It is possible to drive to the floor of Monument Valley and enjoy a 17-mile loop that presents magnificent views of the geology wonders here. At one point along the drive is this view, called the “North Window”, a particularly beautiful scene in the moments before sunset.
Monument Valley, Navaho Nation
7 May 2007
Canon EOS 20Da, EF-S 17-55mm at 38mm
1/500 at f/8, ISO 400
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West Mitten and East Mitten Buttes of Monument Valley are bathed in late afternoon lighting, the geology further reddened by the beauty light of sunset.
Monument Valley, Navaho Nation
7 May 2007
Canon EOS 20Da, EF-S 17-55mm at 21mm
1/500 at f/11, ISO 400
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The Watchman is the peak that dominates the campground at the south end of Zion National Park. This is a view up the valley of the Virgin River over an hour and a half period, at the end of which the moon rose and illuminated the canyon walls. Trees and camping vehicles were occasionally lit by the headlights of a late-to-bed car finding the way to its campsite.
Zion National Park
6 May 2007
Canon EOS 20Da, EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm
12 x 8min at f/5.6 ISO 800
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I had learned that there was a famous feature of the Colorado River called Horseshoe Bend near Page Arizona, but it was not particularly obvious to travelers passing through that town. Sure enough, marked by an inconspicuous sign, I found a parking area at the trailhead of a half-mile hike that ends abruptly at the rim of the canyon. A thousand feet below, the river makes a dramatic winding around this peninsula from the far side plateau. It is a huge view; this wide angle shot attempts to fit it all in.
A nearly full moon is out, illuminating the scene. This is a composite of individual frames, each of 5 minute duration taken over a two hour period. During that time, clouds of various types drifted past, sometimes obscuring most of the sky. This image shows the first 30 minutes and the last 40 minute periods of the total time, revealing the brightest stars trailing across a lunar-lit sky.
Horseshoe Bend, near Page AZ
4 Nov 2006
EOS 20Da, EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm
5 min, f/8, ISO 100
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Sentinel point in Yosemite National Park. One of my first digital startrail images comprises four exposures of 15 minutes each. Image composited and noise reduced in Photoshop.
Sentinel Point, Yosemite
27 April 2006
Canon EOS 20Da, EF-S 10-22m at 10mm
4 x 15 min at f/4, ISO800
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This is an early experiment in taking star trail photos with a digital camera. Ninety exposures of 1-minute each were composited with the “lighten” blending mode in Photoshop. During this elapsed time, the moon entered the frame. It has been dodged out except for its position in the final exposure.
I had traveled to Boulder Colorado frequently, where this section of the Rocky Mountain’s front range offers protection and beauty to the CU campus. In all of my prior trips, the days were sunny and clear, but when the sun set, the mountains pulled a blanket of clouds over themselves.
Not so on this day, the day I had come to see my son graduate. A few wisps of moisture drifted across the peaks, but the sky stayed open, and the full moon illuminated the slabs of the flatirons with its distinctive diffuse light.
In the high resolution copy of this image, the individual exposures are discerned. Each was actually 55 seconds long, separated from the next by 5 seconds. This is too long a delay, the gaps between the star trail segments is visible. At lower resolution, the segments merge together to form the classic pattern of stars apparently streaming across the sky.
Boulder Colorado
12 May 2006
EOS 20Da, EF-S 10-22mm at 22mm
55sec, f/5.6, ISO 200
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Also known as the “Seven Sisters”, the wispy blue glow is from dust reflecting the light of these nearby stars.
Monument Valley, Navaho Nation
5 November 2005
Televue 85 f/5.6
Canon EOS 20Da
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An early experiment in using different exposures to build a high dynamic range (HDR) image of the Orion Nebula. The “Running Man” nebula is revealed to its upper left.
Monument Valley, Navaho Nation
5 November 2005
Televue 85 f/5.6
Canon EOS 20Da
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There is enough earthshine to illuminate the night side of the moon.
Monument Valley, Navaho Nation
4 November 2005
Canon EOS 20Da
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A 90-minute exposure captures a variety of lights. The stars mark their clockwork passage across the sky of course, but civilization also leaves its mark. Airplane beacons flash as they pass through, distant towns show on the horizon, and local traffic finds its way along the private road below. Private, but not unseen, and when the headlights aim in my direction, with the lens wide open, the film captures their flare.
Monument Valley, Navaho Nation
4 November 2005
Pentax 6×7, 55mm f/3.5, 90 minutes
Kodak E200 +1 stop push
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