Not Quite But A Happy Accident

Century Park

Vernon Hills, IL

Last minute effort to shoot the Northern Lights with photo buddy Steve P.  Not quite successful but also not a wasted effort.  The previous night would have been spectacular.  On the second photo. Steve was fooling around with his flashlight while we were trying to capture the Northern Lights.  The bright colors against the night sky caught my attention.

Photographed with a Sony A7IV camera and 14mm F2.8 Series II lens.

All Photographed 11/12/25

  

Not Quite

Happy Accident

More Than The Naked Eye Can See

Palm Desert, CA

This is not one of my best star trails photos, but thought it worthy of sharing based on the number of trails that showed up in the processing.  Didn't bring my astro kit this trip so had to improvise.

180 photos, each 30 seconds long, stacked and blended in Photoshop. The colors were a bit funky, and stars not as sharp as I would like, hence the b/w processing for a more striking image.

Sony A7Cii @ f2.8 | 180 x 30" | 28mm | ISO 100

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A067

Photographed 11/1/24

A Rare Occurrence

52Frames - Week 41 - Panorama

Earlier this month the Chicago area was graced with an occurrence of the northern lights. It was a clear night so I went out to shoot star trails since the forecast was only a 10% chance of being able to see the aurora.

I got lucky with both! This photo is a 5 shot panorama merged in Lightroom. The star trails + aurora photo was posted earlier on my blog at https://jeffm211-p52.blogspot.com/2024/10/good-fortune.html.

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 5 x 1.6" | 28mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A067

Photographed 10/11/24

Good Fortune

I'm taking a short hiatus from posting an Africa photo due to the extraordinary opportunity that came to pass on Thursday evening.

Last May, I missed the aurora (northern lights) so hoped to capture a semblance of it this week in our area...which is a rare occurrence.  My expectations were low since NOAA Space Center forecast was for a less than 10% chance (with low energy) of seeing it in northern Illinois.

It was a clear night, so I figured worst case would be some star trail photos and giving my buddy a lesson on how to do them. Good fortune came when the aurora appeared during the last 5 minutes of star trail exposures. We hung around awhile after the star trails were completed to capture additional shots of the aurora.

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 30" x 121 | 14mm | ISO 100

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Series II


Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 30" | 14mm | ISO 100

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Series II

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 1.6" | 28mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A067

Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 1.6" | 28mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A067

Photographed 10/10/24

Astro Experiment

52Frames - Week 32 - Night Photography

EC: Astro

Weight limit on an upcoming trip is going to severely limit the amount of camera gear I can bring. Since I'll be in dark sky locations, wanted to see what's possible with a "non-astro" lens. While I'd love have my 14mm f2.8, the 20mm f4 will have to suffice.

Purposely didn't try to incorporate foreground here and pointed the camera straight up. This is a composite of 121 images at 30 seconds each; 1 hour total exposure time.

Sony A7IV @ f4 | 30" x 121 | 20mm | ISO 200

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 8/7/24

.3% Shy

Lincolnshire, IL

Almost a full moon on 5/22 with clear skies.  According to PhotoPills, 99.7%.  Since full moon was going to be at 6:54am on 5/23, figured this is as close as I'm going to get for a photo.

25 images stacked & aligned in Photoshop and further processed in Topaz Photo AI and Lightroom.



Sony A7IV @ f11 | 1/800 | 400mm | ISO 400

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 5/22/24

Timing Is Everything

I was shooting the daytime moon and a bird flew into the frame as the 2 second timer counted down. No way I could have planned this.

Sony A7IV @ f9 | 1/1250 | 397mm | ISO 640

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 3/20/24

First Quarter

Moon phase at 50% according to the PhotoPills app.  One handheld image...can't believe I captured it this sharp without a tripod.

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/1000 | 400mm | ISO 400

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 3/16/24

Waxing Crescent

Moon phase at 20% according to the PhotoPills app.  25 images aligned & stacked in LrC.

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/400 | 394mm | ISO 400

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 3/13/24

Circles

2024_CLondon52_March: Texture & Pattern - Repetition

I love circular star trails around celestial north.  Repetitive shooting resulting in a repetitive pattern.



Sony A7IV @ f2.8 | 123 shots x 30" | 14mm | ISO 100

Rokinon 14mm F2.8

Photographed 3/9/24

Waxing Gibbous

Moon phase at 98.1% according to the PhotoPills app.  Was hoping to catch a full moon tomorrow night but overcast skies are predicted.  25 images stacked and blended.

Sony A7IV @ f11 | 1/640 | 400mm | ISO 400

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 2/22/24

Almost Full

2024_CLondon52_January: Setting Goals - Re-creation of an Old Photo

Moon phase at 97.5% according to the PhotoPills app.  Second moon photo effort with the new 400mm zoom lens.  25 images stacked and blended.

Sony A7IV @ f11 | 1/800 | 400mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 1/23/24

Waxing Gibbous

Moon phase at 65.4% according to the PhotoPills app.  First attempt with the new 400mm zoom lens. 20 images stacked and blended.

Sony A7 IV @ f11 1/800 400mm ISO 2000

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 12/20/23

Cold Night Sky

Vernon Hills, IL

No moon and clear skies tonight so I went to a nearby open area and aimed the camera north to capture full circle star trails. Unfortunately, cannot escape the light pollution in this suburban area. What struck me in this photo (in addition to the star trails) is the precision of flight paths with multiple aircraft flying the same route over the course of an hour.

This image is a blend of 120 shots at 30 seconds each with a 1 second interval in between. Total exposure of 1 hour. Recommend viewing at full screen.

Sony A7 IV @ f2.8 120x30" 14mm ISO 100

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Series II

Photographed 11/13/23

Celestial North

Another star trails shot off my balcony; this time with a 28mm lens rather than 14mm.  I'm not a star trail purist, so the random lights across the frame enhance the image IMHO rather than detract from it.

This image is also a blend of 101 shots at 30 seconds each with a 1 second interval in between. Total exposure of 50 minutes.

Sony A7 IV @ f2.8 30" 28mm ISO 100

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Photographed 10/30/23

Circle Surprise

52Frames - Week 43 - Use A Tripod

I had intended to shoot the Milky Way this week but with the moon being close to full, there is too much light and a short MW visibility window.  Changing gears, I went for a star trails shot.  Being my first ever, this circular result was a complete surprise.

I set camera on tripod and aimed out and up into the night sky. Although the moon had already set, it was still not pitch black out and stars were visible but not particularly bright.  Little did I know that the camera was aimed at celestial north.

This image is a blend of 101 shots at 30 seconds each with a 1 second interval in between.  Total exposure of 50 minutes.



Sony A7 IV @ f2.8 30" 14mm ISO 200

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Series II

Photographed 10/25/23

Moonrise

Avon, CO

Went out to shoot some Milky Way photos before the moonrise, but cloud cover killed that effort. I turned the camera around to the other direction and captured the rising moon before it broke over the mountain horizon.

Sony A7 IV @ f2.8 15" 14mm ISO 800

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Series II

Photographed 9/30/23

Rookie Astro Outing

Newport State Park

Door County, WI

First ever astrophotography attempt.  And at an official "Dark Sky" location no less.

Blind Shot
Intent was to capture the Milky Way, however there was no visibility through the viewfinder or LCD. The Milky Way wasn't visible to the naked eye and the Photopills App was the only guidance available.  Notwithstanding, I managed to catch a glimpse.

Sony A7 IV @ f4 15"  20mm  ISO 3200

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 8/6/23

Straight Up
For this shot, I put on the adapted fisheye lens and shot straight up into the sky.  I have no idea if there is any Milky Way here.

Sony A7 IV @ f2.8 15" 16mm (equiv) ISO 4000

Nikkor Fisheye 10.5mm F2.8 G ED (adapted)

Photographed 8/6/23

Moonrise
52Frames - Week 32 - Night Photography

The Milky Way attempts were mediocre at best, however, I captured this moonrise photo over Lake Michigan at 12:02am EDT.  Earliest completion of the weekly challenge in my 3.5 years of participation.

Sony A7 IV @ f2.8 15" 16mm (equiv) ISO 4000

Nikkor Fisheye 10.5mm F2.8 G ED (adapted)

Photographed 08/07/23 (EDT)