Question And Answers

Coral Sea Milky Way by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a vertical panorama taken on the NE coast of Australia between the towns of Cairns and Port Douglas, in the region of the Great Barrier Reef. This part of the Pacific is called the Coral Sea. This is a stack of 8 horizontal image stacked vertically, each horizontal image taken with a Canon 16-35 mm lens at 16 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec, ISO 8000. So this image is pretty wide as well as "tall". From the perspective of an observer from the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way is fascinating in the Southern Hemisphere, and presents its own unique challenges. Here I am talking about the arch MW as a whole, and not just the core. First, the Milky Way arches high overhead at this time of year (April). The arch starts out lower on the horizon, but as the night progress it rapidly assumes a position high overhead. As a result the MW in the early night is a lot like the MW arch in the NH (Northern Hemisphere) in early spring, and then later in the night it is a lot like the NH MW in late summer and fall (more vertical) where it meets the horizon. Another difference is that the core of the MW is in the middle of the MW arch, and not near the horizon as we commonly see in the NH. As a result you need a really wide field of view or stacked panorama images to get good photos of the core and landscape at the same time. As a result you see a lot of panoramas of the MW taken from the SH (Southern Hemisphere). As for this image, it was taken after Moonset at around 2:30 pm. By this time the MW core was high in the sky, and I used a vertical stack to include the core. Since we did not plan the trip around night photography, I had to take the chances available, and this night I had a couple of good hours of shooting, after Moonset, but before the MW core got to high. A couple of nights later the MW was just about directly overhead before the Moon set, high enough to cause problems. When it is that high it is hard to include much landscape. This was probably as clear as mud. Hope you enjoy! Thanks in advance for taking the time to look and comment. 

After Midnight Landscapes: This is a video made for fun to show some photos from my website. I liked the upbeat music. This will take about 3 minutes of your time. Enjoy! As seen on You Tube:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2zAFserk0c

Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pinks2000/19324861534

Whispers of Time Past by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is false Kiva in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. this is a bit of a different take on the composition, shooting from the far left corner, and covering the whole opening of the cave in a panorama. The right rock wall (outside the alcove) usually looks like a large dark void at night, so I decided to light the wall to give some definition. This was shot with fellow photographer Eric Gail, and the shadows on the ceiling of the cave were his idea. He had the idea of using an Indian Headdress to cast a shadow on the walls, using a small headlamp. The effect was really interesting to the eye as well as in the photo. The sky was nice and clear except for lots of smoke in the air from the wildfires in the Western USA. The smoke mostly stayed near the ground and created the ruddy coloration just above the horizon. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Your time, faves, and comments are much appreciated! Please join me at: Website Facebook Blog

Carpe Diem by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Carpe Diem: Sometimes it’s best to just stop and enjoy the moment. In our pursuit of beautiful photos we often get distracted with the chase itself, and them after we are there we get caught up in the technicalities of capturing the photograph. You you ever just stop and enjoy the scene or night sky? Some of my most enjoyable moments at night are when a few clouds roll in and I just lay down and watch the sky waiting for them to pass. The quiet solitude and beautiful sky are like a magic tonic erasing the cares of the day. Carpe Diem! ___________________________________________ Best wishes to all in this holiday season, and good shooting in the upcoming year! Wayne

The Alien Throne by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook The Alien Throne, New Mexico Badlands. Nikon D810A, 14-24 mm lens, 14 mm, f 3.2, 25 sec., 6400. For more images like this please take a look at my website here . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. Cheers, Wayne

Dreaming of Alien Lands by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook This is a panorama taken in the Valley of Dreams in NW New Mexico. 11 images taken at 15 mm, f 3.2, 15 sec., and ISO 6400, stitched together in Lightroom. I was hoping to create a feel for the bizarre and otherworldly landscape. There is a light panel with a warming filter behind the larger hoodoo to the right, and another behind me to the side. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family for all the support and encouragement! Cheers, Wayne

Ancestral Puebloan or Anasazi Ruins in the Four Corners by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of Ancestral Puebloan or Anasazi Ruins in the Four Corners region of SW USA. This is made from a series of single vertical images shot at 18 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec., ISO 6400. There is low level constant light on the foreground. This is not classic light painting, but more similar to modified studio lighting or "outdoor studio lighting". It consists of light panels on tripods left on the whole time, very dim, barely visible or not visible to the naked eye. This takes time to set up. The light is intended to match the intensity of starlight (it does not take much!). This different from traditional light painting where you briefly shine a brighter light on the subject or near a subject. I have encountered several photographers at night that just about had a nervous breakdown when you mentioned light painting, but then became very quiet and cooperative when they saw the lighting I set up. I think we need a different "label" for this kind of landscape lighting, different from "light painting". I have decided to personally call this Low Level Landscape Lighting, or LLLL for short. I hope some term other than light painting catches on, as it just does not describe the more recent methods of landscape lighting at night. I doubt that anyone in a studio would describe their lighting as "light painting". We just need some new language to talk about these methods more accurately. Cheers, Wayne 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

Old Navajo Hogan by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Inside of an old Navajo Hogan looking up through a hole in the roof. 12 mm fisheye panorama, 25 sec., f/2.8, ISO 8000. A big thank you to @quanah_photography for taking us there. This is in the Navajo Nation and you need a guide to go there. I highly recommend @quanah_photography.

The Two Legged Hoodoo by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Valley of Dreams, New Mexico. Nikon D810A camera, Nikon 14-24 mm lens, at f 2.8, 14 mm, 25 sec., and ISO 6400. There is lighting with Low Level Lighting. For a tutorial please look here: www.lowlevellighting.org For more images like this please take a look at my website here . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. Cheers, Wayne

Monument Valley Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Panorama of The Mittens in Monument Valley at night. 12 images, 24 mm, f 1.6, 13 seconds, ISO 10,000. Monument Valley Landscape Astrophotography Workshop! There are 3 remaining spots open in the workshop I will be leading in MV June 6 to 9, 2018. Details can be found here: waynepinkstonphoto.com/Workshops If you are interested please contact me here or through my website, waynepinkstonphoto.com This is a 4 day workshop with an extra "optional" 5th day on June 10 if anyone wants to stick around and shoot nightcapes with me in the area. This day can also be used as a make-up day if needed. Three days will be scheduled shooting in Monument Valley and one day outside of Monument Valley. That day will be used to practice and learn Low Level Lighting while shooting hoodoos in the area. Landscape Astrophotography will be the focus of the workshop. There will be lectures on 3 days, and a group dinner on one day. I have also been asked frequently about guiding and workshops in the New Mexico Badlands. So here is a general question - Is anyone out there interested in attending a Landscape Astrophotography Workshop in the New Mexico Badlands May 14 - 17, 2018? There is no obligation, I'm just trying to judge interest. For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. It's a pleasure to post here.