Category: Photography

Milky Way–June 2025

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In late June we had an extended string of days/nights without clouds. So this was a good time to update my Milky Way photographs using an ultra-wide fisheye lens. I did a similar photo shoot in May of last year. As before, I shot from a pullout on the Mormon Lake Village road which gives me a clear view over the top of the lake.

Image of Milky Way over Mormon Lake.
Image of Milky Way over Mormon Lake.
Image of Milky Way with star reduction.
Image of Milky Way with star reduction.

The big difference between last year and this year is a new camera. I upgraded from my Nikon D750 to a Nikon D850. The latter has 45 megapixels; the former has 24 megapixels. Big difference and it should result in better resolution of the stars.

I shot two sets of photographs. One set was on an iOptron SkyTracker to follow the motion of the stars; the second set was without tracking to photograph the foreground. Exposure time for both was 300 seconds and were shot with a Rokinon 12mm F2.8 full frame fisheye lens. As a consequence of the fisheye lens the Milky Way appears curved.

The two sets of images (foreground, stars) were then blended together using Photoshop. The result was imported into Siril, an astrophotography software package, to reduce the stars using the Starnet package. Both the normal star image and the reduced star image are shown here.

It should be noted that there was a lot of airglow that evening and the reduced star image helps to see the structure and waves present in the airglow.

It was a successful and fun evening of astrophotography shooting.

Trail Running in Northern Arizona

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Running—especially trail running—is a big part of our lives and we try to run in interesting places. That could be running up mountains, alongside streams, through forests, and in canyons. And I try to take a camera with me when we run. As a minimum, the camera will be a phone but I prefer to take along my Sony RX100 V, a small camera with a 24-70mm  zoom lens. The camera is actually smaller than my phone (smaller length x width, but thicker) so it fits well in my water bottle waist pack.

Here is a collection of photographs taken on the trails we have run this spring in northern Arizona.

The rising sun illuminates the red rocks of Sedona as we prepare to start the run.
The rising sun illuminates the red rocks of Sedona as we prepare to start the run.
Sometimes Dry Creek has water.
Sometimes Dry Creek has water.
A great swimming hole at the turn around point on Wet Beaver Creek.
A great swimming hole at the turn around point on Wet Beaver Creek.
Group run through Carroll Canyon.
Group run through Carroll Canyon.
Spring blossoms along the Elden Springs Trail.
Spring blossoms along the Elden Springs Trail.
Overhanging rock on Hardline Trail.
Overhanging rock on Hardline Trail.
Blooming agave plant on Hangover Trail.
Blooming agave plant on Hangover Trail.
Spring-fed ponds along the Sycamore Canyon Rim Trail.
Spring-fed ponds along the Sycamore Canyon Rim Trail.
Sycamore Canyon Rim Trail overlook.
Sycamore Canyon Rim Trail overlook.
Cluster of oak trees on Apollo Trail in the Mount Elden Dry Lakes (MEDL) trail system.
Cluster of oak trees on Apollo Trail in the Mount Elden Dry Lakes (MEDL) trail system.
View of the San Francisco Peaks on the high point of Space Walk Trail, a part of the MEDL system.
View of the San Francisco Peaks on the high point of Space Walk Trail, a part of the MEDL system.
Tree with carved bench at the top of Space Walk Trail.
Tree with carved bench at the top of Space Walk Trail.
Rock art along a trail in the Red Rock—Secret Mountain Wilderness.
Rock art along a trail in the Red Rock—Secret Mountain Wilderness.
Rocky Mountain Iris along the Arizona Trail.
Rocky Mountain Iris along the Arizona Trail.
Picturesque stand of aspen along the Arizona Trail.
Picturesque stand of aspen along the Arizona Trail.
Running on the Oldham Trail at the base of Mount Elden.
Running on the Oldham Trail at the base of Mount Elden.

It’s not just about the running—it’s also about the beautiful places running can take us.

Edit: fixed typo in title.

 

Cloud photographs–May 2025

On a recent trip between northern Arizona and Colorado I had the chance to photograph several interesting clouds and a rainbow.

Rain showers over Arches National Park with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.
Rain showers over Arches National Park with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.
Rain showers over Arches National Park with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.
Rain showers over Arches National Park with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.

Early in the trip we visited Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. Our timing was good to catch late afternoon light and the setting sun over the beautiful red rock of the park. Fortunately, a few showers were well positioned to catch the light and create an amazing scene. Over a period of about one-half hour the light went from flat to beautiful to shadow–then back to amazing. And then the Sun set and it was over.

Wave cloud (altocumulus standing lenticularis, ACSL) over the Sangre de Cristo mountains in south-central Colorado.
Wave cloud (altocumulus standing lenticularis, ACSL) over the Sangre de Cristo mountains in south-central Colorado.
Even smaller wave are evident on the larger wave cloud.
Even smaller wave are evident on the larger wave cloud.
Another view of the wave cloud over the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in south-central Colorado.
Another view of the wave cloud over the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in south-central Colorado.

On the return trip we saw a very nice wave cloud (altocumulus standing lenticularis or ACSL) over the mountain of southern Colorado. It remained in place long enough for us to get to the San Luis Valley and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in south-central Colorado. The juxtaposition of the mountain range and wave cloud made a nice composition. After a few minutes at this location, we continue on our journey and then stopped again to look back at the wave cloud now located to our northeast.

Spray from Treasure Falls near Wolf Creek Pass produces a small rainbow.
Spray from Treasure Falls near Wolf Creek Pass produces a small rainbow.
Cascading water from Treasure Falls near Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado.
Cascading water from Treasure Falls near Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado.

Spray from Treasure falls produces a rainbow.

Finally, as we descended the west side of Wolf Creek Pass we stopped at Treasure Falls. After a short hike we arrived at the falls. The Sun was now low enough in the west to create a rainbow in the spray from the falls. Pretty nice!

Snow in April

Snow in April! Actually, it isn’t rare for snow in April in Flagstaff. In fact, it is more likely that there is snow in April than no snow. Over the course of record for Flagstaff (1898–2025), there has been measurable snow in 107 of those years. Only 21 years had no snow or only a Trace of snow.

The snowfall this April, however, has been well above average. To date, there has been 13.5″ of snow (average for the entire month is 7.3″), falling in two events: April 2–3 (4.3″) and April 18–19 (9.0″).

This is good news as we had a dry winter. Our snow season total (July 1–present) stands at 60.3″ compared to an average of 87.6″. It is unlikely that we will catch up to normal as the chances for significant snow decrease rapidly going forward. However, this late influx of moisture (both March and April) has been good in bringing the fire danger down to LOW across the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests.

Here are some photographs from both of these events.

Layers of clouds are draped across the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona, in the wake of a winter storm (04 April 2025).
Layers of clouds are draped across the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona, in the wake of a winter storm (04 April 2025).
The rising sun illuminates clouds draped across Mormon Mountain in northern Arizona in the wake of a winter storm (04 April 2025).
The rising sun illuminates clouds draped across Mormon Mountain in northern Arizona in the wake of a winter storm (04 April 2025).

Time-lapse video of clouds over the San Francisco Peaks and Mormon Mountain in northern Arizona.

Streamers of fog and low clouds move below the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
Streamers of fog and low clouds move below the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
Streamers of fog and low clouds move below the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
Streamers of fog and low clouds move below the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
Fog and low clouds move below the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
Fog and low clouds move below the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
Fog and low clouds drape across the red rock spires of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
Fog and low clouds drape across the red rock spires of Sedona, Arizona (19 April 2025).
The rising Sun illuminates mist and fog swirling around the red rocks of the Munds Mountain Wilderness (19 April 2025).
The rising Sun illuminates mist and fog swirling around the red rocks of the Munds Mountain Wilderness (19 April 2025).
Mist and fog swirls around the red rock cliffs and is reflected in a small pool in Munds Mountain Wilderness (19 April 2025).
Mist and fog swirls around the red rock cliffs and is reflected in a small pool in Munds Mountain Wilderness (19 April 2025).
The setup for the previous photograph.
The setup for the previous photograph.
Dewdrops adorn this small lupine in Sedona (19 April 2025).
Dewdrops adorn this small lupine in Sedona (19 April 2025).
Snow adorns the blossoms of this flowering fruit tree in Flagstaff (19 April 2025).
Snow adorns the blossoms of this flowering fruit tree in Flagstaff (19 April 2025).
Snow on a flowering forsythia bush in Flagstaff (18 April 2025).
Snow on a flowering forsythia bush in Flagstaff (18 April 2025).
Snow on a flowering crab apple tree (18 April 2025).
Snow on a flowering crab apple tree (18 April 2025).
Snow and daffodil, Flagstaff (18 April 2025).
Snow and daffodil, Flagstaff (18 April 2025).
Snow in the upper reaches of Oak Creek Canyon with the switchbacks of SR-89A below.
Snow in the upper reaches of Oak Creek Canyon with the switchbacks of SR-89A below.

Objects in the Night Sky–March 2025

We have had several opportunities in March for good-to-excellent night sky viewing and astrophotography sessions. High on my list was capturing NGC 1499 (“California Nebula”). It resides in the western sky during March and is located near Pleiades but is actually in the constellation Perseus.

The nearly vertical zodiacal light shares the western sky with the winter Milky Way and are faintly reflected in the waters of Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff, Arizona.
The nearly vertical zodiacal light shares the western sky with the winter Milky Way and are faintly reflected in the waters of Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff, Arizona.

One drawback to observing it in the spring is that there can be interference from zodiacal light. From Wikipedia,

The zodiacal light is a faint glow of diffuse sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust. It appears in a particularly dark night sky to extend from the Sun’s direction in a roughly triangular shape along the zodiac…

…Since zodiacal light is very faint, it is often outshone and rendered invisible by moonlight or light pollution.

I made several attempts at NGC 1499. The first attempt was about as expected as I didn’t actually know where to point the camera so I used a short telephoto focal length (80mm) with a wide field of view (25.3° x 17.0°). Luckily, I pointed it correctly but unluckily I bumped the focus ring and everything had a soft focus. Okay, not a success but not too bad for a first attempt.

First attempt at NGC 1499 (19 March 2025).
First attempt at NGC 1499 (19 March 2025).
Third attempt at NGC 1499 (24 March 2025).
Third attempt at NGC 1499 (24 March 2025).

On my second attempt I used a longer focal length (180mm) which meant a smaller field of view (11.4° x 13.7°). I had very good focus and other camera settings but managed to actually point it at the wrong object. Instead, I photographed NGC 1579 (“Northern Trifid Nebula”). Oops! But the result was still a success–even if not the object I was seeking.

The third try worked out well. I reverted back to a shorter focal length (85mm) and wider field of view (23.9° x 16.0°) because that might give me a pleasing image with the nebula and neighboring stars. This worked out well except for the previously mentioned zodiacal light. The light was present in the field of view so it was necessary to crop the image to remove the bright band.

I actually prefer the first image as it has better color and less lens flare than the second image.

Finally, I shot images of the zodiacal light using an ultra-wide fisheye lens to capture both the foreground of Upper Lake Mary and the stars and planets up through the zenith. NGC 1499 and NGC 1579 are located to the right of Pleiades but are too small to be visible in this wide view.

The nearly vertical zodiacal light shares the western sky with the winter Milky Way. Annotated to show Pleiades, Jupiter, and Mars. NGC 1499 and NGC 1579 are located to the right of Pleiades.
The nearly vertical zodiacal light shares the western sky with the winter Milky Way. Annotated to show Pleiades, Jupiter, and Mars. NGC 1499 and NGC 1579 are located to the right of Pleiades.

I have recently started using Siril for my astrophotography processing and have been generally pleased with the results.