Rocky Mountain National Park. 20 second exposure, 20mm lens, full frame, f/1.8, ISO 100

1” at ISO 50, f11 with a Sony A7III, 24-105 @24mm

Mobius Sky Lanterns

How inspiring is it to see the Milky Way, a comet, and the famous Mobius Arch during a beautiful Mojave evening? It's moments like this that can lift your spirits, even when things are stressful or you are in pain. This is Comet C/2023 A3 as seen on 22 October 2024 from Alabama Hills in Owens Valley, CA, near the Sierra Nevadas. To create this night photo, I set the camera on a tripod. I opened the camera shutter for a long time. While the shutter was open, I walked around with a handheld ProtoMachines LED2 light capable of producing different colors, and illuminated the scene. During the exposure, all the light I shined on the subject was cumulative. This process is called "light painting." Why? Because one uses the flashlight as a paint brush, "brushing" on light, not paint. Light painting to illuminate subjects is a beautiful, addictive art, as you can walk around the scene, deciding what to bring to light and what to keep in shadow. And it's more fun than AI-generated images.

Under the bridge downtown

Higher in altitude than you might guess.

Shot this during the big flood on 8/6/2024. Used a drone for aerial lighting. In post I added a radial filter inside of the light trails from the drone to give it a black and white look.