Twilight Road Thru the Alabama Hills by Miles Morgan

"The Polarizer" ~ © Miles Morgan
(click to enlarge - then click large image again, to view on black)

Miles Morgan photographed this scene with a Nikon D800E, using a 35mm focal length lens. Exposure was 60 seconds @ f/13, ISO 100 (the moon was a separate exposure with a 70mm lens —but it was in that position over the Sierras). Miles Morgan is an airline pilot out of Portland, Oregon who doubles as an amateur fine art landscape photographer. More of Miles' work can be seen on his 500px page and his website.

I'll let Miles tell the rest of the story in his own words:

Ask around. I'm Mr. Clear Skies lately. I have more sucking removal power than a Hoover vacuum. This makes me grumpy, so it is no small feat that buddies David "Breezy" Thompson and Paul Rojas have been able to put up with me for several photo trips these past few months. We finally did manage a few clouds, but we spent many days trying to come up with shots that would work in the clear blue, and with the full moon hanging around, even night images were proving to be taxing.

I bombed down from Washington to the Mono Lake the first day, and arrived in time for a... you guessed it.... clear sunset. With the full moon rising, however, I figured that I might be able to sneak out some sort of image. I hustled down to the lakeshore and came to a screeching halt. There must have been 100 photographers scrambling around, over, and through the tufas. My camera stayed in the bag.

The Econo Lodge in Mammoth Lakes seemed like a logical place to crash out for a few hours before sunrise, but around 3am I decided that I simply wasn't going to be able to rest, so I might as well head out and find something to shoot. I popped out into the bitter night air, and turned behind a Suburban to head towards my rig only to discover some families tailgate wide open, and trash strewn all over the parking lot. I now found myself face to face with a bear twice my size, who was getting intimate with a Twinkie. I couldn't think of much to do, so I said "Hello". Luckily, I've lost a few pounds recently, so the Twinkie looked a little creamier, I guess, because he went back to eating and ignored me completely. I continued down the lot to my car, and drove off as if nothing could be more normal.

Arriving at Alabama Hills the next day, I finally had enough time to scout out some compositions that might work while I waited for "the boyz" to arrive. With the Photographers Ephemeris, I knew where the moon would set, and that it would be hanging over the mountains in the blue hour before dawn, so I set about finding a composition that might work for the expected conditions the next morning. You guessed it.... clear. Dawn came, and the three of us hustled out to some spots we had found the evening before to shoot. Nothing was working so I came back to this area that I had considered the day before, and set to work. Getting the exposure right, jumping in Rico, my trusty steed, and driving back and forth trying to make this work before the moon disappeared behind the hills was a right challenge in the nippy morning air, but it finally came together. Only it didn't. The moon looked too small, and to expose for the land areas correctly required the moon to be blown totally. I opted to simply zoom in, fire off a shot at 70mm and exposed for the moon itself in order to present it as it appeared to my eyes. A purist, I ain't.

So the title. No I didn't use a polarizer. It's in response to the reaction that I received regarding this image from my critique group, which consists of several photographers who are WAY better than me, and who do me the solid of giving me their honest impression of what works, what doesn't, and what I can do to improve it. This shot simply didn't work for many of those folks. Ironically, it ended up being my favorite from the trip, proving once again I have questionable taste at best. I love that paradox about photography.

Editor's Note: Here's another great Alabama Hills nightscape by Miles. Unlike the "zoo" of photographers that can form around the Mono Lake area, the Alabama Hills continues to be much less crowded, yet it offers amazing photographic opportunities and clear, dark nights for some of the best astro-landscape photography in the world. I will be conducting a NightScape Workshop in the Alabama Hills, April 22-25, 2014.

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com
Featured Post: Shooting Stars eBook Review — How to Photograph the Stars and the Moon

Time lapse in the Alabama Hills

Milky Way over Alabama Hills pinnacles ~ © J. Michael Darter (click to see video)

Mike Darter's Time Lapse: Last week, Mike Darter and six other photographers participated in a NightScape workshop I conducted in the Alabama Hills, located near the Eastern Sierras of California. Most of us just did still photography, but Mike also shot evening time lapse with his Canon EOS 6D and a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens. Mike added motion control to the above scene and a time lapse he did of Cyclops Arch, using his SYRP Genie. In the above scene, Mike attached his camera to the SYRP Genie and had it pan at about the same speed as the Milky Way moves across the sky.

Milk Way over Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills ~ © J. Michael Darter (click to see same video)

In the time lapse segment of Mobius Arch, Mike used no motion control —letting the moving clouds in this scene add their own drama.

Mike with his oldest daughter

J. Mike Darter worked in law enforcement from 1991 to 2002 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Dallas, Texas.  He is a co-founder and currently CEO of CCW Safe, LLC based out of Oklahoma City.  Mike has been involved in art since a young age, showing watercolor and mixed media from the age 13.  He was accepted to Pratt Institute of Art in Brooklyn, NY in 1987, but chose instead to attend the University of Oklahoma to study Criminal Justice.  He continued painting through college, and well into his law enforcement career, but became interested in photography around 2000.  He attends wildlife and nature photography workshops whenever he can, and is currently showing at a Cherokee Art Gallery in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and will be showing at a private show in downtown Oklahoma City in December.  Mike would like to get some images licensed with some of the nature media outlets, but more importantly, introduce his daughters to photography and be able to spend some quality time on the side of a mountain with them in the future watching a sunrise. The above photo is one of Mike's favorites.  It is of his oldest daughter photographing the sunrise, at Myrtle Beach, this past summer.

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com

Mobius Arch NightScape

A light painted Mobius Arch with the Milky Way over the Eastern Sierra Mountains ~ © Royce Bair

I just returned from a four-day scouting trip in the Alabama Hills of Eastern California, where I will be conducting a NightScape Workshop, April 22-25, 2014. Photographing the Eastern Sierras has always been a dream of mine, ever since I first saw Ansel Adams' iconic "Winter Sunrise" photo of these mountains taken from the Lone Pine area.

Technique: The above NightScape is a single exposure (20 seconds), taken with a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens @ f/2.8 on a Canon 5D Mark III camera. The arch was lighted with two stationary battery-powered lights behind (with a yellow/orange filter) and inside (with a red filter) the arch, and one moving spotlight from the front, right side. Camera white balance is set at 4000ºK, and all lights are balanced to 3200ºK before adding any filtration. ISO was 6400.

Although the winter Milky Way is not as bright and dramatic as the summer Milky Way, it does provide better alignment with the arch and the Sierras.

"First Light" - a telephoto view of Mt. Whitney from the Alabama Hills area ~ © Royce Bair

The Alabama Hills area offers a wide variety of opportunities for both night and daytime landscape photography. This semi-arid region on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range is free from light pollution and boasts clean, crisp air for amazingly clear photography. The rounded features of the Alabama Hills provide a unique contrast to the jagged Sierra Nevada backdrop.

The rugged peaks of the Eastern Sierras viewed through Mobius Arch (24mm lens) ~ © Royce Bair

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com
Featured Post: Shooting Stars eBook Review — How to Photograph the Stars and the Moon

Venus Rises Over Alabama Hills by Miles Morgan

"Vesuvian Bromance" - Venus Rising over Alabama Hills ~ © Miles Morgan (click to enlarge)

Our Photo of the Week was taken by Miles Morgan on a cold October morning with his friend Ryan Dyar, who had pre-scouted these unique hills near the Eastern Sierras of California. Miles used a Nikon D800E with a Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 24mm. Exposure was 20 seconds @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Miles Morgan is an airline pilot out of Portland, Oregon who doubles as an amateur fine art landscape photographer. More of Miles' work can be seen on his 500px page and his website.

< Click to expand portrait, and learn more about Miles.

Stationary Light Painting

Milky Way over granite pinnacles in the Alabama Hills - Tuttle Creek Canyon area ~ © Royce Bair
There are five battery-powered LED (with color filters) lights hidden among the rocks, and
another battery-powered main (or "key") light 300 feet to the right of this scene.
Canon 5D Mark III • Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2.0 • 13" • ISO 5000

Stationary Light "Painting" sounds like an oxymoron. The very definition of light painting refers to hand held, moving lights. However, the problem with moving lights is inconsistency —it's virtually impossible to get the same results for each exposure.

Traditional light painting allows one to cover a large area with a small light, by moving the light back and forth (painting) during a long exposure. Good results are somewhat by chance and hard to repeat. However, it's this experimental randomness that can produce quirky and happy "mistakes" —considered "artistic" by some.

Lighting for Panoramas, Time Lapse and Group Photography: With all the challenges of astro-landscape photography, that are plenty of variables to manipulate and prove one's artistic abilities without having to deal with foreground lighting inconsistencies, especially if you are doing panoramas or time lapse photography. In panoramas, the foreground in each exposure must be lighted the same or the objects will not blend properly when stitched together. In time lapse sequences, the foreground lighting in each frame or exposure must be exactly the same the video will flicker. (In these time lapse scenes by Mike Darter, the only flicker comes from errant red headlamps being turned on, and me setting up the lights in the beginning exposures.)

When I light paint a landscape foreground for a workshop group, stationary or "sculptured" lighting, as I like to call it, allows the participates to move around and concentrate more on composition. They are not hampered by having to be in sync with the timing of the painting, only to discover later that their best compositions were paired with a bad painting sequence.

Despite the obvious advantages of sculptured lighting, I do both stationary (here's a step-by-step example) and traditional light painting (example), depending on the need and look I'm trying to create.

This is one of several "key" or main light set-ups I use in my stationary or "sculptured" lighting.
Everything but the sandbag (5.) is available through Paul C. Buff, Inc. (1.) 11-inch Long Throw (28º)
Silver Reflector. (2.) AlienBees B1600 Flash Unit. (3.) Vagabond Mini Lithium (true sine wave
portable power source for 120 volt AC). (4.) Light stand. (5.) Sandbag. (6.) Bag for B1600. (7.) Bag for
Vagabond. (8.) Closeup of Vagabond. (9) Closeup of B1600 Flash Unit back — flash and model light
power are variable from full to 1/32 power. Modeling light is the light source for most of my NightScapes.

Quartz Halogen Lights and Lithium Powered Inverters, such as the highly efficient and light weight Vagabond Mini (through Paul C. Buff, Inc.) are a great way to provide about two hours of constant main or "key" lighting. The new Vagabond Lithium Extreme can easily provide about three hours of constant light. Although these units are made for powering studio size flash units like the 640 Ws B1600 (providing up to 500 full-power flashes), it is the use of the quartz halogen modeling light (without the flash) that I am employing here.

The flash unit will accept quartz halogen bulbs up to 150-watts, but 100-watt and even 60-watt bulbs are often more practical. In the top photo of the Alabama Hills, I used a 150-watt bulb reduced to 1/8 power (even at a distance of about 300 feet from the pinnacles). When you are shooting star-scapes at ISO's of 3200 to 6400, it is surprising how little light is needed in the foreground to balance with the sky exposure!

Quartz Halogen for the main light is preferred over LED's for two reasons: 1. Since many nightscape shooters photograph the starry night sky with a White Balance of 3000º Kelvin to 3500º Kelvin, the halogen lights are already at a similar color balance, and the more you dim these lights, the warmer they go —adding a pleasant contrast to the cool night sky. 2. Halogens can more easily be focused and controlled than LED's. Using the 11-inch Long Throw Silver Reflector allows me to set my main light at greater distances (with less light loss), thus reducing the light fall-off from one side of the picture frame to the other.

Large and Super-size Landscapes: The above unit can easily light most large landscape foregrounds with just the use of the modeling light. For super-size landscapes, the powerful studio flash can be employed; albeit, with the strobe, one no longer has the advantage of a constant light source.

Accent and Fill Lighting: To soften (fill) shadows cast by the main light, I often place omni-directional LED lights, such as lanterns, near the camera position, or opposite the main light. Miniature LED lanterns can also be used as accent lights, such as those hidden among the rocks in the top photo. In most cases, the LED lanterns must be gelled or filtered with yellow, orange or red filters in order to reduce their 8000º - 10000º Kelvin "bluish" output to a much warmer offering. The big advantage of LED technology is their low power consumption. Most will operate at full power for six or more hours on alkaline batteries.

The GE Chromalit 3D Super Bright White LED Technology lanterns have a low, medium and high
setting (260 lumens), with a built-in yellow filter, so it's warmer (about 4000º K) than most LEDs.
Even so, I often need to gel it with warming filters. Four alkaline D batteries will power
this lantern up to 50 hours! Available at Costco, Amazon and eBay for $20 to $30.

These mini LED lanterns by Life Gear are an in house brand of Walmart, and usually cost only $5.00
each. They produce 25 lumens of bluish-white light that typically must be gelled for best white balance.
However, their most common use for me is in their red LED mode, as an accent light (no need to filter).
In many cases I need even less red light, so I set them to flashing mode, where their rapid intermittent
red glow yields about 50% less light during a time exposure. Powered by 3 AAA alkaline batteries.

Warming Gels / Filters for LED Lights: The filters I use over the GE Chromalit lantern are cut from a single, 20" x 24" sheet of Rosco Roscolux #13 Straw Tint. You can buy the Rosco (or Lee brand) sheets through most local theatrical supply stores. A deeper orange color is needed to warm the cooler mini lanterns from Lite Gear, or you can just add another layer of the Straw Tint. A Roscolux Swatchbook can help you choose the colors you want to use for your next lighting project.

Super Portable Key Light: In a future post, I'll show you an LED panel light (for under $100) that can be used as a main light for many medium-sized landscape foregrounds.

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com

POTW: "The Coyote Calls" by Ted Gore

"The Coyote Calls" - Alabama Hills, California Eastern Sierra ~ © Ted Gore (click for a larger view)

"I was shooting this and heard... THIS!" says Ted. "...Scared the bajeezus outta me!

Our Photo of the Week (POTW) was taken by Ted Gore in the Alabama Hills of California's Eastern Sierra. This was taken just around 4:00 AM to catch the rising of the Milky Way just above the rocky mounds. It's this time of year when one can catch the summer constellations low on the horizon, in the early morning. Ted had also planned to be able to catch the rising moon as well. The sunrise came from the same direction, about an hour after that.

"It was quite the party!" says Ted. If you look closely, the moon is actually a crescent moon, but in clear, less light polluted skies, the dark side reflects it's share of light as well. A little bit of glow on the horizon is a combination of the town of Lone Pine, the moon and the soon to rise sun.

Ted photographed this with a Nikon D600 and a 17mm lens. He took three shots, which were blended together in post: one for sky @ ISO 5000, f/2.8, 20 seconds; a second, longer exposure for the foreground; and a third, shorter exposure for the moon, so it wasn't a bright blobby mess.

Ted Gore lives and works in Los Angeles, California as a motion graphic designer, which pays his bills and funds his passion of landscape photography. He takes a slight artistic and fanciful approach to his images, as he likes to present the image in a way that evokes the grandeur and beauty of the moment. More of Ted's work can be seen at his 500px and Facebook pages.

Advertisement: Hot Weekly Photography Deals - Amazing discounts (updated twice a week).

Royce Bair's 2016 Photography Workshop Schedule

Photographers at our 2013 Bryce "NightScape" Workshop
shooting a midnight moonrise next to the light painted "Fortress" formation. 

Milky Way above the Grand Canyon (this workshop location is offered in Sept. 2016).

2016 NightScape Photography Workshop Schedule  is available here.

2015 Lecture and Seminar Tour: My free NightScape lectures (12 cities) and half-day advanced seminars (3 cities) can be found on Meetup.com.

2015 Workshop Schedule: All of my workshops are being produced and co-sponsored by IMAGE10 Photography Workshops. Some of my workshop attendees have returned multiple times and their testimonials speak for themselves. Click on the dates for more details about each workshop:

• Arches National Park: April 21-24  SOLD OUT and Aug 11-14 SOLD OUT
• Escalante: May 19-22 (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument) SOLD OUT
• Grand Teton National Park: July 14-17 SOLD OUT and July 20-23 SOLD OUT
• Bryce Canyon National Park: Aug 17-21 SOLD OUT

NEW eBook: You can review and purchase a copy of my new Milky Way NightScapes ebook, "A Guide to Photographing Starry Night Skies".

Podcast interview with Royce Bair: You can listen to a podcast interview with Royce and BlackRapid founder, Ron Henry, starting February 27th.


2014 Workshop History: My NightScape workshops will teach you how to photograph the starry night sky with stunning landscape features. Click on each workshop title for more information:

 Milky Way over 3 Sisters and Moonrise between the Mittens in Monument Valley ~ © Royce Bair

Starry Nights in Monument Valley Workshop

Produced by IMAGE10 - Instructed/Directed by Royce Bair
4 Day Workshop ~ March 26-29, 2014 ~ $1,195 COMPLETED

FREE NightScape Technical Workshop - hosted by the
Wasatch Camera Club - Register HERE
2-Hour Workshop ~ April 8, 2014 ~ FREE COMPLETED

Light painting Cyclops Arch with the Milky Way - Alabama Hills ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Over Alabama Hills and Eastern Sierras Workshop
3 Day Workshop ~ April 22-25, 2014 ~ $899 COMPLETED

Milky Way over The Watchman - Zion N.P. ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Zion Workshop (Zion National Park)
2 Day Workshop ~ May 27-29, 2014 ~ $599 COMPLETED

Milky Way over the light-painted John Moulton homestead - Grand Teton N.P.  ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Tetons Workshop #1 (Grand Teton National Park)
NOTE: All four Teton workshops have a similar venue of locations and instruction.
3 Day Workshop ~ June 24-27, 2014 ~ $899 COMPLETED

Milky Way over Teton Range from Cascade Canyon Overlook ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Tetons Workshop #2 (Grand Teton National Park)
3 Day Workshop ~ July 22-25, 2014 ~ $899 COMPLETED

 Milky Way views over Teton Range, Jenny Lake and String Lake ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Tetons Workshop #3 (Grand Teton National Park)
3 Day Workshop ~ July 28-31, 2014 ~ $899 COMPLETED

Milky Way over "Wall Street" in Bryce Canyon N.P. ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Bryce Workshop #1 (Bryce Canyon National Park)
3 Day Workshop ~ August 19-22, 2014 ~ $899 COMPLETED

Stars over light painted Thor's Hammer - Bryce Canyon N.P. ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Bryce Workshop #2 (Bryce Canyon National Park)
3 Day Workshop ~ August 25-28, 2014 ~ $899 COMPLETED

Milky Way behind light painted Delicate Arch - Arches N.P. ~ © Royce Bair

Milky Way Arches Workshop (Arches National Park)
3 Day Workshop ~ September 16-19, 2014 ~ $899 1 SPOT LEFT

Sparkling Eiffel Tower, Paris, from opposite bank of Seine River ~ © Moyan Brenn

Two Nights in Paris (France)
Produced by Italy Workshops - Instructed by Drake Busath & Royce Bair
2 Day Workshop ~ September 25-27, 2014 ~ $675 SOLD OUT

Château de Chambord, Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France

Loire Valley (France)
Produced by Italy Workshops - Instructed by Drake Busath & Royce Bair
7 Days, 6 Nights Workshop ~ September 28 - October 3, 2014 ~ $3250 SOLD OUT

The Italian Lakes Como, Lugano, Orta S.Giulio

The Italian Lakes (Italy)
Produced by Italy Workshops - Instructed by Drake Busath & Royce Bair
7 Days, 6 Nights Workshop ~ October 5-11, 2014 ~ $3250 SOLD OUT

Join my NightScape Photography Meetup Group and you'll automatically be notified of all my NightScape events, i.e. free lectures, free photo walks, video conferences, ebooks, and new workshops.

Photographers from our 2013 Arches Workshop,
waiting for the moon to set and the Milky Way to be revealed.

Photographers from the July 2013 Teton Workshop gathered at the John Moulton homestead outhouse.

Questions? Email Royce: orida70 [AT] gmail [DOT] com

Private Night Photography Workshops by Royce Bair

A single exposure with Low-Level-Lighting at an arch in southern Utah

Private Night Photography Lessons in the Field. For years I've done up to 10 group workshops a year. These 5-day group workshops typically cost about $1,995 (or about $400 a day). In 2019, I went into semi-retirement, doing only one group workshop a year (my group workshops often fill up in 48 hours or less). For the rest of the year, I only do private workshops. Private instruction allows greater flexibility for teaching and offers many additional opportunities for my clients! We can sometimes do as much photography in two or three nights than you can do in a group situation during four or five nights. Of course, we can also do as much daytime photography as you want (depending on how much sleep you require).

One of the biggest advantage of a private workshop is that my time is shared only with you and the friend(s) you choose to attend with you (I cannot tell you how many times I have seen one "bad apple" in a group workshop try to monopolize my time at the expense of others in the group).

Private instruction is only a little more expensive than a group workshop, but it can actually be equal to or less expensive, when you invite a friend or two to share the costs. A maximum of three photographers are allowed in a private group (you and up to two of your friends). Let me illustrate...

Day rate: I charge $1,200 for the first day of instruction and $950 for each additional day (some photographers book just one day). "Weather" days are $500. Here's a typical fee cost EXAMPLE for two or three photographers:

  First Day/night ................... $1,200.00
  Second Day/night (a Weather day)...    500.00
  Third Day/night ...................    950.00

                                      ---------

    Total fee cost .................. $2,650.00

    Cost per photographer (when 2)... $1,325.00

    (Cost per photographer, when 3).. $  883.33       

Definitions: A "Day/night" of photography includes up to 8 hours of my time in guiding and teaching. At least two (2) of those hours will be doing starry night photography. The daytime instruction can be in the field or in the classroom (i.e. image post processing). A tag-along spouse or friend, without a camera, is not considered a "photographer".

Weather Days: In virtually every group workshop I've ever conducted, there are nights where we have so much cloud cover that few stars can be seen or photographed. Although we always try to make good use of the night with "Blue Hour" photography and demonstrating light painting techniques, this is probably not what you signed up for. When this happens in my private workshops, we just call it a night and rest up for better nights. If I cannot give you at least 30 minutes of starry night photography, I will charge you a flat $500 fee to cover my expenses for that day. Note: This "weather day" discount does not apply to the first day. The "weather day" discount is also NOT something I offer in my group workshops.

Travel Expenses: You will cover your own travel expenses for transportation, lodging and meals.

Locations for private workshop lessons can be any place in the world! Any workshop location within 350 miles of my residence includes my travel expenses in the first day rate fee. Examples of workshops that are within this 350-mile radius: Arches National Park, Grand Teton N.P., Yellowstone N.P., Zion N.P., Bryce Canyon N.P., Capitol Reef N.P., Canyonlands N.P. and Grand Staircase-Escalante N.M.

You will also cover my travel expenses for any workshop that is greater than 350 miles from my residence in Salt Lake City, Utah. I will cover my own lodging and meals. For distances greater than 350 miles, you will be charged the following travel expenses, in addition to my day rates:

   351-800 miles (car travel one way): $0.95 per mile*
   Over 800 miles: Actual airfare charges + actual
         car rental fees (we can share this vehicle).
   

*Example: One of my favorite places in eastern California are the Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine. From this area, you can also visit Mono Lake and the ancient Bristlecone Pines. Google says it's 582 miles from Salt Lake City to Lone Pine —that's 232 miles over my free base distance of 350 miles. At 95 cents per mile, that would be a travel expense of $220. As for your own travel expenses, you would want to fly into Las Vegas and rent a car for driving to Lone Pine (232 miles).

Reserving your date: I charge a $300 deposit to reserve a date. You can reserve up to a six days at a time. There is a deposit fee of $300 for each day you wish to reserve. This one deposit covers all the photographers in your group. I am happy to help you with your travel arrangements and hotel recommendations.

CALL: 801-558-2701 to make your reservations, or EMAIL me at royce.bair[AT]gmail[DOT]com (to prevent spam email, I ask you to substitute the "[AT]" with the "@" symbol and the "[DOT]" with the "." character).

Final payment: I request the balance of my fees (and any travel expenses) 90 days prior to the starting day of your private workshop.

Cancellations and Refunds: You can cancel and receive a full refund (less credit card fees), up to 90 days prior to the event. If you cancel between 60 and 89 days prior to the event, I will refund all but $100.00 of the fees you have paid. If you cancel between 30 and 59 days prior to the event, I will refund 50% of your fees, unless we can find a replacement attendee to take your place. If you cancel less than 30 days prior to the event, none of your fees will refunded, unless we can find a replacement attendee to take your place. The workshop participant acknowledges that if Royce Bair cancels this event, all fees paid will be refunded. Other than this refund, no guarantee or warranty is given or implied.

Eliminating days from your scheduled event: If, after completing at least two of your reserved workshop days, it is decided that you no longer need one or more of your additional reserved days, you will be refunded up to $450.00 for each of those unused days (less credit card processing fees). Travel expenses cannot be refunded.

Extending your workshop: If we are less than two weeks away from your workshop, and you wish to extend the length of the workshop (and I can make arrangements to do so), you will pay my first day rate ($1,200/day) for each additional day. You may also be required to pay my lodging expenses for any extra days (as last-minute lodging costs are often at a higher rate).

Recommendations: Read what others have said about my workshops.

Winter Milky Way by Ralf Rohner

 

Winter Milky Way at a "Secret Beach" on the Oregon Coast © Ralf Rohner (click to enlarge) 

Nightscape photographers in the Northern Hemisphere often talk about the "Milky Way season", and bemoan that the season is "over" when winter comes. Actually, this is a misnomer. The Milky Way is always with us—summer or winter, as you can see in Ralf Rohner's beautiful panoramic view of the winter night sky.

What some less informed photographers are referring to is the absence of the "core" or galactic center of the Milky Way during the winter months. A better term might be: The "Milky Way core season" is over during the winter months. (The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere, when the core disappears below the horizon during some of their summer months).

"The Astrophotographer's Yin and Yang" at Mobius Arch © Ralf Rohner (click to enlarge)

This panoramic photo blend is a wonderful example of how our view of the Milky Way changes during the seasons. The photo is a blend of both Milky Way seasons, taken from the same location (Mobius Arch, in the Alabama Hills of eastern California). Ralf had this to say about the image:

Do you prefer winter or summer? Cold or warm? Dark or bright? Yin or Yang?

Yin is the dark side of our Milky Way, dominated by Orion, the hunter. As northern hemisphere dwellers, we associate this dimmer part of our galaxy with long, cold nights, but it also contains some of the most beautiful gems in the night sky, as the light fights its way back in the form of stunning red hydrogen emission nebulae, dotting the whole Milky Way band.

 For bright Yang, you have to look for Sagittarius, the steaming teapot, which points towards the galactic center, the brightest part of the Milky Way. In the northern hemisphere, this is associated with warmer but shorter spring and summer nights. Adjacent to the Milky Way core, in the border area of Scorpius and Ophiuchi, lies one of the most colorful parts of the night sky, the Rho Ophichui region. Despite all this light, one can not ignore the looming dark cloud of the Great Rift, blocking the starlight and colors in the constellations Serpens, Aquila and part of Cygnus. Ironically, this seemingly star-eating molecular cloud is home to some of the most active regions of star formation. The light once again gains the upper hand in the bright hydrogen emission nebulae of Cygnus, around the stars Sadr and Deneb.

 Thereafter, we enter the transition zone between the bright and the dark side, which is ruled by King Cepheus and his vain wife Cassiopeia.

 During a short period in spring and autumn, it is possible to see both sides in a single night. I had the privilege to be able to capture this at Mobius Arch in California.

The Yin-panorama was captured after nightfall, facing westward, and showing the winter Milky Way with setting Orion. The east facing Yang-panorama shows the rising galactic core and Cygnus, shortly before dawn. Both were merged to create this 'Yin-Yang' image, showing the entire Milky Way visible from mid northern latitudes. [The bright area in the sky, just to the right of the arch is Zodiacal Light.]

Ralf's technical information for the top photo of the "Secret Beach" will give you an idea of how he creates his nightscape panoramas:

• Camera: Canon EOS-R, astro-modified 
• Lens: Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8
• Narrowband filter: IDAS NBZ filter
• Tracker: iOptron SkyTracker Pro 
• Sky: 6 panel panorama, each a stack of 6x 60s @ ISO1600 & 3 x 150s @ ISO6400 
• Foreground: 6 panel panorama of 5s @ ISO400 during blue hour

Check out Ralf's informative blog on how to do landscape astrophotography.

Arches and Canyonlands by Greg Ness

Delicate Arch with a 1:00 AM view of the Milky Way. Light painting from the bottom of the bowl ~ © Greg Ness

Arches and Canyonlands through the eyes of Greg Ness. In April, I conducted a NightScape workshop in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Greg was one of nine photographers who attended this event. He’s also an alumni of a previous workshop to the Alabama Hills.

Skyline Arch lit from the front and behind gives the appearance of a large crocodile ~ © Greg Ness

An inside view of Double Arch with the Milky Way behind it ~ © Greg Ness

Uniquely different: These two parks are right next to each other and they offer differently opportunities for starry night photography, not to mention some great sunrise and sunset views. Although Arches has some of the most iconic red rock features in the world, its popularity can also bring crowded conditions and a bit of light pollution (up to a Bortle 3) in some areas of the park. In contrast, Canyonlands is more remote, less crowded (except for the famous Mesa Arch), and offers much darker skies.

Wide vistas in and around Canyonlands also offer some great opportunities for daytime photography. Note: because this is a starry night photography workshop, we sleep in the middle of the day (in air conditioned comfort), but we do make time for sunrises and sunsets!

Canyonlands from the "Island in the Sky" area offers incredibly dark skies and wide vistas ~ © Greg Ness

Craig & Wendy silhouetted at a Grand View Point (Canyonlands) sunrise ~ © Greg Ness

Early morning light at nearby Dead Horse Point State Park ~ © Greg Ness

Milky Way over the popular Mesa Arch in Canyonland ~ © Greg Ness

Our next Arches / Canyonlands NightScape Workshop is August 10-14. There are currently three (3) spots available. There are also two (2) spots left in our Grand Tetons Workshop July 19-23.