Astrophotography

Where our two favorite hobbies meet!


Chasing Shadows

This is the one shot I had all my camera settings tailored to capture. Most of the other photographers around me thought I was crazy for trying to shoot an eclipse at f/32. I did it because I wanted an image of the last rays of Sun before being completely covered by the Moon; that moment you realize this is going to be very different than a partial eclipse, that feeling that made everyone in the path of the total eclipse go "oooh". It's not really how your eye sees it in that moment in time, but I think it illustrates exactly how you remember it later on.

This gallery contains 9 photos.

The first time I saw a total solar eclipse was in Romania in 1999. My home was in an area with something like 98% partial coverage. We didn’t have internet at home back then, so I couldn’t easily look up what the difference between 98% and totality really was. I almost stayed at home. Luckily, on … Continue reading

Blood Moon in the garden

This is the second in a row of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015, photographed on October 8th from our garden in Menlo Park, CA. If you’ve missed it, here’s our photo of the first total lunar eclipse in this series of four taken in April from much the same location. This time around, we kept true to the name of our blog and added a little pink flavour to the composition:

The second in a row of four consecutive total lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015, photographed on October 8th from our garden in Menlo Park, CA.

And here is a more conventional photo. You can see the stars come out as the Moon is dimmed – and not only the stars! The bright point to the left of the Moon, about a lunar diameter away from its limb, is the planet Uranus.

Total lunar eclipse on October 8th, 2014.

 

 

Night photography on Niijima Island

Stone statues in the park very close to our campground reminded us of the magic of Stonehenge, especially with the Milky Way as a backdrop.

This gallery contains 6 photos.

One night of almost new Moon and clear skies on Niijima Island’s Habushi Beach, in the great company of fun-loving people from the Tokyo Snow Club. With special thanks to fellow photographer Sachintha Gurudeniya (Sach) who braved the cold and the sleep deprivation to keep shooting with Aurora until 3am. Like … Continue reading

Total eclipse of the Moon

The total phase of the Lunar Eclipse on April 15, 2014. The bright star to the right is Spica in the constellation Virgo. Photographed by Norbi in Menlo Park, CA.

The total phase of the Lunar Eclipse on April 15, 2014. The bright star to the right is Spica in the constellation Virgo. Photographed by Norbi in Menlo Park, CA.

Reaching for the stars

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.

This gallery contains 9 photos.

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, … Continue reading