Supermoon over Los Angeles

The supermoon gathering of the year pretty much and everyone had the same idea to shoot from here as the rise lined up perfectly. I loved how the moon look as it came out from behind the San Gabriels and started firing off a bunch as it crept out. A helicopter flew directly in front of the moon, which I captured in this frame and this frame alone. I don’t shoot all that many moon events but this shot is by far my favorite so far.


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Fall spens with sheep - Mammoth Lakes CA

I’ve seen these sheep in previous years, but these trees are never peaking. Not the case this trip so we pulled over on the 395 on our way home to catch this. I took multiple variations, but the landscape voice in my head wanted the quintessential shot with the sheep, the backlit fall aspens, and the early morning clouds. Kind of a landscape trifecta. Some great shots to end the trip, and another favorite for the year to add to my portfolio.

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Hot Creek Milky Way - Mammoth lakes

First time visiting this spot, definitely not the last. I knew this vantage lined up perfectly so it was a must stop this year. We came here with almost no light left which is why my foreground exposure is so long. We thought the cloud cover this night would screw up our MW plans but the sky pretty much cleared except for the horizon which gave this shot a cool effect with the light pollution. It also magnified some of the stars giving a dreamier type feel to this shot. I do want to return with clear skies but this one’s still up there for me this year.

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That 395 house - Eastern Sierras

My favorite version of this house yet using bushes as leading lines and showing some of the snow capped peaks. The separate foreground exposure was key for that. I probably don’t need to revisit this location for future trips unless I’m bringing someone with me who wants to see it…unless I can catch it all white in winter. Weird to say that as I’ve stopped here every trip for the past 4-5 years. Definitely an iconic house for that region, and glad to have captured this one this year.


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Fall milky way - eastern sierras

I’ve wanted a fall aspen Milky Way shot ever since I started shooting astro I just never found a comp that would work well….until I spotted this line up in the loop. The aspen grove lined up perfectly in front of the peak which all faced SW towards the Milky Way. The recent storm dumped a bit of snow on the peak which was perfect. To really compress the scene, I used the 50mm which I’ve never done with stars before but after processing this it turned out to be one of my favorite Milky Way images I’ve ever shot. As a note always keep in mind the rule of 500, so if you are using a longer focal length you must reduce your shutter speed to avoid stars trailing due to the rotation of the earth, unless you are using a tracking device. I’ll be looking to try this again next year when I return.


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Eastern Sierras Fall Aspen Lookup

I always search for a good lookup shot every year when I head up here. We were a bit late this year tho, and a lot of the grand scenes were past peak so we had to do our part to search out individual groves to shoot. We spotted this one way up on the hillside in the loop and made the hike up to it. Wasn’t an easy task getting into the thick of it but after getting here and looking up at this shot, it was worth it. We took some time to just relax here and eat our lunch, enjoying the breeze rustling through the aspens. You know I had to add the burst in for good measure.


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Petroglyphs and milky way - Eastern Sierras

The same location as the last shot but faced the other way towards the MW. Isn’t that the coolest thing that you can face one way towards Polaris and the other towards the MW all while having some great Petroglyphs as a foreground element? I shot a version of this last year but felt I made a few errors and used this year as redemption for these shots. Thousands of year old rock art with some of the oldest stars in the galaxy dating back a billion years makes you appreciate a scene such as this.


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eastern sierra petroglyphs and startrails

The absolute coolest location in this region in my opinion. A bit of history mixed with a bit of astronomy. I had this one envisioned for a while but this was the first year I was able to pull it off due to not being here solo and not having clouds roll in blocking the stars. The human element sitting on the petroglyphs tells a story of discovery, as these rock patterns date back thousands of years when a culture inhabited the area. It also helped with adding foreground light to the cluster of petroglyphs. A definite top contender for this year.

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Seattle twilight plus sunset

A creative shot and a first for me, combining a sunset burn with car trails and city lights from twilight. Seattle has an electric vibe to it and this shot portrays my vision of the city perfectly. I love the city vs. nature contrast and how the freeway winds through the greenery. Took a bit of cleanup work to blend the two but I feel it paid off, putting this up there as one of my favorite shots of the year. 

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Golden Hour - Jose Rizal Bridge sunset Seattle

A redemption shot from when I visited here a few years back. I made sure to get out here for sunset as the sky was looking nice and it sure paid off. When I think of golden hour I think of this shot. Just that nice warm light pouring onto the entire scene. I emphasized the sunburst to add that final touch to this shot. While you may not have that fire burn during golden hour, the soft light is a great tradeoff. 

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Seattle sunrise - Alki Beach

One of the coolest looking sunsets I saw on my trip to Seattle. Almost looked like a hand coming out from the city. I was hesitant about getting up and coming all the way out here but I’m sure glad I didn’t oversleep this one. I always enjoy shooting city skylines over a body of water as we don’t really see that here in LA.

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Malibu sun rays at sunset

I shot a version of this a few years ago. The rays that beam through the mountain ridges are amazing given the right conditions. My perfect shot from here would look like this with a layer of low fog below but I’ve never seen the fog get this far down in the valley. This was during the Sand Fires and the sky was crazy smoky. Even the sun had a hard time breaking through the thickness. As it got close to the horizon, the rays started forming and shined some nice light down in the valley. The smoke created some deep yellows and oranges in the sky. Definitely doesn’t look like a scene from Los Angeles County and the uniqueness is why it’s in my top 2016.

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San Francisco bay bridge twilight

As a non-SF resident I’ve seen this shot so many times and always wanted to shoot it. In my mind, it doesn’t matter if it’s an over shot location if I can 1. Have a shot to call my own and 2. Get to experience it for myself and bank that memory forever. The 20mm 1.8 has some real nice starbursts so I went wide with this one, stopped down, and really emphasized the bursts in this version of the shot. This was the shot I came here wanting so I waited until the final stages of twilight to capture this when the sky was a nice deep blue. 

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fireworks from los angeles - skyspace LA opening

This was a gamble of a shot. We knew there would be fireworks for the grand opening of Skyspace LA, but just weren’t sure where they would fire from. I set this diagonal comp up from this classic location and we waited for the sun to go down. Once the fireworks started shooting from the top of the US bank tower, I couldn’t believe our luck. The show was short but sweet and I came away with this. Who knows if they will ever fire off fireworks from this spot again. If not, I’m definitely glad I was able to capture this and it’s a treasure in my cityscape portfolio. We even joked about not really having any good shots from this location from the handful of time we’ve been here. Glad I no longer have to say that.

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Malibu foggy sunset

Another shot I wanted to catch from here was the fog rolling over the mountains at sunset. I came here quite a few times from June-July. The fog was in a good place for this comp and at a good height level as it was kinda stuck in a pocket between the mountains in the back and the hill with the house in front so I zoomed in to compress it. Slowing the shutter down for fog gives the sense of movement and I also caught a car winding down the road. The thin fog trickling down to the road helped give the car trails a bit of glow while the sky seemed to burn well after sunset. 

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Malibu ridge pano with fog and milky way

Doesn’t matter how many times this place is shot, seeing the fog build up in the canyon is special to see. Not to mention that you can see the Milky Way from here being right next to Santa Monica and not too far from Los Angeles. The “June gloom” months are the best time to see it. This is one of my favorite panoramic images to date which isn’t saying much as I don’t shoot too many of them. This is a 2-row pano consisting of 4-5 shots each row for a total of around 10 shots. I took this one as the fog almost engulfed the valley but the glow from Malibu Canyon Road still shined through. You can see the full shot in the pano section of my website. As a note for stargazers, the stars and MW will never be as bright here compared to places inland or more remote areas. Most of the time the MW is very faint to the naked eye but the camera’s sensor will pick it up with a high ISO.


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Joshua Tree National Park startrails

There is something satisfying about thinking up a comp in your head and then coming out and executing it and seeing the final result. That was the case here as we wanted to use these old mill tracks for this shot. The original plan was to have the light up high in the sky, but we figured it would be better painting the tracks instead so it was held low. Having the static subject against the trails really brings a sense of motion to this shot that I love. 

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White tank campground - Joshua Tree National Park Milky Way

There’s a lot of interesting rock formations beyond the much photographed Arch Rock. I walked down this path in the dark as the big boulders were like walls on both sides so I thought it would be cool to show this path in the frame. I knew I would need to focus stack but this is also the first time I also started using a smart layer mean stack to really help reduce noise. The leading line of the path really draws your eye out towards the Milky Way and the way this comp worked out is why it is one of my favorites. 

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Lone Juniper and Balanced Rock - Joshua Tree National Park

The illusion of the smaller rock under the juniper tree from this angle is something very cool and I prefer it to having the two subjects side by side. I brought the 14-24 here so I could really get up close to the root system coming out of the rocks to show the details of it. I probably waited a few hours for the Milky Way to align after snapping a foreground shot. At the time I wanted to wait longer until it was clear of the tree, but I ended up liking it this way sort of a play on the tree hunched over carrying the Milky Way. The green airglow was just a bonus to making this shot a favorite of the year.

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Anza Borrego dinosaur and milky way

I originally shot this in 2014 with my D7000 and Tokina 11-16. It was a single exposure focused on the dinosaur and the stars were not pinpoint sharp. Advancing my astro techniques over the years I wanted to retake this with my full frame and utilize focus stacking to ensure both the dino and the stars were sharp. The new version portrays the shot I wanted as I have a pet peeve about stars being slightly out of focus. I like this comp and how the dino is right in your face. A very cool structure by a very talented artist.

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Anza Borrego startrails - bighorn sheep

It’s definitely a treat if you spot any bighorn sheep around the park. It’s the first thing that pops in my head when you mention Anza Borrego and that’s why I love the sculptures of them. The way they are posing called out for a startrail shot to add that element of star motion to the frozen sheep. In this version I kept the sheep a silhouette to really contrast against the statrails. I also used more star files to really make the trails bright to enhance that contrast. Polaris was lined up between them to keep a symmetrical feel to the shot.

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6th Street Bridge Los Angeles

The death of an iconic structure that has been in so many shows, movies, shoots, etc. There is beauty in everything, even destruction and I wanted to show it in this shot. I contemplated showing more of the freeway from the huge gap in the bridge, but ended up focusing on the rubble instead. More of a historically significant shot as the original structure will only live on through pics and memories but a very important part of this year.

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Sunset watching couple - Hilltop Park Signal Hill

This was just a right place right time moment. This sunset burned so long that it was still firing as the city lights came on. I love catching pics of people capturing the moment as I feel it tells a different kind of story than just a standard landscape shot. I knew this spot would be a perfect location to get some nice bokeh but the burning sky and sunset watching couple sealed the deal on this one for me. 


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Pink vibes - Los Angeles sunset

This is one of my favorite views of Los Angeles as it combines 2 of my favorite things to shoot; landscapes and cityscapes. You can only get this view after a nice winter storm so the opportunity window each year narrows down to a few months. In addition you need low smog and a nice sunset to color the sky. The sky this night lit up in every direction and you can even see some of the fire reflecting off the buildings. I’ve been here maybe 15 times for both sunrise and sunset looking for this shot and this is the closest to ideal conditions that I’ve been able to see. I’ll still be chasing this shot year after year until I can, in my mind, get that one perfect shot. 

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San Francisco twilight under the bay bridge

Here’s a shot I took this up in SF on my past trip which was taken at the beginning stages of twilight before I snapped on my wide for the finale. I really wanted the compression that the longer focal length offered, giving the city in the background more emphasis compared to a wide angle where the bridge just overtakes the shot. The sodium lighting of the city really lit up the fog providing some nice color contrast to the twilight blues. The bride provided a nice separation of the colors. Nikon D750, Nikkor 50mm 1.8, f/14, 30 sec, ISO-50

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Palos Verdes storm clearing rainbow at sunset

Glad we got some rain yesterday, it was much needed. Pulled a re-edit to one of my favorite rainbow shots which I always look for during storm clearings. This one formed over the southbay area as I was shooting from Flat Rock in Palos Verdes so I snapped on my telephoto lens and compressed this scene with a wave crashing in the foreground. Was fortunate to see the high clouds light up nice and pink to top off the scene. Here’s to more winter storms. Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200, f/8, 0.8 sec, ISO-50

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Seattle lights

Here’s a technique I’ve wanted to try for a while and this Seattle comp from Jose Rizal bridge was the perfect place to try it. This view is great because you have the freeway overpasses intersecting with all the greenery of the city with the freeway kinda enclosing the city in the background. In this technique you snap a shot at sunset or sunrise and another one with the city lights. You then blend the lights from the city onto the sunset shot using the “lighten” blend mode. The sky and the greenery in the foreground are from the sunset shot, and the overpasses and city lights are from the night shot. I accidently kicked my tripod in between shots so it was a little difficult to align the two layers but after a bit of cleanup this is the final comp. I will be trying to use this same technique at Hahn once we get a nice winter storm with snow on Baldy. Nikon D750, Nikkor 20mm 1.8, foreground and sky: f/11, 1/6 sec, ISO-100, lights: f/11, 30 sec, ISO-400. 

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Petroglyph discovery - Eastern Sierra Startrails

I had this idea in my head to utilize the human element in a few ways. The first was to act out a scene of discovery; stumbling upon these ancient petroglyphs. Second was to utilize the lantern to help illuminate the foreground and third to show a static subject against the movement of the star trails. I’m quite pleased with how it all worked out and translated from an idea in my head to what you see here in the final picture. I also got redemption from last year’s visit when clouds overtook the sky as I was shooting a timelapse for the startrails. The foreground was shot with the last available ambient light and the trails were shot later in the night. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, foreground: f/11, 10 sec, ISO-500, sky: about 60 shots of f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO-6400 combined in StarStax.

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Supermoon over Los Angeles

Here is yesterday’s supermoon, the closets it’s been in some 70 years which won’t be this close again for another 20 or so years. Best way to catch this is near the horizon with a telephoto framing it with a subject to give it scale so I headed out to Baldwin Hills as moonrise lined up perfectly behind the city from this angle, thanks to planning from TPE. Moonrise came over the mountain just a tad after twilight ended which made this hard to process but as soon as I saw this frame with the Heli flying directly in front of the moon as it was still coming out from behind the mountain I knew it was the one to use. I actually had to double process this image, pulling shadows from a copy of the same file as the original file was exposed for the moon leaving the city very dark. I could have pulled shadows a tad bit more but I think it looks ok darker to draw the attention to the moon.  Nikon D750, Nikkor 300mm f/4, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO-1600

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That 395 house - Eastern Sierras

I’ve shot this house every time I go up to the Sierras but this one is probably my favorite thus far. Anyone who shoots here knows that you get a ton of lights from cars coming down the 395 and if you’re not trying to light paint it’s a royal pain, especially during the late MW season when you need to catch the core around 8pm before it dips behind the mountains. We shot the foreground after sunset then returned when it got dark to shoot the Milky Way. Shooting the foreground with the last available light allowed for a few things; to incorporate the snow capped mountains into the shot, to use the bushes as leading lines into the scene, and of course to reduce noise and maximize depth of field. Both shots were combined to what you see here. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, foreground: f/11, ½ sec, ISO-500, sky: f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO-6400

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Mammoth Hot Creek sunrise

Occasionally the Hot Springs ghost likes to come out and play, I was just lucky to catch him as he came out to say hi. Can you see him? Taken from Hot Creek outside of Mammoth Lakes during sunrise as the first light was hitting the Sierras. This is a 50mm view and one I’ll need to come back and shoot the Milky Way at this focal length. A winter scene from here would also be sweet with more snow. Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone. Nikon D750, Nikkor 50mm 1.8, f/16, 0.4 sec, ISO-50

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Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day to all those who serve

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Seattle sunrise from Alki Beach

A twilight shot from Alki beach looking back towards the Seattle skyline. The clouds were perfect at this moment but as the wind picked up they blew a bit to the right (as I showed from a previous sunset shot). Even with this 25 sec exposure they streaked quite a bit but I love how the cloud reflections came through in the water. The boat added a nice touch. The clouds have a tiny bit of light pollution glow and the horizon just started to radiate as the sun was about to rise which produced one hell of a sunrise. All I can say is I’m glad I didn’t oversleep this one. Nikon D750, Nikkor 20mm 1.8, f/14, 25 sec, ISO-50

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Fall aspens, Aspendell CA

Here’s a shot of some golden aspens outside of Aspendell. One good thing about late fall is that all the grass you see in the foreground also starts changing color and you just get a brilliant display of color throughout. I used my wide angle for this to frame in the beautiful blue sky and the sun burst. Had a bunch of dirty lens flare but I kept it in around the sun as it wasn’t doing any harm J. We were going to walk into the grove to explore but the area with the grass is quite swampy so we kept our distance. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, f/20, 1/80 sec, ISO-250

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Ancient Petroglyphs under the Milky Way

Here’s one from my recent trip to the Sierras stargazing from one of my favorite locations. I arrived here a bit before sunset to have enough time to snap some foreground shots before dark to help maximize depth of field. I liked the way the petroglyphs were setup in this shot and decided it would be a great foreground. We then snapped some exposures of the Milky Way once it got dark. I combined both to get the shot you see here. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, foreground: f/14, 5 sec, ISO-50, sky: f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO-6400

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Palos Verdes sunset flow seascape

Here’s one of my favorites from the coves of Palos Verdes. You can only get this flow when the tide is low enough to stand out here but the waves are big enough to pound against this rock making it overflow with water. I’ve been caught by a rogue wave here more than once, and one time got completely soaked (camera included) but luckily everything was ok. I love how the water flows from top right to bottom left zigzagging throughout the image in the middle. I was lucky to get some awesome golden hour clouds to top it off. Nikon D750, Nikkor 20mm 1.8, f/14, 0.8 and 1/30 sec blended, ISO-250

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Eastern Sierra fall lookup - June Lake Loop

We had quite a hike to get to this grove, bushwhacking to get into the thick of it to get this shot. But the aspens were brilliantly yellow all around and the trunks were barer than some of the others we scoped out. The grove was just thick enough to show some of that nice blue sky to complement the gold and you know I had to add in that sunburst for good measure. Bumped up the ISO as this was handheld and the wind was starting to howl. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, f/18, 1/200 sec, ISO-1000

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Hot Creek Milky Way - Mammoth Lakes

For this shot, we came here for sunrise and knew it would be a perfect location for a MW shot as the core lined up perfectly behind Hot Creek and the Sierras. After sunset over twin falls, we rushed here to setup before it got too dark. Took a few exposures for the foreground with the last remaining light, and then waited for the MW to come out and play. Had a bit of lingering clouds hang around which provided some nice color and textures around the horizon as well as a dreamy type effect as some of the stars became magnified. Even though the clouds blocked a bit of the core, I really like the clouds as an element of this shot. Definitely a cool location to shoot, I shall return with my 50mm one day. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, foreground: f/8, 98 sec, ISO-3200, sky: f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO-6400


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Sheep and Fall Colors - Eastern Sierras

I spotted this scene Saturday as we were heading down to Rock creek but we didn’t stop so we stopped here on our last day on the way down to Bishop and snapped a few in the early am backlight which provided some great light on the aspens as well as some contrasting light on the sheep. As I was shooting some frames a sheep dog ran through the shot and I caught him in action which was pretty cool and unexpected. I framed a bit of color in the foreground as well for some fall bokeh. Love adding animals to a landscape/nature shot as it fits in nicely. Don’t see too many sheep out here either, mostly cows and horses. Nikon D750, Nikkor 300 f/4, f/8, 1/2500 sec, ISO-800

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Gold Rush - Palos verdes seascape

I’ve become much more conscious trying to arrive at locations early enough to capture golden hour shots. I used to just wait for the burn but you get some great light with golden hour especially on your foreground as the last light of the day hits your subject. Not only does it give you the opportunity to capture some great shots, but also time to scope out different comps for when the sky does burn up. This one was setup on some sloped rocks and I snapped this as the incoming wave cascaded down in front of me. Everything in this scene is warm really portraying what golden hour is all about. Nikon D750, Nikkor 20mm 1.8, f/16, 0.5 and 1/30 sec blended, ISO-50. 


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Milky Way over Aspens - Eastern Sierras

This edit is 2 exposures, one for the foreground and one for the sky. Blending wasn’t an issue as the mountains provide hard lines which make it easy to blend. This was my first time shooting the milk with my 50mm tho so I was curious on how it would come out. The sky is not stacked or tracked, and the exposure was shorter due to the rule of 500. The edit therefore reflects that. I may play around with stacking or a trail type image later if I’m bored. Gave this one a little dreamier feel with some light Orton work. Was really glad to find a nice vibrant grove line up so well with one of the snow capped peaks so these are emphasized in the shot to draw attention to those aspects. All in all quite happy with the result of the 50mm. Nikon D750, Nikkor 50mm 1.8, foreground: f/8, 10 sec, ISO-500,  sky: f/2.5, 6 sec, ISO-6400

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Petroglyphs, Eastern Sierras CA

Sometimes when I return from an exhausting trip it’s hard to jump right into edits, especially with tough astro ones. This edit was to help me ease into upcoming edits from my trip. @yanaga.photos and I took a variety of comps here both with and without human elements facing both the MW and Polaris. I layered one of the foregrounds onto a still from the Polaris timelapse. Going through the files you can see some nice airglow dancing in the air which was very cool to see. Look out for a lot more comps from this location as they get edited. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, foreground: f/11, 5 sec, ISO-500 sky: f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO-6400

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Fall in the Eastern Sierras

As a reminder don’t forget to look up while you are out there chasing the fall colors. The golden aspens against the blue sky is an awesome color combo, especially when you can get some backlight on them giving them that golden glow. This is a wide shot looking up as I was wandering through the south lake fork outside of Bishop. Framed in the sunburst for some extra interest.  Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, f/18, 1/100 sec, ISO-250

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Foggy Fall - Silver Lake Eastern Sierras

Another past fall shot to get in the mood for Mammoth. When I get to witness fog burning off a lake it is usually in the distance. But this crisp morning as the sun hit Silver Lake it started burning off everywhere even towards the shoreline where I was standing. It was swirling around making cool patterns so I framed it with a nice set of aspens way across the lake. This is a vertical slice of the full shot. I like how the fog parted just enough to get the color of the aspens reflected in the lake. Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-200, f/14, 0.5 sec, ISO-100

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Malibu foggy sunset

Here’s a long exposure shot of fog flowing over the Santa Monica Mountains well after sunset. At the time I took this it was super dark and I couldn’t even see this scene. I bumped up my ISO a little bit and ran a 30 sec exposure and captured the ethereal fog splitting through the ridges. Picked up a hint of sunset glow as well as it lingered in the sky. Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200, f/8, 30 sec, ISO-250

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Joshua Tree National Park startrails over windmill

Here is a startrail shot I processed from the windmill in Joshua Tree National Park. I framed Polaris in the center and went wide to make a symmetrical circle around it (some is cropped to show here). This one didn’t utilize a separate foreground exposure, just the added light from stacking the photos which consisted of about 80 frames. I took some facing the opposite direction with the MW which I’ll share down the road. Stacked in starstax and processed in photoshop. All files taken with the Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, 15 sec, f/2.8, ISO-6400

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Fall Fishing - Eastern Sierras Silver Lake

One of my personal faves from the Eastern Sierras that was taken a few years back. I’ve never been able to re-create this scene with all the elements lining up like in this shot which had fall colors, fog burning of the lake, a nice boat for my foreground, and a fisherman wading in the lake with a perfect cast. This is pretty much the full scene compressed to show here which wouldn’t fit in a 1:1 crop. This is taken at Silver Lake in the June Loop which is one of my favorite areas to view the fall colors. I’ve yet to get an epic burn from here either, so hoping for one this year. Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-200, f/11, 1/50 sec, ISO-100

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Palos Verdes sunset burn - Golden Cove reflections

Seems like we’ve had more burns over the last few days than all of summer combined. Hopefully October and the change of seasons continues to produce. When some of the higher clouds burn I like to find a nice calm tidepool to snap the reflections in. While the sky wasn’t totally filled with clouds this night, the scattered clouds that were there burned real nice and pink. Had my CPL on while I was running around snapping comps, but made sure to minimize it to not cut through the water reflections. Sometimes I just like the simple scenes that allow you to appreciate the colors that mother nature provides. Nikon D750, Nikkor 20mm 1.8, f/11, 0.5 sec, ISO-50

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Palos Verdes sunset burn from Golden cove

Here’s one from last night’s sunset. It pretty much burned everywhere so as usual I was running around grabbing as many comps as I could as the burn moved through the sky. In this comp, I was hoping the cloud up top would get hit and once it did I framed this vertical shot to focus on just that one cloud along with some water flow in my foreground. I don’t even remember the last time I saw a good afterburn so I’m glad I was able to get out for this one. Hope all you socal peeps got a chance to get out and snap this one too. Nikon D750, Nikkor 20mm 1.8, f/11, ISO-64 blend of 0.8 sec and 1/30 sec exposures.

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eastern sierra startrails over petroglyphs

Here’s a redo of my startrail shot over the petroglyphs. I cleaned up the sky a bit and made the foreground more prominent by scaling it compared to the prior edit which had way more sky. I like to see a bit of sky above the North Star but my original edit had quite a bit too much which was taking away from the subject. I’ll be back here soon so I like to re-do some of my previous shots to see if I can pull out a cleaner edit or it will tell me what I need to do differently if I need to make a return trip. I’d love to get some fall color astro shots so we’ll just have to see if the colors are poppin off when I get there. Nikon D750, Nikkor 14-24, f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO-6400 processed in starstax and photoshop.

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