AZ nights

borderbrae · September 15, 2015

1. Le Chee Rock, east of Page, AZ, Pano of 2 shots taken with my Samyang 24mm lens. Moonlight on the rock, Milky Way above. Canon 6D, 25 sec, iso 4k

2. Le Chee rock, east of Page, AZ, taken with my Samyang 14mm f 2.8, 25 sec., iso 4k

3. North of Page, AZ just over the UT line, glow is from Page, AZ. You can make out a bit of the Milky Way, and a meteor. 25 sec., iso 4k

4. Milky Way over Monument Valley, taken from the road since I did not have access into the Tribal Park at night. I believe I used the 24 mm Samyang for this. f stop on this lens is 1.4 but I set it at 2.0, 20 sec., iso 2500

If I'd taken the image north of Page later at night, after the moon set, the Milky Way would be more visible.

The difference in the color cast between the 2 images Le Chee rock is very noticeable, neither images have been messed with as far as that goes. I've found that the tones/colors can change dramatically in just a few minutes at night.

Both these Samyang lenses seem to have a tiny bit more coma in the upper right corner than anywhere else , no idea why but overall both lenses are a vast improvement over what I was using. Distortion overall is minimal.

On the Samyang 24mm f 1.4 there are 2 f stops between 1.4 and 2.8 so I am assuming they are maybe 1.8 and 2.0 but I have no exact idea. Haven't researched it, I'll admit.

Cornflake · September 15, 2015

Very nice work, Jean!

borderbrae · September 15, 2015

Cornflake wrote: »

Very nice work, Jean!

Thanks!

Stumblebum · September 15, 2015

Wow! Sweet images! No comas! Just exclamation points!:D

Cheers!

boco · September 16, 2015

heel mooi maar ben de tel kwijt..?
grt,boco.

Thelensspot · September 16, 2015

Extremely crisp night sky work here. The meteor shot is fabulous!

borderbrae · September 16, 2015

Stumblebum wrote: »

Wow! Sweet images! No comas! Just exclamation points!:D
Cheers!

Thanks, Taz.

borderbrae · September 16, 2015

boco wrote: »

heel mooi maar ben de tel kwijt..?
grt,boco.

Thanks for looking

borderbrae · September 16, 2015

Thanks, Wayne. The meteor was a nice surprise.

Juano · September 17, 2015

Very nice series. It is always amazing to be able to view the Milky Way.

moose135 · September 17, 2015

Beautiful images, Jean! I'm going to be out that way in about a week, hope I get something half as good as you did!

borderbrae · September 17, 2015

Juano wrote: »

Very nice series. It is always amazing to be able to view the Milky Way.

Thanks for looking! I agree the Milky Way is literally awesome.

borderbrae · September 17, 2015

moose135 wrote: »

Beautiful images, Jean! I'm going to be out that way in about a week, hope I get something half as good as you did!

Moose, those images were all taken late in June, when the Milky Way was a rising in the east as an arc. Now it is much more oriented to the Southwest at the "interesting" or southerly (right) end of what you see in my photos. The "northern" end seems to move much more slowly as it moves into a more northeast then finally sort of eastern position as the seasons move. Rather hard to describe. Unless you can stop further north on 98 than I did (I was more directly west of Le Chee Rock) you won't have the MW in the frame. If you make 89 north from Page you may be able to get it up over some of the rock formations you'll see as you get to the UT line. Not sure you'll find much in the way of places to pull over. I always try to do a drive out during the day to scout out possible sites. Keep in mind where the Milky Way will be, what time the moon rises and look for possible sources of ambient(man made)light that may be a problem. Having a compass is a good thing, too.

If you have an app for a tablet or cell phone that shows you the constellations, etc. you may be able to use that to get an idea about where the Milky Way will be on any given date, place and time. I use GoSkyWatch on my iPad and it is excellent.

I was in the Tetons and Moab last Sept and got some wonderful images of the Milky Way over the Tetons and some of the places in Arches NP because it was much more oriented to the WSW then.

moose135 · September 17, 2015

Thanks for all of that information, Jean, I really appreciate it! I'll be spending three or four nights in the area - Page, and on up into Mexican Hat, UT, so I should be able to scout out the area and try out a few different things. I have a couple of free star apps on my iPhone/iPad, but I may check out GoSkyWatch if I get a chance. Thanks!

borderbrae · September 18, 2015

moose135 wrote: »

Thanks for all of that information, Jean, I really appreciate it! I'll be spending three or four nights in the area - Page, and on up into Mexican Hat, UT, so I should be able to scout out the area and try out a few different things. I have a couple of free star apps on my iPhone/iPad, but I may check out GoSkyWatch if I get a chance. Thanks!

Moose, if you're going to be near Mexican Hat, UT, you'll be near The Valley of the Gods. That is a dirt/gravel road and not good after a hard rain, but the monuments in there should be in the right place to get the Milky Way above them. Monument Valley is to the east of the road and by this time of year the Milky Way will not be near it (at least to view from the road). Valley of the Gods is off to the west side of 163, north of Mexican Hat. I've never been to Goosenecks SP but would like to at some point. Not sure about nights there since it is a state park it may close at sunset or so unless you are camping in there.

Have a good time!

dlplumer · September 23, 2015

clap

kdog · September 26, 2015

Terrific series, Jean. That Samyang seems to work very well for you. Thanks for all the shooting info as well.

joe-bob · October 8, 2015

Great pictures. #4 is my favorite.

Hackbone · October 8, 2015

Simply stunning.

JC · October 11, 2015

Really nice. The sky in the first is a bit red for my taste, but I love the color in all the rest.

I picked up a Samyang recently for the lack of coma, but haven't had much chance to try it out.

borderbrae · October 11, 2015

dlplumer wrote: »

clap

Thanks, Dan.

borderbrae · October 11, 2015

kdog wrote: »

Terrific series, Jean. That Samyang seems to work very well for you. Thanks for all the shooting info as well.

Yes, the 14mm is a super lens. I appreciate it when others give their shooting info, so try to return the favor.

borderbrae · October 11, 2015

Hackbone wrote: »

Simply stunning.

Thank you.

Joe-Bob, thanks!

borderbrae · October 11, 2015

JC wrote: »

Really nice. The sky in the first is a bit red for my taste, but I love the color in all the rest.

I picked up a Samyang recently for the lack of coma, but haven't had much chance to try it out.

Thanks, JC. I think you'll be pleased with the lens. The first 2 were taken the same night. It is amazing how the atmosphere can change and affect the colors. Colors are as they were taken, I can see where the first one would be too warm for some, though.

AZ nights

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