USA Milkyways

[JonH]

Here are some wide-field shots of the Milkyway from various national Parks in the US southwest. I started in the Pacific Northwest doing my normal urban stuff - architecture and skylines, etc, before heading down to Utah a few days before the New Moon on 16th Sept. All were shot with a 5D3 and 15mm full frame fisheye, wide open or 1/3 stop down and between 3200 and 6400 ISO. This was the first trip for this camera which performed brilliantly, especially when compared to my old 1DS3 at high ISOs. The 1DS3 started getting noisy at 400 and would've been practically unusable if pushed to 3200 - 6400. It's not like me to stick with one lens but the 15 works so well - it's fast at 2.8, sharp wide open, focuses at infinity so there's no faffing around trying to get everything sharp in the dark and allows for a 30 second exposure with minimal star trailing. It's a sweet lens.

I tried to make the images location specific, ie. recognisable, which wasn't always easy with no moonlight. Delicate Arch in Arches Nat Pk was pretty straightforward, however, as it's a very well know and relatively small attractive shape that looks great against the light pollution from Moab, a small town roughly ten miles away. While the camera was left running I positioned myself to the side or beneath the arch and 'painted' it with my headlight set to red. Same with Bryce. There was nobody around so it was safe to walk off for a couple of hundred yards or so to try and get some angle on my fill-in to create a bit of texture. Owachomo Arch in Natural Bridges Nat Mon was a little more difficult because I had to walk and clamber over ledges for quite a distance from the camera to get the backlighting. No big deal in daylight, but this being America's darkest park, going 'a' over 't' on the uneven ground, boulders and stuff is a real danger. Then there's finding the camera again in the dark, not as easy as you may think, and not forgetting the local beasties like snakes, spiders and sasquatches. According to a ranger, September is tarantula season and I actually had to walk past one on a narrow ledge (in daylight) a few days later in Zion. Luckily this was after Natural Bridges because I really would've cacked it if I knew those boulders and crevices I was crawling over in the dark were home to mouse-sized hairy monsters. Yeah I know, I am wimp.

The Zion shots were all lit by passing cars on the road beneath me and are blended from several files with various parts of the background illuminated by headlights. I had to lower the ISO and f/stop for the exposures during a car pass to prevent the car trails blowing out and excessive flare. The traffic got very light after dark and so to avoid an endless wait for the next vehicle I really had to get my settings right in time. I tended to under-expose too much but I think 800 - 1600 ISO and f5.6ish was about right.

This is still a very new way for me to shoot so I haven't got my head around the best way to process this type of shot yet. These are all first drafts and the result of experimentation, in other words, chucking adjustment layers at them until I'm happy. All were opened in LR4 and as well as all the usual tweaks for colour balance, etc, the sharpening was turned off and luminance noise reduction applied at a value of around 25. They were also 'de-barrelled' at around 18% to lose some of the obvious distortion typical from this type of lens. I think the noise is acceptable apart from the 55 speed limit sign in Death Valley where the temperature, according to my car's thermometer, was 101ºF at 10:30pm and, of course, resulted in massively increased noise levels. The amount of light pollution was also surprising, the LHS of the image being from Las Vegas and the RHS from someplace else?? Barstow, Mojave?? Anyway, with hindsight I would've dropped Death Valley for an extra night in Arches. It's a wonderful place to visit but still too hot in mid September. I was there last year in October and found it much more comfortable and, to be honest, far more appealing when lit by a near full moon.

Anyhoo, that's enough waffling and I hope you like the pictures.

Cheers,

Jon

[Psychobilly]

looks like a very productive trip... Im so jealous on numerous fronts

[RogerTheDodger]

You've got some lovely images there

[Mark at Beaufort]

Jon these are wonderful images of the national parks and their skies. Clearly the 5D mk3 is a great camera especially with a 15mm Fisheye. Hopefully I will be able to visit these parks next time I go over.

Mark

[JamesF]

Indeed. Really lovely images.

James

[saturn5]

Stunning images Jon and i think they've just about made my mind up to get a 15mm fisheye,been thinking about it but not sure

but this sways it for me.Great compositions and gorgeous colour too.

[JonH]

Thanks guys.

Mark, don't miss the SW next time you visit your son but avoid the Summer - too hot and crowded. Fall is best and there is no dew!!!!

Stewart - get one, it would be perfect for what you do. It's amazing how much wider it is than a 17mm but don't forget the distortion. As I said, you can partly correct for it but too much and it just smears the corners.

[Digz]

Stunning shots! Makes me want to go on another adventure and shoot stuff like this!

[SkyJamie]

Brilliant images Jon

Jamie

[cloudbuster]

lovely, lovely images...book stuff really!

[stellawolf]

Yes very nice images indeed well done

[Kbramley]

These are superb images, the effort you have put in to get the framing right and the different perspectives has certainly paid off, well done.

Keith

[WaveSoarer]

Those are stunning images. The exposures for the foregrounds are absolutely perfect.

[Nightfly]

These are very beautiful! Wonderful collection!

[ollypenrice]

Oh, too good, too good! You must find a wider audience for these pictures in magazines or in an astronomy book. They cry out to be seen.

Brilliant.

Olly

[MarkMayf]

Wow, they are stunning. I would love one of pics 1, 2, 4 or 5 on my wall on a huge canvas!

[JonH]

Thanks all, glad you like 'em.

Olly - I'm a professional travel photographer so these will get marketed along with my usual work.

[symesie04]

Very nice indeed. Such fantastic landscapes to add to the brilliance of the galaxy. How images are stacked in each? and did you paint by light for the effect on the landscape?

[JonH]

Very nice indeed. Such fantastic landscapes to add to the brilliance of the galaxy. How images are stacked in each? and did you paint by light for the effect on the landscape?

Thanks. I haven't got the original RAWs to hand to give exact figures for each pic, but all are composites of between 3 to 6 exposures, depending on the foreground lighting. All the skies are straight 30 second exposures at 3200 or 6400 ISO.

The arches and Bryce Canyon pics were 'painted' with my head torch, but the Zions, being a much larger area were lit by passing cars on the road beneath me.

[MaCross]

Absolutely stunning! Top of the pops would have been illuminated tarantulas crawling across the arch though :grin:

[JonH]

Martina, when my son asked why I didn't shoot the tarantula, I told him it was because I didn't have a spare pair of y-fronts in my camera bag.

[Astrokev]

All stunning shots, but I especially like the widescreen shot of headlights (3rd from last). Love the way the road & headlights mirror the shape of the arching Milky Way. Beautiful.

Kev