few times with workshops, and occasionally I find someone at the site and we shoot together. Being out there at night is something you have to get used to. A lot of people are unnerved by the isolation and darkness. This says a lot about our society. It is estimated that 80% of people in the USA have never seen the Milky Way. Many people ask me "what is that cloud in the sky"? Once there was a complete blackout in Los Angeles and people called the police to report a suspicious cloud hovering over the city. It was the Milky Way. We are not used to being out in the dark except for moving from place to place. And we are not used to being so utterly alone. I love the feel of being out there at night, but it is not for everyone. You need to be really careful. I wear really high boots and keep an eye out for potential rattlesnakes. I really pay attention to where I step, always. You have to make sure your footing is always secure, because you may be standing on rough ground or ledges and you are going to spend a lot of time with the lights totally turned off. Before I turn the lights off I look around and see just where it is safe to step. I always keep an eye out for any people or large game. Take bear spray for example. Anyway it has been safe for me so far, but you do need to be careful. Some people even take a dog with them! It's a great experience, but remember to think about how to be safe.

Cheers, Wayne

Recapture Pocket Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Recapture Pocket is an area on hoodoos near Bluff, Utah. There are 2 fields of hoodoos here. I call this Hoodoo Arch because it is an arch that is mostly just 2 connected hoodoos. There is Low Level Lighting (LLL) with a Gaol Zero Micro Lantern behind the arch and an LED Light Panel on a tripod about 50 meters behind me and to the right. Panorama: 11 images, 20 mm, f 2.0, 20 sec., ISO 6400, Nikon 810A Hope you enjoy! For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!

Life on the Edge by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Anasazi Part 7: This is False Kiva in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA. an Anasazi (or more properly Ancestral Puebloan) ruin. They are better known as the Cliff Dwellers. The exact purpose of this structure is unknown. It resembles a Kiva, or Ceremonial Center, but does not fit all the classic characteristics. The back left corner of the alcove or cave is roped off, presumably for possible future excavations. The Ancestral Puebloans literally lived on the edge in many ways. In the 13th Century, many of the structures were built in cliffs that were difficult to access, possibly because of raiding or strife. Archeologists have found evidence of massacres in some locations, that academics sometimes kindly call "warfare events". Anyway, life was perilous and frequently short. Examination of skeletons show many "stress bands" in the long bones from periodic episodes of starvation. Surprisingly, they also suffered from osteoporosis, or softening of the bones from loss of calcification or mineralization. We think of osteoporosis as an older person problem, related to aging an inactivity. They were most definitely not inactive, and did not live long. As game meat became scarce they relied more and more on corn they grew. A predominately corn diet lacks at least one essential amino acid, resulting in osteoporosis and weakened bones. They lived on the edge of survival every day, a truly amazing people living in a harsh land. As a side note, about 1 meter in front of that wall is a long straight drop down a cliff. There is also some smoke on the horizon from wildfires in California. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy!  Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

The Baobab by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook This is a huge, majestic Baobab Tree. It can be hard to capture the enormity of very large objects in a single image. We had several people with us that posed in front of the tree for reference, but they were dressed in camouflage clothing and pretty much disappeared in those photos. (Note to self: Camouflage clothing is not good for photos at night in the brush 😂). Anyway, I tried this vertical panorama, multiple horizontal photos moving upwards. That helped a little. There is Low Level Lighting (LLL) with 2 Cineroid LED light panels, set on a relatively neutral color temperature of around 4000-4200K. One is a primary light and one is a fill light. 14-24 mm lens, 14 mm, f/2.8, 15 seconds, ISO 6400. A big thanks to @worldpix for arranging the tour. WorldPix is a charity organization that used photography to raise money for charitable causes.

Eric and the Arch by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Sorry for the title Eric, I couldn't help myself. Once it popped into my head it wouldn't go away. It just has a classic sound to it, like a midieval knight going out to slay the arch (or dragon). I think you definitely slayed this arch. My apologies for posting a similar photo previously, but I ended up liking this one better. By the way, this is Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah. The person slaying the arch with his headlight is Eric Gail, fellow photographer and friend. He volunteered to be the model for this. Hey Eric, I need a model release! You can see his excellent gallery here: www.flickr.com/photos/dot21studios Light pollution from the town of Moab lights up smoke on the horizon from the wildfires in California. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family out there. Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Abandoned Cathedral by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Abandoned Cathedral in Madagascar. This is the shell of an old abandoned cathedral in Madagascar. This was adjacent to a girls school and the priest was very nice to let us shoot there at night. There was no electricity in this region and the red glow on the horizon originates from multiple fires. The local people burn the fields to clear them and there are always multiple fires in the distance. Also bandits steal the cattle and set the villages on fire to keep the people from chasing them. 😳😬 This is a panorama of multiple vertical images. There is a Goal Zero lantern in the bell tower and a single light panel off to the right to provide Low Level Lighting on the outside. BTW, we had 3 armed guards at all times. Thanks to WorldPix and Ryan for setting up this trip! Thanks for looking! Wayne

Peek-A-Boo by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook This is a panorama of several photos taken with a 12 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens. I’ve included 2 photos. The first photo is the image after the distortion was corrected in Photoshop. The second image is before the correction. Note the angled horizon in the second image. The camera and lens were pretty severely angled to get the entire opening in the image. There is Low Level Lighting (LLL) with 2 Goal Zero Micro Lanterns. One is behind me to my left and one is down the ravine to get some light on the more distant walls. Both are turned to low and are covered with a handkerchief to further diffuse and lower the light. The Goal Zero Mini has a very nice neutral to slightly warm light colour temperature. 12 mm, f/2.8, 25 sec., ISO 8000. I actually like the one with the crooked horizon a little better, but someone will complain, lol. This recess is somewhat like a cave or alcove and somewhat like a small canyon, not sure what to call it. Maybe a cave-yon? 😂 The Milky Way lines up beautifully at certain times of the year making this a great spot. This is in the Navajo Nation and you need a Navajo guide to go there.

Questions and Answers

How to book lodging if you are chasing clear skies

Question: I just assumed it was kinda off season early June but I get the impression now that it actually gets quieter in July and August due to the heat. I'm reluctant to book in advance ... I need to follow the clear skies. Have you had any serious issues finding accommodations at last minute in say early June?

Answer:  In June it can be a problem at the last minute. The answer is somewhat round-about. I think June is the worst month overall to get lodging, with May next worse. July and August are a little better. I'll tell you what I do, but please keep in mind that I stay in cheap motels. I am not there much at night, and only come back around 5 to 7 a.m, sleep till maybe 1 p.m, and then go out to scout new location, or drive to new places, them try to be at the spot around sunset. Anyway, I do not spend much time in the motel, so I just get the cheapest one that has OK reviews (hopefully no bed bugs!!!).

So.... I usually get on a booking website. I usually use Orbitz, just out of habit. I book a motel where I think I want to be. Sometimes you have to pay up front, sometimes you don't. They have cancellation clauses usually. Occasionally they have a "no cancellation", or "no refund" policy", and I do not book them. Read the fine print while booking. They typically have a policy that you can cancel by 4 pm, the day before or 48 hrs before. I keep an eye on the weather, and if the outlook is cloudy, I will try to book in a clearer locale if possible, and then cancel to one i made in the cloudy place. Orbitz has been good about refunding money into my account as long as you follow the motel rules. This way I am not left out of a place to sleep. I usually do not cancel until I have an alternative. So far, so good.

So far I have had no problems with this method. Moab could be a problem in the high season. Still, there are usually some cancellations, and if you call around enough you can find a room. There may be less choice at the last minute. The smallest towns like Escalante, or maybe Kanab, can be the biggest problems because there are just not many motel rooms to start with, so there is less opportunity. Here is the worst scenario, one that I have seen: When it is actually raining, campers flood into town looking for a room, especially families with young kids. I suspect sitting in a tent all day with very young kids is not easy! Anyway, if it's raining rooms disappear fast. It does not rain much, but I have found that when there is continuous rain all day, then the whole region was clouded over, and there is nowhere to go, and I just sit it out.

I have never had a problem in Northern New Mexico, around Farmington and the NM Badlands. There seem to be plenty of rooms there. Just be careful of the very small towns. Hope this helps! One more point, if you are going to cancel, don't forget to cancel in time to get your refund. I learned this the hard way. Anyway, this can give you flexibility to move around if necessary. 

Good luck, Wayne     2016