Recapture Pocket Panorama By Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Recapture Pocket

Dobie, the House Elf. 🤓 Well, it looks like Doby to me, lol. If you don’t know who Doby is, well there’s no point in explaining. Maybe I’m loco 🤪, or maybe I’m easily amused, but I see things in the landscape. Erosion creates fabulous sculptures throughout the world, but there is a plethora in the SW USA. ___________________________________ This has been a busy year. I’m way behind posting last summer’s work and I’ve barely touched this years work. I’m going to make an effort to get active on IG again, after slacking off recently. ____________________________________ This is a stacked image with additional focus stacking, 8 images for the sky and another 8 for the foreground. Cheers, Wayne (at Where the streets have no name) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzTpnMAhJF7/?igshid=r3t72izmza0l

Abandoned Cathedral by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Abandoned Cathedral in Madagascar. This is the shell of an old abandoned cathedral in Madagascar. This was adjacent to a girls school and the priest was very nice to let us shoot there at night. There was no electricity in this region and the red glow on the horizon originates from multiple fires. The local people burn the fields to clear them and there are always multiple fires in the distance. Also bandits steal the cattle and set the villages on fire to keep the people from chasing them. 😳😬 This is a panorama of multiple vertical images. There is a Goal Zero lantern in the bell tower and a single light panel off to the right to provide Low Level Lighting on the outside. BTW, we had 3 armed guards at all times. Thanks to WorldPix and Ryan for setting up this trip! Thanks for looking! Wayne

Set the Table for One... by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: A quiet night in the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico. There are many of these "Table Top" Hoodoos scattered around the area. These develop when the base , a softer rock, erodes faster than the top, making for a wide variety of shapes. These table tops are one of my favorites. When the flat tops are really long or wide, they have been given the name of "winged hoodoos", and some are quite long and wing-like. Here I was playing around with the lights. Canon 6D camera, Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 14 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec., and ISO 6400. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog

Winter Wonderland by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Pine Tree Arch in Arches National Park, Utah. This was taken on a chilly winters night in Arches National Park, following a recent snowstorm. The stillness and quietness were remarkable. I've always enjoyed the way snow absorbs sound and creates a sense of quiet solitude. There was no one else crazy enough to be out at there, and even the animals were nowhere to be seen. There were lots of rabbit and deer tracks though. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. The session continued until my camera literally froze. The battery still worked but everything covered over in a layer of icy frost, including the lens. After heating (with hand warmers) and cleaning it several times I finally gave up, but was able to get a few photos completed. 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

Moccasin Arch by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Panorama, 4 images, 14 mm, f/2.8, 25 sec., ISO 8000 Moccasin Arch in Monument Valley. The Arch is a huge cavernous alcove with an opening in the side of the "roof". This is a photo of some of my fellow photographers taking photos within Moccasin Arch. I was taking photos of them while they were photographing the arch. It turned out that I liked this one more than my views looking straight outward from the arch. The photographers in the photo give you a sense of scale. The Arch is huge! A big thank you to Quanah from Majestic Monument Valley Tours for taking us there. Thank you! He is highly recommend if you want to take a night tour in Monument Valley (day tours also). Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!

Questions and Answers

Do You Go Out Alone for the Night Photos?

Question: Thanks for sharing this fantastic photo. Question: Were you in the park alone? Do you travel with a group? I'm curious.I'm thinking about taking a trip out to Vegas to shoot the parks in the area and am thinking about doing some night shoots alone. Any thought?

Answer: Usually I go out at night alone, although that might not be the best choice for everyone. I have gone out a few times with workshops, and occasionally I find someone at the site and we shoot together. Being out there at night is something you have to get used to. A lot of people are unnerved by the isolation and darkness. This says a lot about our society. It is estimated that 80% of people in the USA have never seen the Milky Way. Many people ask me "what is that cloud in the sky"? Once there was a complete blackout in Los Angeles and people called the police to report a suspicious cloud hovering over the city. It was the Milky Way. We are not used to being out in the dark except for moving from place to place. And we are not used to being so utterly alone. I love the feel of being out there at night, but it is not for everyone. You need to be really careful. I wear really high boots and keep an eye out for potential rattlesnakes. I really pay attention to where I step, always. You have to make sure your footing is always secure, because you may be standing on rough ground or ledges and you are going to spend a lot of time with the lights totally turned off. Before I turn the lights off I look around and see just where it is safe to step. I always keep an eye out for any people or large game. Take bear spray for example. Anyway it has been safe for me so far, but you do need to be careful. Some people even take a dog with them! It's a great experience, but remember to think about how to be safe.

Cheers, Wayne

Emerging into the Light by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Surprises are always nice.This was taken in Monument Valley, just outside the park. My guide was Quanah Parker from Majestic Monument Valley tours. He had taken me to a small but excellent Ancient Puebloan-Anasazi Ruins near the valley located in a small canyon. As we crawled out (literally) of the alcove into the small canyon this was our view. The Milky Way lined up perfectly along the roof of the canyon. Beautiful and unplanned. Shot with a 12 mm Rokinon fisheye lens looking up. f 2.8, 30 sec. ISO 10,000. It has been difficult to find guides to go into Monument Valley at night. Now there is a guide and night photographer that is interested in taking photographers into the park to do night photography. If you are interested contact Majestic Monument Valley tours at 435-727-3432 and ask for Quanah Parker. Wonderful way to see the backcountry of MV. Highly recommended. 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

The Alien Throne with Comet 252P/Linear by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: No Aliens, just the Alien Throne. The unique Hoodoo is in the New Mexico Badlands, north of Chaco Canyon. I have been fascinated by the appearance since I first saw it's photo, and finally got to photograph it at night. The atmosphere is surreal. I love the melted wax appearance of the rocks in the region. 14-24 mm lens at 24 mm, 20 sec., f/2.8, ISO 6400. The small blue-green fuzzy object just above the right side of the large hoodoo is the comet 252P/LINEAR. 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

The Castle Gate by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook The Castle Gate: There is Low Level Lighting (LLL) from 2 sources. There is a small Goal Zero Micro Lantern just behind the tunnel turned down low, and a Ceneroid LED light Panel on a light stand behind me and to the left, also turned down low. The Cineroid has a variable color temperature and is set to about 4000-4200K. The rock here is very red-orange, and if you use a light temperature much lower (warmer) that this then the rock turns very unnaturally red. Stacked image, 19 mm, f/2.8, 15 sec., ISO 10,000.

Sunset Arch, Escalante by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Sunset Arch, Escalante. Low Level Lighting, LLL, used under the Arch, and dim LLL used on the outside of the arch. The Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument is a terrific dark sky location, recently drastically reduced in size by the government. This was taken while assisting during a workshop by Royce Bair, a terrific teacher. Check out his ebook! For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! I would have never believed that my photos could ever receive 22 million views. A big thank you for making this possible!