On April 23 I was out looking for the Lyrid Meteor Shower. While watching the sky I set my camera to take several long exposures to make this star trail image with the mountains as foreground. In total I took 80 shots with an exposure time of 30 seconds, so this stacked photo has a total exposure time of 40 minutes.
To my knowledge, this is the world’s first spherical panorama of star trails in a vortex pattern! It has taken several months and many attempts to come up with a method of shooting and stitching it. I only had 7.5hrs from astronomic dusk to dawn with consistent darkness to shoot everything for this shot, including the two long exposure panoramas of the Milky Way and the ground that are the base layer for the image. The rest were all short exposures of fewer stars for the trails that are blended on top.
Last weekend at Lake Sonoma, waiting for the predicted Meteor shower. The meteors didn't materialize, but the night sky was still beautiful, as always.
Figurines called Sand Tufa’s (pronounced toofah), gradually jettison up from salty floors as freshwater springs percolate through briny lake-bottom sand. Intricate sand tubes and columns become exposed as winds strip away their sandy coverings, and cast reflections off the shoreline of Mono Lake, CA. According to research data, this shallow lake basin is probably 1-3 million years old; making it among the most ancient lakes in North America. Embracing roughly 400 recorded vertebrate species within its watershed, Mono Lake and its surrounding areas encompass one of California’s richest natural resources. Coupled with the Milky Way’s expanse; it gives the viewer a sense of an ecosystem struggling for survival.
This is a panorama taken from a point in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and overlooks the eastern edge of The Great Basin. Airglow was quite prominent on this night.
