Night Photography

052 - Three Sisters Sunset - Superstition Mountain

The Superstition Mountains have so much to offer; awesome majestic formations all over the place. The trick is anticipating the right conditions long enough beforehand and getting in to the ideal spot. The Three Sisters formation near the Peralta trailhead is one I had not shot before. Not an easy hike to this location, pretty thick with lots of cholla. Have to literally watch every step for about a mile of bushwhacking. Whatever it takes to get the shot.

The Coke Ovens

East of Florence, AZ

037 - Red Mountain Saguaro Lightning

Red Mountain from a trail above the Salt River that I run regularly. Expected to be hiking back drenched by the looks of this system as it approached from the north, but all I got was a couple of sprinkles. No complaints, ended up ideal for shooting an awesome lightning show! . Tech stuff: Sony A7R2, Sony 24-105 f/4.0, 10 sec exposures f/5.6 ISO 500 shot about 40 images, used the best 5 or 6 shots stacked in Photoshop including one that was a bright enough flash from overhead to illuminate the mountain and foreground.

The Erickson Air Crane

Big powerful equipment like this Erickson Air Crane helicopter are just fun subjects to shoot under the stars. This ship burns 550 gallons of fuel per hr and can lift 25,000 lbs!!! . This shot is made up of 162 20-second exposures all combined in photoshop to create the star trail effect. So this represents just under an hour of planet earth movement.

Caterpillar 330C Excavator

This Caterpillar 330C excavator has clearly been hard at work in Queen Creek AZ. My wife tells me it's not that pretty or likely to appeal to the ladies - which is OK with me. I have wanted to do more industrial stuff and thought I'd start with a covert heavy equipment astro shot - lucky not to have gotten arrested or at least kicked off the construction site.

CAT 980H Wheel Loader

Heavy equipment like this Caterpillar 980H Wheel Loader are just cool - while working during the day or just taking it easy under the stars...

032 - Horseshoe Bend Star Trails, Page Arizona

Star-trails over Horseshoe Bend. Its gratifying in some way for me as a photographer to come across symmetry in nature - and Horseshoe Bend is definitely one of those places. I've done a lot of shooting in the deserts of the southwest in the middle of the night but this has got to be one of the most dangerous. Thats because I have to hike around the edge of an 800 ft ledge, equipment in hand, setting up and moving the tripod around to find the right frame - all without stumbling over the edge and screaming all the way down. As a safety thing, I regularly try to visualize that happening in order to wrap my head around that very real potential. And it has worked ... so far.

AstroPhotography Lighting up Desert Night, Arizona

Milky Way rotating by through the night at the boulders.

Alone under the Milky Way, Florence, Arizona

Standing on this boulder can make you feel pretty small under these that amazing night sky.

Tikal Temple 2019

We were hoping for lightning and storms at Tikal and the heavens cooperated with an awesome series of evening storms far enough away to allow dry shooting with dramatic periodic lightning flashes for picturesque backgrounds. This is my video specialist son Denver atop one of the lesser temples at Tikal as we were finishing up an evening of memorable shooting.

Air Products Plant - AZ

Black Hat Security Truck in the Arizona Desert with Saguaro Cactus and Stars

Multi-exposure composite (apx 20 shots) photo for Black Hat Security taken in a remote dark desert location near Ajo, AZ 2017

5 Guys Construction Truck Under an Awesome Desert Night Sky

Multi-exposure night photograph of the 5 Guys Construction truck in a desert setting with huge boulders, Saguaro cactus and a sky of orange clouds and sparkling stars.

British Petroleum Conference - Arizona Biltmore 2018

Arizona Biltmore provided a beautiful location for the 2018 British Petroleum Vendor Convention. Vendors, associates and sponsors gather under a starry Arizona night sky.

Pioneer Park's new Splash-Pad by Vortex International

Commercial shoot for Votex Int'l, Mesa, AZ

Splash Pad Fun at Mesa's Pioneer Park

Splash pad Installation corporate promotional shoot for Vortex Int'l

Arizona pools, night sky, warm summer nights. AZ 2017

Hot summer nights in Arizona always welcome fun swimming pools and oasis landscaping. Fountains and cool lights add to this picturesque starry shot.

Beautiful Scottsdale Home, Arizona

Showing off this beautiful desert landscape and home at sunset against a blue sky.

Brilliant colors at Tempe Town Lakes, AZ 2018

Wow! This sunset and the rainbow of colors reflecting off the clouds and onto the lake, along with the fun urban feel and Tempe bridge, made for the perfect sunset drone shot!

Incredible sky for this silhouette shot. Dutton family Arizona desert. 2015

Awesome clouds and sunsets make for great silhouette photos of this talented family band in Florence, AZ. 2015

Christmas Lights and Reflection Pool at the Mesa Arizona LDS Temple

Millions of lights on the grounds of this beautiful 91 year old LDS Temple attract thousands of visitors each Christmas season

Power's gold mine in Rattlesnake Canyon - Guilaro Wilderness, Arizona

Southwest; Arizona; Old Stuff; Powers Mine; Mine, Guilaro Mnt; tracks, rails, gold mine

Power's gold mine in Rattlesnake Canyon - Guilaro Wilderness, Arizona

020 - Toadstool Hoodoo under the Stars

Joshua Against the Milky Way

Greer Windmill

City lights of Hong Kong

Tremont Street - Boston MA

Rome - Tiber River

St Peter's Basilica from the Tiber

Broad Street

Oxford, UK

Mayan Woman in Antigua

LDS Temple - Salt Lake City, Utah

Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

The Abey at Mount Saint Michel

Le Mont Saint Michel - Normandy, France

Hadrian's Tomb across the Tiber River

Oxford, England

Arizona Monsoon Lightning

Arizona, Senoran Desert

Desert Lightning Storm

Ancient Formations Bisti Badlands

The Bisti Badlands is a 60 sqr ml wilderness are cut out of the Navajo Reservation south of Farmington, NM. It is a vary dark part of the country and excellent for astrophotography. I had found this formation in an article on line and set out to find it by the GPS data but finally gave up and found I the next day while hiking around. Very cool place with no end to the awesome unique shapes and creations the ages of wind and rain have sculpted.

015 - Milky Way Over Totem Pole

I had been wanting to shoot the Milky Way over Totem Pole at Monument Valley for some time. I learned it required working with a Navajo tour group to be able to shoot at night in the back country of the Monument Valley Tribal Park. Fortunately, I was able to find a guide willing to ride with me in my vehicle and on my schedule for a reasonable $100 fee. It was a 20 minute drive from the park visitor center then a hike through the sandy desert and scratchy brush to arrive at my location at around 9:30 PM. What an awesome place to shoot the stars!. Made me wonder why I hadn't done this sooner. The skies were perfect with minimal light pollution and the Milky Way band of glory blasting up over our heads across a totally clear sky. Such an awesome sight - it was just dreamy!! I finished my shots and we started back for the Isuzu and couldn't find it! We had parked on the sandy depressed road putting it far enough below the brush that our flashlights weren't hitting it. Took an extra 20 minutes to zig zag our way through the sand to find the road that lead us back to the vehicle. Next time I think I'll bring a pole that I can tie something reflective on for return navigation. Wish it wasn't so late in the astrophotography season - I'll look forward to spending a lot of time in Monument Valley next year I think. . Technical stuff; Sony A7Rii, Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 at about 20mm, ISO 6400, (14) 15 sec exposures stacked to reduce noise. Edit in Starry Landscape Stacker, Lightroom and Photoshop

Electrical Storm over Red Mountain