Astro Photography

Last week I decided it was time to try my hand at astrophotography.  I've been feeling "restless" lately, like I'm getting into a rut, feeling the need to try something new.  I checked the weather report and saw that - after a period of cloudy skies and wet weather- last Sunday night was supposed to be clear, cloudless night, coinciding with a new moon.  The decision was made.

After sunset I headed south, turning down County Road 51, following the winding two lane road past where the pavement ends and the road becomes a narrower dirt thoroughfare, down through the canyon and up, winding and climbing until I reached an open plateau, drove through the dark until the last house faded in the distance, drove until the trees thinned and the land was open, drove until all I could make out in the fading twilight was an old windmill, finally pulling the car over roughly 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe as the crow flies.  I got out, stared into the pitch black, stood there until my eyes adjusted to the dark, then grabbed my camera and tripod and setup on the side of the road.  I double checked the settings I had dialed in before leaving the house - focus set to infinity, lens at its widest angle (10mm), camera set to Manual mode, aperture at f3.5, shutter speed at 20 sec, ISO 3200 - and started taking a few shoots, trying to get a composition that I was happy with.


After taking a few shots I decided to experiment with a little light painting.  I found a composition that I liked, with the glow of fading sun still on the horizon and the windmill on the left hand side of the frame.  During the twenty second exposure I hit the "lock" button on my car's key chain, and the quick flashes of the car's light lent a warm glow to the windmill and the foreground...  Taken at 10:28 PM.

I had brought with me a small pen light which projected a cool blue light.  During this exposure I used the pen light to paint the road with a small patch of light.  Taken at   10:38 PM.

In this shot I used the pen light to illuminate the windmill, while capturing the Milky Way rising over the horizon to the left.  Taken at 11:11 PM.

That night I listened to the coyotes howling in the distance, the occasional bird call out into the night before bedding down, not another car, not another soul, encountered on the road...  That night I got caught up in the moment, listening to the sounds that come with the still night, playing around with light painting and compositions.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized I hadn't taken the time to vary shutter speed, to experiment with different ISO settings, to wait and bide my time until the Milky Way has ascended higher in the night sky. 
  
Which only serves as an excuse to go out into the night again...

While I have your ear, I'd like to mention that I am showing my work at the Santa Fe Artists Market on select Saturdays this summer, with June 13 and 20 tentatively scheduled as the next days I'll be there, and I will be appearing at the 54th Annual New Mexico Arts & Crafts Fair June 26-28 at the EXPO NM Fairgrounds (Manuel Lujan Building) in Albuquerque.

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000 camera body, and a Nikkor 10-24 DX lens

You can view my online portfolio and purchase prints here.

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