I was lucky enough to get into a Joshua Tree National Park Institute Night Sky Workshop with Dennis Mammana (he’s an interesting man, click on his name to read about him if you are interested). I say lucky, because these classes fill up quick and I was not even looking specifically at this class – just photo workshops in the desert. Well you know Google and how it sees all and reads minds. It “suggested” I might be interested in this class – AND… yes, Google, I am thank you very much.
Of course it was full so I put my name on the wait list two weeks before go time – apparently very few people do this in our new immediate gratification world (others maybe moved on to something new?) because I was the only one on the wait list when someone dropped out. Yay me!!
Special thanks to the volunteers and Dennis Mammana for putting on such a great workshop. The JTNP Association has extensive programming for everyone (i.e. not just photography) and it is very reasonably priced. I’ve put the link to the Association’s website in their name in the first paragraph, you should have a look at their catalog if you are coming down this way!
We spent a bit of time setting up trying to get our focus, composition and settings right. My focus seems a bit soft here. DM’s wise advise was to take multiple test shots and then finally “the shot”. Sadly, I am both impatient and see shiny baubles around every corner…good advise…bad student! Joshua Tree NP is designated an International Dark Sky Park but we could still see the lights of LA from where we were. There are areas in the park that are more effected by surrounding light pollution than others. We were sort of close to the west entrance and I was facing LA to start.We had a crescent moon that night and it really lit the rocks up. This is one of my favourites. I’ve added one image with the moon in it. It was so bright that post processing was a bit more difficult. Show the moon? Show the rocks? Show the sky? I chose to let the moon stay overexposed. It was actually a 33% Crescent Moon that night.This is another that I really like and will apologize to Mr. DM right off – yes, my sky is a bit too blue for a night sky but I like a little bling now and then (I mean always). This was from earlier in the evening so there are not many stars visible.So in the spirit of proper representation (although that is not how I remember the night) here is one that the sky is more like what one sees, I think.
I like this one, it is what we call a happy accident. I was exposing this giant boulder and the sky when one of the participants was leaving in their car and lit up the rock briefly with their taillights. It reminds me a bit of Star Trek and an alien world… the Dennis Mammana Night Sky Photo Workshop goes where no photo workshop has gone before. Yes, we geeked out a bit at the JTNP Institute.
I thought I would end with another of my imagination photos. This is how I imagined it would be, not how it was. There was no pink sky, no sunsets to die for – no clouds so perfect for stars, not perfect for sunsets. But we can make things happen in Lightroom and I was hoping for clouds for an amazing sunset, which we obviously did not get and crisp clear skies for stars, which our hosts pulled off perfectly for us!
I hope you enjoyed looking at my night sky photos. And if you are in the area at all please do look up the Institute and what they have to offer. You won’t be sorry.
Lovely photos! The whole soft focus thing. Yeah. I think calming thoughts during set up, and check again, do some test shots, and check again. Then check more. Only then, let the camera run.
I can’t even pick a favorite!!!
We need to go one night!
Gorgeous photos! Nothing more beautiful than the beautiful skies above the desert.
Thanks Sheena, I couldn’t agree more, it is so amazing. Like a great big heavy blanket of stars!
Lovely photos! The whole soft focus thing. Yeah. I think calming thoughts during set up, and check again, do some test shots, and check again. Then check more. Only then, let the camera run.
Yes, I agree, check, check, chec…….. hey, what’s that over there??