Life On The Edge By Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Anasazi Part 7: This Is False Kiva In Canyonlands National

Life on the Edge by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Anasazi Part 7: This is False Kiva in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA. an Anasazi (or more properly Ancestral Puebloan) ruin. They are better known as the Cliff Dwellers. The exact purpose of this structure is unknown. It resembles a Kiva, or Ceremonial Center, but does not fit all the classic characteristics. The back left corner of the alcove or cave is roped off, presumably for possible future excavations. The Ancestral Puebloans literally lived on the edge in many ways. In the 13th Century, many of the structures were built in cliffs that were difficult to access, possibly because of raiding or strife. Archeologists have found evidence of massacres in some locations, that academics sometimes kindly call "warfare events". Anyway, life was perilous and frequently short. Examination of skeletons show many "stress bands" in the long bones from periodic episodes of starvation. Surprisingly, they also suffered from osteoporosis, or softening of the bones from loss of calcification or mineralization. We think of osteoporosis as an older person problem, related to aging an inactivity. They were most definitely not inactive, and did not live long. As game meat became scarce they relied more and more on corn they grew. A predominately corn diet lacks at least one essential amino acid, resulting in osteoporosis and weakened bones. They lived on the edge of survival every day, a truly amazing people living in a harsh land. As a side note, about 1 meter in front of that wall is a long straight drop down a cliff. There is also some smoke on the horizon from wildfires in California. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy!  Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

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8 years ago

Tower House Ruin Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of the Tower House Ruin near the Cedar Mesa region of Utah. It is an Ancestral Puebloan Ruin, or Anasazi - Cliff Dweller Ruin in the Four Corners region of the SW USA. This is a panorama of multiple vertical images combined in Lightroom, looking out from the alcove. There is low level constant light on the foreground. This is not classic light painting, but more similar to modified studio lighting or "outdoor" studio lighting. It consists of light panels on tripods left on the whole time, very dim, barely visible or not visible to the naked eye. This takes time to set up. The light is intended to match the intensity of starlight (it does not take much!). This different from traditional light painting where you briefly shine a brighter light on the subject or near a subject. I have encountered several photographers at night that just about had a nervous breakdown when you mentioned light painting, but then became very quiet and cooperative when they saw the lighting I set up. I think we need a different label for this kind of landscape lighting, different from "light painting". I have decided to personally call this Low Level Landscape Lighting, (LLLL for short), or LLL, Low Level Lighting. I hope some term other than light painting catches on, as it just does not describe the more recent methods of landscape lighting at night. I doubt that anyone in a studio would describe their lighting as "light painting;. We just need some new language to talk about these methods more accurately. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family out there. Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog


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8 years ago

The Elephant Walks at Night by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook This is a panorama of Elephant Rock in The Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, USA. The light on the horizon is the rising moon. Las Vegas is nearby, but somewhat behind me and off to my right. There are approx. 8 vertical images taken at 14mm, f/2.8, 20 sec., and ISO 8000. Taken with a Nikon 14-24 mm lens. Happy New Year! Here's wishing you all beautiful skies for shooting in 2017! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family for all the support and encouragement! Cheers, Wayne Thank you for all the kind comments I have received today!


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7 years ago

Sipapu Bridge by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Sipapu Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument Sipapu Natural Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, USA. The natural bridge is huge. Those are full trees under the bridge. The arch of the bridge is massive. Hiking down to the bridge at night is like hiking down into a magical land. The arch of bridge is 225 feet or 68 m wide, and the height is 144 feet, 44m. You hike down about 600 feet, 183m into the canyon along a dark trail. Suddenly you realize you have arrived, and looking up see a massive stone arch towering above your head, dwarfing all that is around, and making you feel very, very small. Single exposure for the sky, stacked exposures in camera for the foreground, taken consecutively from the same spot. Hope you enjoy! For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. It's a pleasure to post here. Cheers, Wayne


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7 years ago

Tower of Silence by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Tower of Silence - Beautiful white hoodoo in southern Utah I was honored to be on the Podcast "F-Stop Collaborate and Listen" with host @mattpaynephoto. He interviews Landscape and Nightscape Photographers about a variety of topics. His relaxed style makes the podcasts enjoyable and interesting. He helps you see the people behind the photos. You can listen to my interview here: fstopandlisten.podbean.com/ Teaching point: There are now LED light panels with adjustable color temperatures. The standard Light Panels with warming filters (which make the color temp around 2700K) are wonderful for warm structures like the red rock throughout much of Utah and northern Arizona, but are not realistic for structures like these white Hoodoos. With adjustable color temperatures you can adjust the light to the foreground structures. Regular LED lights are too blue to be realistic, and can have a color temperatures up to 6500K. For this scene I wanted a more neutral color temperature that would show the white color of the hoodoos accurately and used a color temperature of 4000K to 4200K for these photos, which worked well.


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10 years ago
Arch Rock On Flickr.

Arch Rock on Flickr.

Arch Rock in Joshua Tree National Park, Ca., USA. This is facing NE, away from the core of the Milky Way and towards the northern arm. The Andromada Galaxy is seen in the center of the sky.


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6 years ago

Feeling Small in Big Hogan by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook This is a vertical panorama in Big Hogan Arch in Monument Valley, Utah. After taking the panorama I photographed myself with the same lens and settings and added it to the panorama in the same position. As you can see, Big Hogan Are is aptly named. It is huge. You feel like you are standing in a cathedral. The hole at the top is actually overhead in reality. The appearance here makes it look like it is in the front wall, but that is the result of trying to fit the inside of a sphere onto a rectangular image. You need a guide to enter Monument Valley at night. If you are interested in a night tour contact Majestic Monument Valley Tours and ask for Quanah. Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!


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10 years ago

Questions and Answers

Lights for illuminating Nightscapes

People have asked me a number of questions about equipment, issues, and technique in Nightscape or Landscape Astrophotography. Since many of these questions are recurring, I am going to post the questions and answers here. I’ll answer your questions to the best of my ability!

Q:   I noticed that in many of your Milky Way shots you include a nicely lit, probably light-painted (in a subtle way) foreground. What flashlight(s) or illumination do you use for your light painting? The way a lot of your scenes look is completely natural so either you're using moonlight (doubtful), composites (maybe) or light painting using a really good technique. So I would love to know how you achieve those great foregrounds.

A: Yes, I use a form of static light painting for most of my photos. I use dimmable LED video lights with warming filters and diffusion filters. The lights are too blue without the filters, but the ones I use all came with warming filters. The ones I use most are F&V Z96 (96 LEDs) dimmable Video LEDs that I purchased on Amazon for around $80 USD. There Is also A Neewer 160 that is even brighter for about $30, but sometimes too bright. I just discovered the Newer 60 LED, and the Neewer 32 LED lights for around $20, and I am hoping these will be good for small spaces like inside arches. I just bought them. I usually place a F&V Z 96 on a miniature tripod about 40-50 meters away if possible, to the side, and at around 45 degrees to the object of interest. This helps to create shadows and depth. If you have the light too near you then the photo looks flat. It needs to be at an angle to the scene. I place the same LED lights in arches or behind rocks, etc., and if they are too bright, then I place a lens cloth (black or white), or napkin, or handkerchief over the front to damp the light. In tight spaces I will sometimes use a hand held light or torch. The hand held halogen lights, lithium or xenon have the right color of light. Black and Decker and Stanley make rechargeable versions and are available at Home Depot, etc, for $20-30. I never shine them directly on the object of interest. I find a rock or even the ground and shine the light on something off to the side at around 45 degrees, and the reflected light will look more natural and even. 

10 years ago
Goblin Valley At Night On Flickr.

Goblin Valley at Night on Flickr.

Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, at Night with the Milky Way above. Walking through Goblin Valley at night is like walking through an alien land, erie and otherworldly. It's definately worth a visit! Canon 6D camera, Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, f 2.8, 30 sec exposure, ISO 6400. Hope you enjoy! The rock formations have been likened to Goblins. If you let your imagination run wild, you can imagine that the rising sun turned the Goblins into stone in some ancient time, and the passing eons have eroded them into these shapes. The place certainly has a lot of atmosphere especially at night


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7 years ago

The Totem Pole, Monument Valley by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook The Totem Pole in Monument Valley. You need a local guide to visit Monument Valley at night. I can recommend Majestic Monument Valley tours if you are interested. I am planning something different and new that I hope will be a lot of fun. I am planning Fantasy Nightscape Workshops during the July new moon. There will be 2 three day workshops, in July 2018, July 8 through 10, and July 11 through 13. Photographer Eric Gail will also be an instructor. The workshop will be in the New Mexico Badlands. This area has multiple “Otherworldly” locations. This area gives us multiple sites that will be suitable for photographing fantasy scenes. This workshop will be different in that we will compose the photos with Fantasy Figures. It will be like Comic Com under the Milky Way. We will first capture the composition in a standard fashion without a person and then with one or more fantasy figures in the photo. We will provide costumes including an Astronaut (full spacesuit), Alien, Predator, Lord of the Rings (Aragorn-Strider), Conquistador, Star Wars (including Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kanobee, Jango Fett), Witches, and Wizards, Steampunk, and Medeival figures, Conquistador, etc. If that is not imaginative enough you can bring your own fantasy outfit! We will be shooting in an Otherworldly setting so costumes or figures that fit the setting would be best. Suggestions are welcomed! There will be lectures in the late afternoons for about 2 hours depending on group interest. We will cover and practice Landscape Astrophotography, Low Level Lighting, and Composition, in addition to planning, and scouting for Astrophotography. Additionally we will cover using smartphone apps such as TPE, Photopills, True DoF (Depth of Field) and Gaia GPS, and Google Earth, etc. These are instrumental in my planning and scouting. If you are interested please mail me here at Flickr. Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!


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8 years ago

The Organ by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook This butte is called The Organ, located on the main road in Arches National Park, Utah, USA. This is a panorama of about 12 vertical images (some were cropped off the sides), taken with a Nikon 810A and Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 20 mm, f 2.8,20 sec., and ISO 12,800. Processed in PS and LR. This was taken from the path to "Park Avenue", a nearby area. The main challenge here was to get all the shots without car lights. Arches has become a very popular location for star gazing and night photography, and there is still a lot of traffic on the roads until midnight or so. The milky way was centered over The Organ shortly after twilight, and to get this composition you needed to shoot early. It took about 5 minutes to shoot the whole series, and 5 minutes without car lights was hard to come by. Due to the location near the road, car headlights can light up the formation from pretty far away. This was shot multiple times until I could get a series of photos with only a few interruptions. Anyway it worked out well. After midnight things get quieter in Arches, and most of the stargazers go home, but it's still a busy place for photographers. The butte is dimly lit with what I call "LLL", or Low Level Lighting. It is done with LED light panels (on tripods, and with warming filters) turned down very low to match starlight, and then left on the whole time. People passing by would not be able to see any light on the structure. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family for all the support and encouragement! Cheers, Wayne


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Astrophotography by Wayne Pinkston

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