As professional astronomers and amateur photographers, we felt it was really a requirement to upload some astrophotography to this blog. Shamefully, we did not have any good photos of the Milky Way until recently, when we teamed up with a fellow photographer and went on a trip to Crater Lake, Oregon. Now our astrophotography portfolio is ready to be presented to you. Hope you enjoy, and get inspired to go out into the nature and see the night sky with your own eyes from time to time.
![Vertigo](http://i1.wp.com/earthinpink.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/21C7189.jpg?resize=262%2C262)
Aurora kicked the camera by mistake a quarter of the way during this long exposure, giving the final composition a dizzying effect. We especially like the stars that appear to shine through the trunk of the tree on the left as a result. See if you can spot the Andromeda galaxy in the embrace of the dried out branches.
![Strained shadows](http://i2.wp.com/earthinpink.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/annular_strainer.jpg?resize=262%2C262)
The shadows cast by the ring of light of the Sun are probably the most spectacular thing about annular eclipses. This is an iPhone picture of the shadow of a pasta strainer projected on a piece of cardboard. Each hole, instead of appearing round, shows the annular shape of the Sun’s disk with the dark side of the Moon in front of it.