Astrophotographers Blend Art and Science

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The Veil Nebula is the visible portion of a supernova remnant, the Cygnus Loop. Photo by Tom Gwilym.

Looking at the vibrant colors and laser precision of many astrophotographs, it’s hard not to see the images as art. But according to astrophotographer and Door Peninsula Astronomical Society (DPAS) member John Lyon, the process of creating them is more analogous to science.

And that process is far from easy. Astrophotography requires long exposures because the longer the exposure time, the more detail the camera sensor can capture and the less visual noise will be seen. Long exposures require slow shutter speeds, so the camera sensor is exposed for a significant amount of time. 

NGC 2359, an emission nebula in the Canis Major constellation. Photo by John Lyon.

“You’re talking about anywhere between 30 seconds to 10 minutes,” Lyon said.

With long exposures, anything that moves while the camera sensor is exposed will appear blurry in the final image. Combined with the rotation of the Earth, this makes the clear capture of astronomical objects difficult, according to DPAS vice president Tom Gwilym. The telescope itself has to be in constant motion to track the object it’s trying to take a picture of. 

“If you don’t have tracking right, you get streaks,” he said. “Probably one of the biggest challenges of astrophotography is getting everything lined up and staying lined up.”

Another way to get clearer images is through stacking, or combining multiple images to reduce visual noise. In his recent picture of the Veil Nebula, for example, about six minutes’ worth of images were stacked.

“A dim object isn’t going to have full detail in one exposure, so you take another exposure, and then you stack them,” Gwilym said. “As it stacks, it fills in the gaps of [visual] noise, and it gets smoother and brighter and brings out more detail.”

Gwilym takes many of his pictures with DPAS’s new, advanced telescope: a $78,000 PlaneWave Instruments CDK400 observatory system housed in the Ray and Ruthie Stonecipher Astronomy Center in Sturgeon Bay. 

M13 is a globular cluster made up of hundreds of thousands of stars in the constellation Hercules. Photo by John Lyon.

Lyon has an at-home setup.

“For scopes, I use everything from a telephoto lens up through over 200 mm focal length,” he said. “I’ve got a full spectrum of telescopes to use, depending on what I’m trying to observe at that time.”

Although astrophotography can be an expensive hobby, it doesn’t have to be. Gwilym’s initial equipment was a small, $500 telescope with built-in tracking capabilities, hooked up to a webcam that he purchased on eBay.

“I cut a Fujifilm 35 mm canister; I cut the end off and glued it on there,” he said, laughing.

And with this patchworked setup, Gwilym took pictures of Jupiter and Saturn.

“Looking back at it now, they’re pretty ugly,” he said. “What we do now is so much better, but you gotta start somewhere.”

Over the years, his skills have improved alongside his equipment, but some astronomical objects still pose a challenge. Moving objects, such as the International Space Station, have been especially difficult for Gwilym.

To track a moving object while also compensating for the Earth’s rotation, he uses two-line elements, or tracking data for Earth’s satellites.

“You can find software that’ll plot it automatically, so you put that into your telescope, and it’ll track it,” Gwilym said.

The Heart and Soul Nebula is an emission nebula that’s about 7,500 light-years away from Earth. Photo by John Lyon.Picture saved with settings embedded.

For Lyon, dim objects are the most challenging ones to capture – but Door County’s dark skies make it easier.
“I have a friend in De Pere who does some beautiful work, but [light in the sky has] limited what types of images you can take from home,” Lyon said.

He pursued astrophotography because it blended his interests in space and art. (He was a photographer here on Earth, too, but he describes the two types of photography as completely different pursuits.) 

When Lyon got started in astrophotography, his goal wasn’t to place his work in a gallery, but this fall, it was displayed in Algoma’s Ladybug Glass Studio & Gallery for the second year in a row. 

His background is in education, so he considers his photos on display to be a form of public outreach.

“Being able to show people the different objects that are in the night sky that are capable of being photographed was my main goal,” Lyon said. “Whether people think it’s art or not really doesn’t matter.”

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Lexar announces the world’s fastest CFexpress Type A card

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Lexar has announced the Lexar Professional CFexpress Type A Card Gold Series in 320GB capacity. It’s ideally suited for use in cameras such as the new Sony A7R V and Sony A7 IV which are compatible with CFexpress Type A cards as well as SD-type media.

The new 320GB Lexar CFexpress card is capable of read speeds up to 900MB/s and write speeds up to 800MB/s. It’s also rated as Video Performance Guarantee 400 (VPG 400), which means it has a minimum write speed of 700MB/s and video is captured without any dropped frames. The faster transfer times of the CFexpress Type A cards are required to enable the most advanced video features of compatible cards.

According to Lexar, the new card is temperature-proof and able to withstand an operating temperature range from -10ºC to 70°C (14ºF to 158ºF) and non-operating temperatures from -20ºC to 85°C (-4ºF to 185ºF). The card is also shock resistant and
vibration resistant.

Lexar is selling the 320GB CFexpress Type A card bundled with the Lexar Professional CFexpress Type A / SD USB 3.2 Gen 2 Reader.

Lexar Professional CFexpress Type A Card Gold Series 320GB price

The 320GB Lexar Professional CFexpress Type A Gold Series card and Lexar Professional CFexpress Type A/SD Card Reader bundle is available immediately for £499.

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Oakland County thanks volunteers at Red Oaks Nature Center

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A Western hognose snake named Neville Hogbottom wraps around the fingers of Val Preston, a recreation program specialist and part-time naturalist at the Red Oaks Nature Center at the Suarez Friendship Woods, 30300 Hales St. in Madison Heights, during an open day at the museum Oct. 20.

A Western hognose snake named Neville Hogbottom wraps around the fingers of Val Preston, a recreation program specialist and part-time naturalist at the Red Oaks Nature Center at the Suarez Friendship Woods, 30300 Hales St. in Madison Heights, during an open day at the museum Oct. 20.

Photo by Patricia O’Blenes

The nature center is filled with educational exhibits and features programs throughout the year.

The nature center is filled with educational exhibits and features programs throughout the year.

Photo by Patricia O’Blenes

MADISON HEIGHTS — The Red Oaks Nature Center at Suarez Friendship Woods is one of the city’s best-kept secrets — an oasis of greenery in the heart of Madison Heights, hidden away from the roads, where visitors can enjoy peace and quiet on woodland trails. The experience comes complete with a museum chock-full of educational exhibits.

Yet despite the relative tranquility of the park, there’s a lot of hard work that takes place behind the scenes, driven in large part by volunteers. Recently, county officials paid tribute to them at the nature center, located at 30300 Hales St. across from Red Oaks Waterpark on 13 Mile Road west of Dequindre Road.

Among those recognized were volunteers Jean Linville, George Hankins, Cheryl Charpentier-Hankins, Judy Simpson and Mary Haller, each of whom have been helping at the nature center for at least 10 years, when it was first run by the city of Madison Heights, before later coming under the control of Oakland County Parks and Recreation.

Oakland County Commissioner Gary McGillivray helped broker that deal.

“I have been involved with the nature center since it first opened when I was serving on the City Council, and it has always had a special place in my heart,” said McGillivray, who also chairs the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission, in a statement. “It was an honor to have the opportunity to recognize these special longtime volunteers, who share my passion for the nature center and who have donated countless hours to keep it running all these years. I’m very thankful for their efforts.”

Haller, an Oak Park resident, said that she first visited the nature center when her daughter worked with a naturalist there in the early 2000s, a time during which Haller and her husband were living in California. They eventually moved nearby, buying a home that backed up to Suarez Friendship Woods.

“I loved having the woods as my ‘backyard’ and walked almost daily,” Haller said in an email. “I volunteered occasionally then, but started coming weekly after Oakland County took over operations. We welcomed visitors, gave tours, and shared what we knew about the birds, turtles, fish and butterflies. We also helped with seasonal decorating, parties, and supported various programs.

“I’ve often considered the nature center as a community center with all the different programs, birthday parties, community cleanups, Hotdog Fridays, and fall open houses,” she added. “I still come back whenever I’m in the area for a walk in the woods. It’s always magical to me how as soon as I step in the woods, I immediately start breathing deeper, and feel calmer.”

The park itself spans 37 acres and includes 1.3 miles of paved pathways, popular with walkers and bicyclists, as well as those taking their dog for a stroll or watching the many birds that make the woods a stopover on their migratory travels.

There are educational programs throughout the year that make extensive use of the trails, and a special “Storybook Trail” features installations that tell a story as one proceeds along the path.

Sarah Hudson began working at the park as its naturalist eight years ago. She said that since before that time, volunteers have been coming to the center at least once a week to assist with a variety of tasks. She said that volunteers and nature center staff have become like a family, and that the patrons also love interacting with the volunteers.

She described how the volunteers care for the captive animal collection, prepare materials and snacks for programs, greet and direct visitors, create promotional materials for upcoming events, and assist with programs by handling animals for patrons to see and touch, and reading stories.

“Their support has brought a new dynamic to the experience we are able to offer guests, as well as contributed countless hours and effort, allowing staff to serve larger audiences and be more effective with their own work hours,” Hudson said via email.

She noted that the museum’s exhibit space was redone as recently as 2019, and that the live specimens in its collection include a variety of reptiles and amphibians native to Michigan. There is also a kids’ area, a bird-viewing window, and seasonal interactive displays.

“Red Oaks Nature Center, and the park as a whole, are still a hidden jewel to many members of the community. The nature center isn’t visible from the road, or even from the parking lot, and I think many people pass it by without realizing it’s even there,” Hudson said. “But please, come and check out this great resource and experience that’s right in your neighborhood.”

The nature center is free to visit, and is open Tuesday through Sunday all year round.

For more information, call the Red Oaks Nature Center at (248) 585-0100.



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The best lenses for landscape photography in 2022

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Photographing the best landscapes calls for the best landscape lens. Can you take a good landscape photograph with the lens that came with your camera? For sure! Can you take a sensational one? Maybe. But you can increase your chance of success by using the right tool for the job. Focal length, aperture size, build quality and, of course, your budget all have their part to play. Not to mention your final intended publishing place – an Instagram post will have very different requirements to an enormous fine-art print.

We’ve carefully considered everything from all-rounders to landscape specialists, high-quality zoom lenses as well as dedicated, pro-grade primes. We’ve looked at optics that will fit the lens mounts of the biggest players out there, as well as a few that have multiple different mount options, so whether you’ve got a spectacular vista right on your doorstep or you’re looking for the perfect lens for that once-in-a-lifetime trip, you’ll find something here that suits.

READ NEXT: Best wildlife camera

Best lens for landscape photography: At a glance

How to choose the best landscape lens for you

What focal length landscape lens should I buy?

The million-millimetre question… Photographic lenses measure their focal length in millimetres, with a higher number meaning a more zoomed-in lens with a tighter field of view out of the end. So an ultrawide lens might have a focal length of around 15mm, while the kind of lens you see around the edge of a big sports event might have a focal length around the 400mm mark.

Many landscapes call for a lens with a broader field of view, which generally means a wider-angle lens and a shorter focal length. So a lens that kicks off at 15mm and only zooms in to, say, 35mm will make dramatic landscapes look expansive.

You need to factor in your camera’s sensor size too, as the smaller your camera’s sensor, the more your lens’ focal length will be multiplied. For example, cameras with a Micro Four Thirds sensor multiply every lens that’s attached to them by two, which means a 14mm lens will actually have a field of view equivalent to a focal length of 28mm. However, this doesn’t apply to full-frame cameras, as they don’t multiply the focal length of any lenses.

One thing to bear in mind is that ultrawide lenses give a fairly distinctive look to objects that aren’t miles away, on the horizon. And that might mean buildings with slightly bulging vertical lines, or distorted-looking people. The more specialist your lens’ focal length, the less you’ll be able to use it for general-purpose subjects.

All that said, landscape photography isn’t just about hills and distant mountains – good landscape photography can make the most of intricate detail, so you should definitely be prepared to consider standard focal length zooms (roughly in the 20-100mm range), as well as even longer lenses.

READ NEXT: The best travel tripods

What aperture should a landscape lens have?

Lenses with larger apertures are generally more expensive and, because they allow more light to hit the sensor at once, more useful. A lens with a large aperture can let you shoot lower ISOs, which means less “noisy” images, or a faster shutter speed, which means steadier, less blurry images, or both at once.

However, photographs shot with a big aperture will also have shallower depth of field, which means less of your image will be in focus at once. There’s no hard and fast rule, but landscape photographs with lots in focus – shot with a smaller aperture – give their audiences more intricate detail to luxuriate in, so plenty of landscapes lenses shoot around the f/8-f/11 range, which means a lens’ maximum aperture size is irrelevant.

One thing to consider is that a sharp image with shallow depth of field is always better than a shaky image with lots of depth of field. So, if you’re expecting to shoot in wild environments with fading light, you might still benefit from a lens that lets you get at apertures of f/4 and larger.

Should I buy a weather-proofed lens?

To the uninitiated, the life of a landscape photographer looks pretty relaxing – head to a beautiful location, wait for sunset, snap a picture. In reality, high wind, driving rain and even occasional sandstorms are all occupational hazards. The tougher your gear is, the longer you’ll be able to leave it out in the open, in the hope you’ll catch the first few rays of light after a storm. Sometimes location photography is a war of attrition, and you don’t want your kit to give up first.

Should a landscape lens have image stabilisation?

Good landscape photographers always use a tripod, don’t they? So what’s the point of image stabilisation? If you’re really committed to shooting all of your images from a tripod, it’s true that paying extra for a lens with image stabilisation is unnecessary.

In the best-case scenario, your lens will detect that it’s mounted to a tripod and disable its stabilisation, while in the worst, it will go a bit haywire, as the gyroscope that drives stabilisation can get stuck in a feedback loop, resulting in poor-quality images.

Still, being able to run-and-gun is a huge advantage, particularly in rapidly changing light or poor weather, when setting up a tripod will result in getting wetter or colder than you’d like. In those situations you might still want to shoot using long shutter speeds, in which case a lens with image stabilisation could be a significant asset.

How much should I spend?

Good question! At the high end of the market, a good all-purpose lens that will shoot a decent landscape shot might set you back £1,500 – more if you’re after a current-generation, pro-grade lens for a mirrorless camera.

But there are plenty of lenses that are beautifully sharp at typical landscape apertures that cost way less, and you can expect quality budget options to start at around £500. While it’s possible to go a bit cheaper, you’ll find you have to start compromising. For example, apertures might not open as wide, which won’t matter too much for landscape photography, but will limit a lens’ appeal for more general-purpose work. You’ll probably also lose weather-sealing, and images might be a bit less sharp – not really an issue if you’re looking to be the next big thing on Instagram, but more problematic if you want to perform big crops on your images or get them printed.

A final thing to note is that lenses, and particularly pro-level glass, hold their value really well – much better than cameras – so you can think of it as an investment!

READ NEXT: Best lenses for portraits

The best lenses for landscape photography to buy in 2022

1. Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM: Best lens for general-purpose photography 

Price: £1,329 | Buy now from Amazon

The “L” in the name denotes Canon’s pro series of lenses, while the 24-105mm focal length has seen several generations of photographers deep into their careers. This RF-mount version is Canon’s best and sharpest yet, and might just be the best all-purpose lens full stop.

Of particular interest to landscape photographers is the fact that its 24mm focal length is practical, if not ultrawide, while the ability to zoom in 4.4x gives you the ability to shoot details as well. It also benefits from built-in image stabilisation which, in conjunction with the In-Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS) found in some of Canon’s high-end RF-mount cameras, will allow you to shoot sharp shots at much longer shutter speeds – Canon claims the lens’ image stabilisation will hold you steady for five stops longer than an unstabilised lens.

Internally, there are 18 lens elements in 14 groups, and while the 24-105mm is pretty sharp when you shoot it wide open at f/4, it’s extremely sharp when you stop it down a bit – easily good enough for enormous fine-art prints.

There are wider lenses, and there are faster lenses, but there aren’t many better all-rounders, particularly for the appealing price.

Key specs – Focal length: 24-105mm; Maximum aperture: f/4; Mount: Canon RF; Image stabilisation: Yes; Filter diameter: 77mm; Dimensions (LxD): 107.3 x 83.5mm; Weight: 830g

2. Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art: Best lens for nightscapes

Price: £1,399 | Buy now from Amazon

One of this photographer’s all-time favourite lenses, Sigma’s 14mm f/1.8 is part of the brand’s Art series – comparable to Canon’s L-series lenses or Nikon’s S-line range.

It’s optically superb, which is no small achievement given its fairly extreme specifications: 14mm is about as wide as you’ll get on a full-frame sensor, and f/1.8 is a particularly large aperture, yet the lens produces a gorgeous, rectilinear image with very little distortion. So for landscapes that don’t bend in the middle – including architectural photography – it’s a natural.

That large aperture has other advantages. Of course, you can stop it down for a bit more sharpness, but it offers some intriguing possibilities for photographers to shoot at night – combine it with a full-frame sensor and your camera will be positively drinking in light, which means lower ISOs and the potential for some really amazing wide-field astrophotography.

It’s got a pretty decent heft to it – it clocks in at nearly 1.2kg, which is heavy for a landscape lens – but it’s weather-sealed and, frankly, the weight offers a bit of reassurance that you’ll be able to head out on some adventures with it. Inside there are 16 elements in 11 groups, plus a nine-bladed aperture, which isn’t going to produce particularly spectacular bokeh, but at 14mm depth of field is never going to be terribly pronounced.

A final note in the Sigma 14mm Art’s favour is its compatibility with the wider market: if you own a camera with a Sony E-mount, Canon EF mount (or RF-mount with an adapter) or Nikon F mount (or Z-mount with an adapter), this lens will fit and is capable of amazing results.

Combined with a motorised star tracker, you’ve got one of the best astrophotography lenses on the market.

Key specs – Focal length: 14mm; Maximum aperture: f/1.8; Mount: Sigma SA, L, Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E; Image stabilisation: No; Filter diameter: No filter possible; Dimensions (LxD): 127 x 97mm; Weight: 1,170g

3. Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7‑14mm F2.8 PRO: Best lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras

Price: £960 | Buy now from Amazon

You’ll recall from our buying guide that owners of Micro Four Thirds cameras – which includes everything that Olympus offers, plus a number of Panasonic cameras, among others – need to multiply the focal length of every lens by two, because of the small sensor. For wildlife photographers this is a benefit – a 200mm lens becomes a 400mm lens – but there are drawbacks for landscape photographers, and you’ll need an extra wide optic to match relatively tight 35mm lenses. Still, with a widest focal length of 7mm (14mm in 35mm terms), the M.Zuiko ED 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro is an eminently practical lens for those shooting landscapes.

It’s a tough little customer – while it only weighs just over 500g, it’s still weather- and dust-sealed. And there’s some quality glass on display here: 14 elements in 11 groups, featuring Olympus’ ZERO lens coating. That’s an acronym standing for Zuiko Extra-low Reflection Optical, in case you were wondering.

It’s capable of some great results. It’s extremely wide-angle, and this, plus the large aperture, means that if you shoot at its widest focal length, with the aperture open to f/2.8, you’re going to need to correct some vignetting in post, though stopping down helps. Chromatic aberration is well controlled, although you’ll see a little if you shoot at f/2.8, but it’s nothing a little Photoshop can’t correct. It’s very sharp – shoot around f/5.6, if you can, and you’ll be rewarded with images that belie this lens’ affordable price and small size.

Key specs – Focal length: 7-14mm; Maximum aperture: f/2.8; Mount: Micro Four Thirds; Image stabilisation: No; Filter diameter: No filter possible; Dimensions (LxD): 105.8 x 78.9mm; Weight: 534g

4. Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S: Best lens for Nikon cameras

Price: £2,119 | Buy now from Amazon

This is the Z-mount version of the AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, a lens that Nikon described as “legendary” which, for once, wasn’t just marketing hyperbole.

That means this lens has some big boots to fill, and we’re pleased to report it does so with aplomb that befits this lens’ high price. It’s ultrawide – 14mm is about as wide as you can get on a full-frame sensor without seeing goldfish bowl-style barrel distortion – while the 2x zoom ratio allows you a little compositional flexibility. The aperture opens as wide as f/2.8 – yes, bigger apertures are available on other lenses with similar focal lengths, but, while this might not be the brightest lens on the block, you could still use it to get into nightscape photography without astronomical (sorry) ISOs.

Handling is excellent; compared to its legendary predecessor, the Z 14-24mm’s 650g is positively featherweight. We appreciate a few pro-grade touches, such as the customisable function button and the OLED display on the top, which can be set to display current focal length, aperture or focus distance. Of these, focus distance is clearly the most useful, but it’s handy to have options. The final box ticked is weather and dust sealing, making this a lens that should be able to live a reasonably hard life.

Sharpness at the centre of the image is superb throughout this lens’ aperture range, though if you’re concerned about the corners – which drop off a little when shooting at f/2.8 – you’ll want to stop down a bit. If you do that, you’ll be rewarded by one of the very best wide-angle landscape lenses of all time.

Key specs – Focal length: 14-24mm; Maximum aperture: f/2.8; Mount: Nikon Z; Image stabilisation: No; Filter diameter: 112mm; Dimensions (LxD): 124.5 x 88.5mm; Weight: 650g

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Transform Your Favorite Smartphone Photos into Memorable Holiday Gifts

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If you often find yourself stressing about what to give loved ones as gifts for the holidays or for their birthdays, your smartphone may hold all the answers. And no, we’re not talking about online shopping; we’re talking about all the amazing photos it holds.

Nowadays, almost everyone has several thousand photos on their smartphone. Whether it’s vacation photos, landscapes, or family photos, you most likely own an impressive collection. And what’s even more fun, you don’t have to worry much about the photo quality. Just select the ones that look best, and half of your gift is done.

Smartphone Photos into Memorable Holiday Gifts

If you’re still puzzled by the idea, here are a few amazing gifts you could make using just the photos in your smartphone:

Offer a Unique Mug

If you’re preparing a gift for someone close to you (a friend, a sibling, or a partner), a mug can be an endearing and sweet gift. But, to make it even more endearing, you can use a funny picture of the person and print it on the mug. This way, whenever they drink coffee or tea, they’ll see the picture and think of you, or they’ll smile because the picture reminds them of a funny situation.

If you’re stuck browsing through the hundreds of photos you have of the person (or with them), try looking for inspiration in other people’s ideas for a gift – you might strike gold!

Create Personalized Calendars

A one of a kind calendar can be an amazing gift for grandparents, parents, or even office colleagues, depending on the pictures you decide to use. For instance, if you want to make a calendar for your grandparents or parents, they’ll love seeing your face plastered over each month of the year, but your colleagues may not be happy about that.

However, if you use a group photo with your colleagues for the cover, you can still create a beautiful and thoughtful gift for everyone at the office.

Smartphone Photos into Memorable Holiday Gifts

Make a Photo Puzzle

What better way to reminisce about your amazing summer vacation than to turn some of the most gorgeous landscape photographs on your phone into a puzzle? True, the images need to be high-quality (especially if you want a big puzzle with 1000+ pieces), but most smartphones nowadays shoot in HD (at least).

Plus, you can add valuable information to the image, such as the date and the destination of your vacation. This way, you can piece the puzzle together and turn it into a wall painting or art. As a result, you’ll have a gorgeous painting reminding you of a wonderful vacation you literally pieced together.

A Digital Photo Frame

If you’re not into arts and crafts but still want to impress your giftee, a digital photo frame can be a great option. However, the costs will be a bit higher than with the other ideas since you have to buy the frame.

However, there are plenty of options, so it all depends on your preferences and budget. Once you have the frame, you can upload your favorite pictures and decide on the presentation pattern and transitions.

This one’s a great gift for anyone who likes technology because it’s easy to use, looks amazing on a bookshelf or a desk, and can be refreshed with new images. It’s also a great way to keep track of your relationship by adding new pictures each year!

Smartphone Photos into Memorable Holiday Gifts

Wrap Up

The images we store on our smartphones or online can be a treasure for customized gifts, so don’t forget about them! Sort them out, edit the ones that need a bit of help, and bring them into the real world by turning them into unique gifts.

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This terrible ad design fail is the funniest thing on Reddit right now

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Design fails can come in many forms. Sometimes it’s an unintentional reference or a simple typo that could have been avoided with closer proofreading. And sometimes an attempt to do something clever falls apart in the execution.

This one falls into the latter category. I get the idea – I think. The travel brand wanted to show a sudden transformation in the face of a young woman as she goes from travelling vicariously by staring at people’s social media feeds to taking a selfie of her own on holiday in Europe. A few pixels of space between the two images might have made that work. Maybe. But as it is, the result looks like something very different.

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Hunting Orion the Hunter! – David Lane Astrophotography

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Horse Head Nebula M78 Barnard's Loop

Horse Head nebula M78 Barnards Loop

 

 

 

Whats better than Orion in the Winter sky? Nothing that’s what!

 

Saturday here in Kansas we had a rare clear night with the temperature above 5 degrees F, wind below 40 mph and just a tiny sliver of moon. It was a perfect night to go out and hunt Orion the Hunter!

 

In this shot, I managed to bag the Horsehead Nebula (right), M78 or Messier 78 (center left blue), and a piece of the large area around Orion called Barnard’s Loop.

 

There are so many fantastic areas of Hydrogen Alpha Emissions (called Ha) and super bright Nebulas in this region. These are that areas you see as pink in the image. The HA emission is 656 nanometers which is a bit above the color red on the light spectrum. Here a bit from Wikipedia on H-Alpha emissions.

 

H-alpha (Hα) is a specific deep-red visible spectral line in the Balmer series with a wavelength of 656.28 nm; it occurs when a hydrogen electron falls from its third to second lowest energy level. H-alpha light is important to astronomers as it is emitted by many emission nebulae and can be used to observe features in the Sun‘s atmosphere, including solar prominences and the chromosphere.

 

H-Alpha emissions are typically emitted by dense nebulas which are the star-forming regions of galaxies. Trillions of tons of dust and remnants of supernova explosions gather together like a snowball rolling downhill slowly gathering more and more material until gravity compresses the material to the point it heats to ignition. Then in a massive explosion that jets out leftover material and creates a Herbig-Haro object that is a protostar. 

 

All the pink areas and dark dust areas are stars in evolution, from a clump of dust to the largest star. All represented in a single picture.

 

Enjoy! Plus check out the cool way to focus at night I created too!

 

EXIF: 300mm f4.0 122 x 70secs, ISO 4000



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‘Life Magazine and the Power of Photography’ illustrates history

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For much of the 20th century, Life Magazine conquered mass media as the primary visual source for current events. From 1936 to 1972, the magazine presented the public with carefully crafted images that captured real-world social and political narratives. Henry Luce, the publication’s founder, was able to expose readers to a wide variety of images outside of their immediate community, shaping discussions about contemporary issues in the process. As the Museum of Fine Arts puts it in its new exhibit, “with its visually revolutionary brand of storytelling, Life fundamentally shaped how its readers understood photography and how they experienced and remembered events.”

The exhibit, “Life Magazine and the Power of Photography,” documents these crucial photographs, stories and histories. Through its well-crafted presentation of original negatives, contact sheets, vintage photographs and internal communications, viewers are taken on an immersive journey into not only the magazine’s history but America’s as well. 

Walking into the exhibition, viewers are invited to sit down beside a vintage coffee table surrounded by suburban wallpaper reminiscent of the 1950s and flip through issues of Life from that era. Unlike most museum exhibitions, in this instance, the MFA is directly inviting viewers to interact with the exhibition’s subject of study. For young audiences not familiar with Life or its general structure, this display provides a fantastic opportunity to connect with and understand the publication’s appeal before continuing.

Subsequent rooms cover the publication’s founding and its early history. Viewers have the opportunity to read Henry Luce’s original telegrams describing the magazine’s purpose and analyze early “dummy” versions and drafts of Life’s first issue. Prints by Margaret Bourke-White, one of Life’s first photographers and its very first female photographer, are displayed, including “Fort Peck Dam, Montana,” the 1936 image that became the magazine’s first cover. Other iconic images on display include J.R. Eyerman’s “Audience watches movie wearing 3-D spectacles” and Yousuf Karsh’s famous portrait of Winston Churchill sitting with his cane and glaring into the camera with his powerful stare.

These photographs are complemented by a variety of text panels surrounding each section of the hall, which provide insight into the photographers and the processes involved in capturing some of the 20th century’s most influential images. Rather than simply presenting recognizable pictures to the viewer, the exhibit makes an effort to educate visitors about the journalistic process — describing how stories were assigned, how agency photographers composed their own shots and how scripts were involved in these visual narratives. Visitors who download the MFA’s mobile app have the opportunity to listen to interviews with Life reporters who share their first-person experiences with the photographs and stories presented. 

Apart from simply describing these artifacts, “Life Magazine and the Power of Photography” also explores the magazine’s focus on the deeper, heavier themes that came to define its lasting influence. Photographs by W. Eugene Smith, grouped together, highlight the healthcare challenges faced by Black women in the poverty-stricken South. Images captured by Larry Burrows illustrate America’s harsh timeline of war — especially the Vietnam years and the trauma they inflicted. The visual groupings highlight the importance of these histories beyond the magazine itself and educate visitors about how these major topics were received and documented in American media. 

Though it glorifies some of Life’s successes, the exhibit also carefully considers the magazine’s shortcomings too, especially regarding its “predominately white, male, middle-class perspective on politics, daily life, and culture.” In a section featuring images of civil rights protests, the museum makes an effort to highlight some of the inaccuracies promoted by Life, such as the magazine’s failure to describe police as aggressors in images of racially-motivated violence. The exhibit is conscious of the white, suburban bias of Life’s audience and of the people interviewed in stories as well. Presented with a holistic view of the publication, museumgoers are reminded that often, in journalism, key perspectives are excluded from mainstream narratives.

Beyond the magazine’s actual contents, the exhibit features several installations by contemporary artists Alfredo Jaar, Alexandra Bell and Julia Wachtel. Their artwork extends the dialogue presented in “Life Magazine and the Power of Photography” by highlighting contemporary shortcomings in journalism, including its biases and problematic narratives.

“Life Magazine and the Power of Photography” is one of the most interesting and insightful MFA exhibits in recent history. From the photos displayed to the supplementary materials provided, the exhibit tells an exciting narrative about the history of modern America and its relationship with media. 

“Life Magazine and the Power of Photography” is open to the public from Oct. 9 through Jan. 16, 2023 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.



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Story Behind The Image “Golden Peaks” – Barger Nature Photography

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Sunset at Mt Sass de Putia in the Dolomites in northern Itally

Earlier this fall I spent 10 days touring the Dolomites. The Dolomites, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, are located in northern Italy and are part of the Alps. The jagged mountain peaks, reflections on the lakes, fall color, and churches are particularly stunning. The sunrises and sunsets can be spectacular. Some of the churches with their ornate architecture are centuries old and but still in surprisingly good condition given their age. The weather in the area is extremely unpredictable.

The image in this post is of Mt Sass de Putia. The day before this image was taken, we visited the area and the entire area including the mountain peak was enshrouded in fog. The mountain peak and the valley below were not visible. I spent the afternoon entertaining myself photographing trees and buildings vanishing in the fog. Prior to our visit our local guides attempted to describe the scenery that we could expect to see. It was difficult to put that in perspective when all you could see was fog.

The next day we returned to the exact same location and the weather was sunny. I was completely blown away by the scenery. I found the scenery more spectacular than described by our guides. The image seen here is of Mt Sass de Putia bathed in the golden light as the sun set. I especially like the mix of warm and cool tones. The color in the cool blue sky and the golden light on the mountain peaks complement each other nicely. My camera did an excellent job of holding detail in the spruce trees. I hope you enjoy this image.

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Learn more about color with Pixar

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We all know Pixar (Animation Studios) for the funny, witty, touching animation movies. Part of the reason these movies are so good is the focus on excellent story telling. And these stories are told with excellent quality standards and the focus on all the little details.
But what does Pixar have to do with astrophotography, I hear you ask. Well, one could make some philosophical point about story telling in (astro)photography I guess, but the real reason we are talking about Pixar here is color and color theory.
One of the things Pixar needs to be great at is the use of color in their movies and how it will be perceived by the audience. Pixar even has a ‘color scientist’ to support that and now you are able to learn a lot about color from him.
Pixar teamed up with the Kahn Academy and created a course on color science.

I’ve talked about getting the colors right in your astrophotos before and now you can learn more about color from this online course here: Color Science on KhanAcadamy
It’s relatively short (it takes around 2 hours to complete) and it covers some great things that is relevant for all of us as (astro)photographers.
“Just as dialog, acting, and music are tools filmmakers use to convey meaning and emotion, color can be used to the same effect. But determining “color” is not as simple as saying “red” or “brown” because there are endless shades of color in the visible spectrum. In this lesson, you will learn how color is determined partly by the physics of light and partly by how our brains perceive it.”

As usual for course on the Khan Academy the Color Science course encompasses some nice short videos in which Pixar explains things about color, followed by some questions and practice sections in which you are presented with a tool and you are going to work with color and color grading yourself.

This course on color science is part of ‘Pixar in a Box‘ which covers more topics on animation and it’s great fun and insightful!




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