Non-Marauder Nighttime Photography

[PurdueRifleman]

I thought I would start a thread to feature some of my other night time shots. For those who don't know the story, I started doing landscape astrophotography as a side job last fall. My business is called Cortland Astronomy after the small farming community near me.

I've got lots of pictures and as such it will take some time to get these all posted, but I'll start with one of my favorites tonight.

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/Orion4minBrushing_edited_water mark-2_zps60b58892.jpg

This was taken (I think) on January 10th this year around 8:30pm EST. It features one of my favorite parts of the winter sky along with the most recent comet Lovejoy. On the left side of the frame, the dense band of stars with dark lanes of interstellar dust is an arm of our own Milky Way galaxy. The red circular area in the middle of it is the famous Rosette Nebula. Near the top of the band, the fuzzy blue object is the M35 open star cluster.

The bright stars in the center of the frame make up the constellation Orion. Among these stars are the Horsehead and Orion Nebulas. If you look close to the left of orion, a faint red nearly circular band is barely visible. This is a band of nebulosity known as "Barnard's Loop." The bright blue star below orion near the bottom of the frame is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.

Finally, Comet Lovejoy appears with its tail near the upper right of the frame. The red giant star Aldebaran shines above and to the left of it.

Stats: Canon T3i. 4min exposure shot at f/3.5 and ISO 1600. 16mm aspherical lens.

[PurdueRifleman]

This shot is of a small farm that's near me that is dwarfed by the 90' sycamore on the right of the frame. It's actually a composite of two shots. One for the stars and the other for the landscape and sunset. Sky gradients aren't in the original. This applies to a lot of the shots I upload.

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/SueIsaacsOrionNebulaCropped_Fo rPrint_zps2f8bdea4_1.jpg

[Zack]

I love this stuff. You are very fortunate to live in a place where you see this every night

[PurdueRifleman]

Thanks. Scenery like this is why I've never minded living in flyover country.

[Mike M]

We have some nice viewing here in AZ.
I love your pictures..physics and astronomy are one of my hobbys.

[PurdueRifleman]

We have some nice viewing here in AZ.
I love your pictures..physics and astronomy are one of my hobbys.

I'd love to make it out west again and do some nighttime shots in the desert. In 2009 a few of my college friends and I went on a canoe trip through the high deserts of SE Utah on the Green River. It was incredible how many stars were visible at night! I just remember that the Galactic Hub of the Milky Way seemed like airglow from a town it was so bright.

Our farm seems polluted by comparison.

[PurdueRifleman]

These are the smoldering remains of a barn that used to be on our farm. While it had a great foundation, the old building was past saving when we bought the place in 2012.

This winter I've been burning it a little bit at a time because it's too large to burn at once due to its proximity to our house.

This is another shot with my 16mm lens. I think it was a 20sec exposure, ISO 200, f/2.8

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/FireNightSky_watermark_PNG-1_zps64587b80.png

[gdsqdcr]

Very nice shots! I would love to take picture like this but it is not my skill.

[PurdueRifleman]

I took this shot at my inlaws' cabin that sits up against Hoosier National Forest. Featured is the last visage of the "summer" milky way setting behind and Eastern Redcedar.

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/Christmas_zpsa6b6d95d.jpg

[PurdueRifleman]

I took this shot for my first customer, a local franchise that handles retirement accounts. They've since framed it as a 20x30 print and used it and a few other shots I took of the office for promotional material.

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/VisionBlur_zpse889c6c2.jpg

[MM03MOK]

^^^ you captured the rotation of the earth! Must have been a l o n g exposure! Keep up the good work....!

Bunny - professional photographer for 35 years.....

[PurdueRifleman]

The background stars are a 5minute untracked exposure. The foreground is a stack of five 11sec exposures IIRC.

[PurdueRifleman]

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/GreenAshandMilkyWay_zps3ee5013 0.jpg

An unfortunately increasingly uncommon sight in the midwest, this Green Ash is probably watching one of its last few sunsets due to the threat of Emerald Ash Borer. Beautiful in leaf, these trees also provide a stark contrast to the brilliant winter sky when bare.

The fuzzy disc to the left of the tallest tree is our identical twin, the Andromeda Galaxy. High in the center of the frame is a double star cluster known as the Perseus Double Cluster.

[PurdueRifleman]

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/sunset__stars__and_a_huge_chin quapin_oak_by_purduerifleman-d8gm0ud_zpsbaffe00e.jpg

This sunset panorama features Indiana's largest Chinquapin Oak (the large broad-spreading tree just left of center frame) and just a peak at part of the Milky Way on its way below the horizon.

[PurdueRifleman]

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/ISS_zps07390fc6.jpg

This one might look familiar to those of you who tuned in to WDRB in Louisville on the night of 02/05/2015 during a Marc Weinberg segment. It's another shot from my sessions at the Indiana State Record Chinquapin Oak site and features the International Space Station (ISS) streaking through the canopy and overhead.

[Mebot]

holy moly you take amazing pictures! The smoldering remains picture looks like something out of a National Geographic magazine! Keep up the great work and post more pictures! These are incredible

[PurdueRifleman]

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/MilkyWayDarkCurvesNoiseReduce_ zps7d020a9c.jpg

This was taken from the dam at my inlaws' lake last September. That's the Milky Way as seen with a 30sec exposure and a little help from adjusting the light curves in post processing.

[PurdueRifleman]

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q566/PurdueRifleman/TruckFloodwaters_milkywayrefle ctions_milkywayabove_huesatura tion_logo_zps11bkpefc.jpg

"Poverty with a View"

A person doesn't need to make millions to live in a place with a million dollar view. No one will be calling us rich anytime soon, but that's okay as long as we get to keep living in the midst of such awesome sights.

This shot is from several weeks ago when the river experienced a minor flood and covered parts of our county road, making it impassable to most. My 1996 F150 is at frame left and flood waters are in the field and across the road in front of it. Above is the Milky Way. The dark lanes of dust are the Galactic Dark Horse nebula.

[Mebot]

A person doesn't need to make millions to live in a place with a million dollar view.


Boy ain't that the truth! Awesome awesome photos! Any chance you might be coming to Vegas in September for Marauderville? Would love to get a night shot from you with all our cars. Stunning!

[1Marauder]

Simply amazing. Thank you for sharing. You and MarauderJack live in photografphic paradise!

[PurdueRifleman]

Boy ain't that the truth! Awesome awesome photos! Any chance you might be coming to Vegas in September for Marauderville? Would love to get a night shot from you with all our cars. Stunning!

I'm afraid not. Mrs. PR and I already have our vacation booked this year. Also, we're expecting our first born in early September.

A meeting closer to home (like Louisville) would be much easier for me to shoot. I would LOVE to photograph a group of Marauders at night though.

[Mebot]

I'm afraid not. Mrs. PR and I already have our vacation booked this year. Also, we're expecting our first born in early September.

A meeting closer to home (like Louisville) would be much easier for me to shoot. I would LOVE to photograph a group of Marauders at night though.
Understand. And congrats on the new kid! Terrific news

Louisville is next week. If you've never been, it's a great event. I'm sure the guys would absolutely love to have their rides photographed by you if you can make it

Can't stop the signal

[PurdueRifleman]

I let them know, thanks!