The latter, same lens different focal points

I photographed this in September 2022 under the dark skies of Highland County, Virginia, using a Sony A7III camera and a 85mm Sony GM lens. The camera I had astro-modified by removing a stock filter so it would be sensitive to red wavelengths present in the nebulae.

The image is a combination of three separate images: two exposures of the land at different focal lengths and one image of the sky, itself a stack of 60 separate 60 second images. For the sky images, the camera and lens sat on a star tracker, a portable mount that counters the earth’s rotation allowing for long exposures without star trails.

I shot an hour worth of 60 exposures with this set-up. After collecting all these exposures, I used a free program called Starry Sky Stacker to “stack” the images — compiling the data in the exposures together to refine the target and reduce noise.

After I shot the sky, I then shot the land using the same camera and lens from the same vantage point. I shot two 4 minute exposures for a focal blend of the foreground and background. Once I had all these images, I used masks in photoshop to blend all the images together for the final composite.

Astrophotography is a hobby with many variations and many purists. Some frown on these composite images - I shoot and enjoy many different types of astrophotography and no matter what the technique, my goal is the same: to share the same sense of awe that I feel when out under a clear dark sky taking in the cosmos.

For more of my work, check out my Instagram: @brennangilmorephoto

A small telescope

The recently appeared comet, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) reaches its closest point to Earth on February 1 and has become an evening object in the northern sky. It is not quite visible to the naked eye, but can easily be spotted with binoculars and long-exposure photography.

Photographed on January 24, when the comet c/2022 e3 ZTF had sprouted a large “antitail.”

This is a composite image over separate sky and land exposures: sky - 5x90s exposures, land: 300s - exposure.

Camera/lens: Sony A7iii + Askar FMA180

For more comet photos (and astrophotography in general), check out my Instagram.

Descriptions of each photo (from left to right, top to bottom):

Row 1:

• Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
• The Angel Nebula
• Geminid meteor shower
• Dark Shark Nebula
• Orion rising
• Elephant Trunk Nebula

Row 2:

• M33 Triangulum Galaxy
• Orion over Goshen Pass, Virginia
• Milky Way core over Goshen
• The Northern Trifid Nebula
• Comet A1 Leonard and M3 star cluster
• Jupiter and the Galilean Moons rising
• The Seagull Nebula

Row 3:

• Mars conjuction with the Moon
• Jellyfish Nebula
• Pleiades star cluster
• Milky Way over Old Cabell Hall, UVA
• Cygnus region
• Milky Way core over Lake Michigan

Row 4:

• Star trails
• Planets: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus
• Milky Way, Highland County, Virginia
• Milky Way, Highland County, Virginia
• Sun
• Antares rocket launch, Wallops Island
• Whirlpool Galaxy
• NGC 1330

Row 5:

• Full Buck Moon, Smith Mountain Lake
• Crescent Moon over Chihuahua, Mexico
• Heart Nebula, Highland County
• Orion over snowy field
• Orion’s Belt
• Milky Way over Prada Marfa, Texas

Row 6:

• Rho Ophiuchi and Blue Horsehead Nebulae
• Milky Way panorama over Hays Creek
• Sunflower Galaxy
• Milky Way panorama over the Maury River
• Rho Ophiuci
• Tau Hercules Fireball Meteor

Row 7:

• Spaghetti Nebula
• Lunar eclipse
• California Nebula
• Squid Nebula,
• Planetary alignment over Louisa County

The deep sky photos were shot either with an Esprit100mm or Celestron EdgeHD 9.25” telescope and ZWO astro-cameras. The widefield and landscape images were shot with Sony cameras and lenses or a TPO 180mm astrograph.

To follow my astrophotography, check out my Instagram: @brennangilmorephoto

This is shot at 35 mm so a pretty accurate representation of the size of the constellation in the sky. The moon is around 1/2 of a degree whereas Orion from Rigel at the “foot” of the constellation to Betelgeuse at its “shoulder” is over 20 degrees. So about 40x the size of the moon.

For this image I used a Sony A7III camera and a Sony 35mm f/1.4 lens. The camera I had astro-modified by removing a stock filter so it would be sensitive to red wavelengths present in the nebulae.

The image is a combination of three separate images: one two-minute exposure of the land, plus two images of the sky: one full spectrum and one only capturing light in the wavelength of the hydrogen alpha. For the sky images, the camera and lens sat on a star tracker, a portable mount that counters the earth’s rotation allowing for long exposures without star trails.

I shot an hour worth of 60s exposures with this set-up. I then added a filter which only allowed light in from the very specific wavelength of light in nebulae and stars (H-alpha) and shot another hour of 60s exposures with this filter. This allowed me to bring out in great detail areas of emissions in the Milky Way that would have been much fainter without this filter. After collecting all these exposures, I used a free program called Starry Sky Stacker to “stack” the images — compiling the data in the exposures together to refine the target and reduce noise.

Once I had done that with both the H-alpha exposures and the full spectrum exposures, I was able to compile the final sky image. To do this I split the full spectrum image into its individual RGB components and replaced the Red channel with the H-alpha image. With that the sky image was near final, and I only needed to make some global adjustments in Adobe Lightroom to get it to the style I wanted.

After I shot the sky, I then shot the land. Once I had all these images, I used masks in photoshop to blend all the images together for the final composite.

For more of my work, check out my Instagram: @brennangilmorephoto

Niiiiiice

You cannot see the color like this, but you would be able to see the glow of the Milky Way through the Cygnus region, along with the dark bands of cosmic dust.

It is an emissions nebula known as NGC 6820, close to an open cluster of stars around 6000 light years away.

Albemarle County!

well, that’s just incorrect. Both were shot with a 35mm and the two images had the same dimensions. They are in exact proportion.

The building was cropped at a similar ratio though. But yes, there’s no accounting for taste.

thanks, yeah it’s a cool hobby. my other hobby is fishing and I like the aspect of pulling something out of seemingly nothing of both.

I didn’t do a video for this shot, but a did a short video of the components of a similar composition. I don’t know if Instagram links work on this sub, but you can see it here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ch_NHbcA2v5/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

The red in particular come from the use of the H alpha filter.

It’s 91 photos mashed into one.

This is down in Albemarle County shooting west.

The red is because of the specific wavelength of light of hydrogen alpha ions. Most of the Star forming and dying regions of space are awash in hydrogen alpha and so are dominantly red.

Fair point, and to each their own. Sometimes I’ll just keep the sky alone, but I go to lengths to represent the land and sky as astronomically correct — always same focal length, optics, tripod position — ensuring the final sky integration matches single shot in terms of astronomical position. So, it’s not arbitrary in the sense that this was the landscape under Cygnus as it set on the night I was imaging. It’s not a single shot itself and that is its strength and weakness depending on what you like.

There are many places in Virginia to see the Milky Way, although the brightest part (the galactic core) won’t be visible again until Spring. By far the best place within a few hours drive of DC is Highland County, Virginia. A lot of national forest to explore and the darkest skies in East until you get to Maine. Check out https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ and you can see where the darkest parts of the state are. Bortle 4 and below and the Milky Way is clear, even in winter although fainter parts.

The main difference with this and what you see is not in the editing but the fact that the camera can collect light over time, whereas our eyes can only process light instantaneously.

thank you!

Cygnus Setting - Albemarle County, Virginia - October 24, 2022

Cygnus the Swan setting in the West, marking the transition to the Winter constellations taking over from the summer. For this image, I used a hydrogen alpha filter to highlight the enormous area of star birth in this part of the Milky Way. You can see many prominent nebulae in this widefield image, including the Veil Nebula Complex and the North American Nebula.

EXIF - Sky: 45 x 45s RGB, ISO200, f/2.8; 45x60s 6nm Ha filter, ISO800, f/1.4; (replaced Red channel w/ Ha during processing)Land: 1x120s, ISO400, f/1.4

Gear - Sony A7III (Ha Mod by Kolari Vision); Sony 35mmGM; Astronomik 6nm clip-in Ha filter

Tracked/Stacked/Blended

For more astrophotography, check out my Insta: brennangilmorephoto