Harding Springs, Fall Colors, and the Full Moon

November 4, 2013

Continuing with the thread in the previous post we have more images of fall colors in the Oak Creek Canyon area. This time, we explored a small side canyon known as Harding Springs. Although there is a trail, we chose to walk up the dry wash since the best colors were on trees in and near the stream bed. And we actually found a small trickle of water in a single location.

A thin trickle of water in Harding Springs.

Later that day we hiked to the top of a rock formation known as Napoleons Tomb in Sedona so that we could watch the (nearly) full moon rise in the gap of Cathedral Rock. To make the image even better, hikers fortuitously positioned themselves in front of the moon. I wish I could say that I orchestrated this but it was just chance!

Jupiter, Venus, Moon, and Comet PanSTARRS in the night sky

May 12, 2013 / 2 Comments

The evening of 11 May 2013 presented an assortment of visual treats in the night sky. In the evening twilight the planets Venus and Jupiter clustered around the thin crescent of the moon. With one planet above and one below it was a delightful sight.

Details: ISO 200; f/2.8; 28mm; 1/8 second.

Moon, Jupiter, and Venus in the evening twilight.

As the sky darkened it was possible to photograph the fading Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS, located near the constellation Cepheus. The combination of several short exposures stacked together allowed the faint glow of the comet to appear. This was photographed using a fixed tripod and an 85mm/f1.8 lens. No telescope required.

Details: ISO 1600; f/1.8; 85mm; 10x4s.

As twilight faded the celestial objects sank lower in the sky until Venus set behind the distant hills. As the moon began to follow, the dark sky allowed the zodiacal light to shine upwards providing illumination around the planet Jupiter.

Details: ISO 3200; f/2.8; 28mm; 8 seconds.

The planets Jupiter and Venus will draw closer together over the coming weeks and this should present many great photographic opportunities.

Morning at Cathedral Rock

May 1, 2013

The full moon was yesterday (04/25/2013) so today was a good day to capture the setting moon at sunrise. With the moon setting about 3/4 hour after the sunrise I had hoped that Cathedral Rock would be bathed in early morning direct sunlight.

Moon setting behind Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona.

Because of the higher terrain to the east, the light from the sun did not strike the rocks until after the moon had dropped behind the rocks. Instead, I was able to capture the pre-sunrise colors which were a lot more muted and subtle. It wasn’t what I was hoping to photograph but may, in fact, be better!

Comet PanSTARRS – II

March 12, 2013 / 3 Comments

Just a few days ago Comet PanSTARRS became visible to observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Today, the comet was located very near the 30h-old crescent moon making a striking pair of objects in the western twilight sky.