Dark Sky Images

For several years now I've been pursuing an interest in Dark Sky Photography. Joshua Tree National Park, a nearby dark sky island, is a favorite location for shooting the Milky Way. The austerity of the high desert, it's character, elevation and clarity of light make it an exceptional place for photographers. This is especially true for those capturing night sky images, who need the absence of light pollution.

As a local hiker in the park and a guide there for several years, I find the changes from day to night and season to season add to my appreciation of the landscape, no matter when I'm there. These images are from favorite locations in both the high and low desert portions of the Park.

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, October 14, 2024

"Starlight Over Sheep Pass"

June 2018

"Stardust Over Cap Rock"

Joshua Tree National Park

May, 2019

Wonderland Ranch by Starlight

July 2017

Nightscape, Desert Queen Ranch,

May 2017

Joshua Tree National Park

"Starlight Over Desert Queen Ranch"

CVDCC 2018 Image of the Year Award, Pictorial Color

S4C End of Year Gold Award, Pictorial Individual Color, 2018-19

S4C Excellence Award, Pictorial, 2019

Details:

This is a panorama of 16 images, in 2 rows, upper and lower, knitted together in Photoshop:

Canon 6D, 50mm, f2.8, 10sec each, ISO 3200

Each shot taken in portrait format, 15 degrees apart

"Wonderland Ranch by Night"

Joshua Tree National Park

December 2020

Cholla Fields by Moonlight

Joshua Tree National Park

October 2020

Milky Way Over the Cholla Gardens

11:26pm, June 4th, 2019

Joshua Tree National Park

"Cap Rock by Starlight"

CVDCC Advanced Honorable Mention Award

Nature, General, 2019

CVDCC 2019 Honorable Mention, Image of the Year Award

Nature, General

"Midnight, Desert Queen Ranch"

CVDCC Advanced Excellence Award, Pictorial, 2019

S4C Honorable Mention Award, Pictorial Arranged Color, 2019

The Moon... as seen from Earth...

My backyard, to be precise :)

Total Eclipse of the Moon

- composite -

... also from my backyard

April 4, 2015

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Restoration Work

In the last few months, with some of the new digital tools available now, I've taken more of an interest in old photo restorations. I use a combination of Lightroom, Photoshop and Topaz software, usually in about that order, but with considerable back and forth. Each image has it's own needs, so it's a matter of choosing the right tools for the job. These photos are digitized from original 35mm slides, family photos taken mostly in the 50's and 60's. It makes for a fun and rewarding project, as each photo is a kind of puzzle to be solved.

I've been experimenting with a kind of "Ironic Mininalism" project I assigned myself. Here's the brief, what I was aiming for broadly, which I met to a greater or lesser extent: - Say as much as possible with as little as possible - Lots of negative space, texture or repetition, simplified subject, bare essentials - Colors, vibrant or subdued, complementary - Appears real, looks "in-camera" - except there's an impossible element... - Off-kilter element creates a question, an immediate reaction in the viewer's mind - The image must ask / say / demand something: "Deal with THIS!" "What does it mean?" "Oh that's funny!" "Is this real?"

Every so often a flash of "graphic joke" inspiration strikes and I get to work. Am upgrading software skills a bit and having fun with politics too. "The views expressed are solely the owner's". Here's a few you images might enjoy:

Award Winning Images

Below are images that have been judged in one or more Photographic Society of America recognized competitions. Judges representing the Coachella Valley Desert Camera Club (CVDCC), the Southern California Council of Camera Clubs (S4C), and the Coachella International Exhibition have reviewed and awarded each image as detailed:

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