Viewing Through the Canopy

I love looking at the stars. To quote Switchfoot, "when I look at the stars, I see someone else." I am not writing this to get into an evolution vs. intelligent design debate; I am simply stating the overwhelming effect of viewing the celestial bodies.

And it was no different this night, looking up at the expanse of darkness dotted with pinholes. It was the same as usual, except for the canopy of trees narrowing the viewing screen. The trees surrounding our campsite rose beside us, then leaned over top, claiming us as its inhabitants. And though I could have let it frustrate me, I actually enjoyed the combination of terrestrial and celestial creations from the same vantage point. It was as though the sky didn't want its expanse entirely revealed to us, as if it was holding back some of its treasures for another night at some other place. The trees, more than willing to fulfill the request of the stars, stood sentinel, illuminated by the campfire below.

That night, I gazed upward, through the small window allowed me. Even though I have viewed fully the array of stars in the heavens, my interests were piqued once more by the anticipation of what lay beyond those trees.

This photo was taken at Montgomery Bell State Park in Tennessee. My wife and I were enjoying the stars allowed to us and awaited another time to view the rest. (If your screen is too dark to view the stars through the canopy, try adjusting the brightness, you should be able to view them.)

18 mm, f/3.5, 30 sec

Stars Through the Canopy, Montgomery Bell State Park

Taking in the Moonlight

I love the mountains and being a long way away from civilization. So even though I was around a small town in July of 2005, it was just about as far from civilization I could get. I was standing outside a little school house in rural Salta, Argentina. There was a little electricity, but I think it amounted to powering 4 incandescent bulbs in the entire town, all of which resided in the tiny school house. So even though there was electricity, I don't remember there being an electric hum.

It was in this silence that I was looking out at the mountains with a full moon in the sky. Without a need for a flashlight, I walked around outside and took in a southern hemisphere sky, which contained stars I had never seen from my northern hemisphere home.

Staring at the sky, I set up my camera on a pocket-sized tripod. And after trying out a few different exposures and ISOs, I felt like I had the image I was looking for. After a few more moments of silence, I packed up my meager camera equipment and headed back inside to sleep on the tile, school floor. The image that follows is what came from my moonlight photography.

29 mm, f/4.0, 30 sec
The Argentine Night Sky, Salta, Argentina

Lights in the Evening

This entry is not going to be very poetic or introspective, but simply an explanation of one of my photos. I took this at night in our apartment complex when we lived in Dallas, TX. I enjoy nighttime settings for a couple reasons. 1) Not as many people are out and therefore, you have a little more freedom to set up a shot and not have to worry about someone walking into the frame. 2) You can do long exposures do to the limited amount of light. 3) There are different lights you can work with, all of which provide a different feel to the image. Flood lights, street lights, house lights, stars, the moon, etc.

In the photo of the tree, the last reason I just wrote really comes into play. In this image there are two different types of flood lights (fluorescent and incandescent), the lights in the sky from Dallas, and also a few apartment lights. When I took the image, I really wasn't sure how well all the lights would come together, but I liked the tree and just gave it a long exposure. Photography is simply the manipulation of light, so if there is ample light, you might as well see how it comes together.

The Complex at Night, Dallas, TX

18mm, f/8, 15 sec

Looking Out My Window

If anyone reading this has ever traveled to Colorado, you will admit, as I do, that it is a beautiful state. So while vacationing in Estes Park with my family, one of the main things I enjoyed was the scenery. The towering mountains against a blue sky with a forest at their base. It is majestic to say the least. I was also pleased with the location of our cabin. It sat just outside of the busy area of Estes Park up on a hill so that it was away from the noise and above the lights of the town.

Our days were usually packed full activity. So naturally at the end of each day, I would crawl into bed and enjoy the comfort of a good night's sleep and a soft mattress. It wasn't until about the third night that I looked out my window at the starry scene. It was incredible, a starry sky set against dark mountains with a few lights emitting from the houses below. It was as if someone had make the scene to fit the window. So from that night on, I would, if nothing else, glance out my window before nodding off to sleep.

I didn't realize this until later, but I had subconsciously sectioned off when the good views and and landscapes would be. I guess I thought it was only when we were out and about. I had almost forgotten that the beauty was right outside my window the whole time.

The Sky Through My Window, Estes Park, CO
Nikkor DX 18-70mm, 18mm, f/3.5, 30 sec