Monday, 13th December 2010
Rockstar
by Stephen Oachs
In a National Park, far, far away...stands a majestic, ancient time-worn natural formation known as Arch Rock. This impressive landmark takes on a breathtaking new life after dark.
Arch Rock, sitting within the 550,000 wilderness acres of Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California, seems to transform after sunset. At night, the iconic structure seems to become an enticing viewing portal of the Milky Way, and the brilliant star cluster that points to the center of our galaxy.
Standing at this place, gazing upward, one can't help but feel as if the arch might become a magical gateway to the heavens, to a galaxy far, far away....
Equipment: Canon 1Ds Mark III
Stephen Oachs
Stephen W. Oachs is an award-winning photographer, successful entrepreneur and technology veteran who began his journey in photography the moment he picked up his first camera.
Completely self-taught, Stephen's unique and distinctive style has earned him recognition as one of today's finest nature photographers. He was recognized in 2007 as wildlife photographer of the year by the National Wildlife Federation and was awarded best nature photographer in 2008 by National Geographic.
Stephen has received many other awards and achievements. His work has graced the pages of such notable publications such as National Geographic, Popular Photography, Outdoor Photographer, National Wildlife Magazine and many others.
In 2009 Stephen founded The Aperture Academy, a unique combination of fine art photography gallery in conjunction with classroom and workshop instruction. Students of the Aperture Academy recieve hands on instruction designed for their individual skill level which includes everything from learning to shoot in the field to digital post processing techniques.
Whether trekking through the wilds of Alaska, enduring the raw challenges of nature or experiencing the thrill of life on the edge, Stephen captures rare and breathtaking moments of light and time. His exceptional eye is filtered only by his passion for life, deep affinity with nature and love of adventure.
Website: www.ApertureAcademy.com
Rockstar by Stephen Oachs was photo of the day on Monday, 13th December 2010. It is tagged Arches, Stars. You can leave a comment below.
30 Comments
Jean Day
Fantastic image, Stephen. Nice job on the light painting.
ziggy
Awesome, awesome stuff. It sure has that other-worldly feel. The Arch from this angle kinda has the look of giant snake, weaving on itself. You sure have a gift Stephen, thanks for sharing it.
Chamika
Great capture! It certainly looks like a gateway to another time and universe!
Anurag
Wow, an image with the “Oooh……..” factor!
Deborah Flowers
WOW!!! A Super Stellar Shot!
Pauline Jones
Cool Image, very well taken and I agree with your sentiments.
AlfonsoPaz
Tremendous Shot. Thanks for sharing.
Drummond Wilson
Very nicely done. I love this park, but have yet to visit at night. Thanks for sharing
Gail
Joshua Tree National Park is a wonderous place, especially at night I once did star trail pictures at night in the park for a college astronomy project. Love your picture Stephen! It reminds me of an old episode of Star Trek!
Marie Dunphy Harding
Your imagination is as appealing as your picture; Thanks for sharing both.
Attila Lévai
Magnificent !!!
Attila Lévai
The rock reminded me of an ancient mammoth skull…
Melissa S
That is so beautiful!
Lorel
Looks like a painting, which as a painter, is a compliment.
Andrew
This is just awesome. Capturing rock formation with Milky Way in the background – this is a pro job. Incredible contrast.
Stephen Oachs
Thank you everyone for your very kind words!
Lisa
Absolutely amazing. Stunning. Mesmerizing. To see earthly beauty juxtaposed with celestial beauty is truly a glimpse of the magnificent. Are there places on earth where the Milky Way is that bright and intense to the naked eye, or is that the result of long exposure?
I would love to know the technical details of how Mr. Oachs made this shot.
Miss Photo Queen
This photo has alot of WOW-Factor. Keep it up
Jen
Not only do you have excellent photography skills, but you could also be a writer!
gouldkb
Wonderful image. It’s great to see new perspectives on national parks.
Nicki
Stephen – I think you outdid yourself on this shot. AWESOME!
Stephen Oachs
Lisa — in very remote locations, such as Joshua Tree National Park, there is little to no light pollution from cities so the milky way is visible to the naked eye. In this case, this is a 25 second exposure at ISO 1600 so that high level of sensor sensitivity allows you to capture even more light from the milky way that you eye can not see naturally.
Christian Klepp
Stephen,
this is a very impressive picture.
Given the 1600 ISO@25 sec I wonder how you got the arch that bright. The milky way is fairly bright so I assume the moon was below the horizon or new moon? Getting the foreground that bright would have than needed much longer exposure times or artifical neutral lighting. Did you use foreground lighting for this shot? Its not a composite of two images?
I ask because I do such photography, too. And I do star tracking up to 6 mins for the dynamic picture and redo the image non-tracked, so the static component, also at 1600 ISO. These go together neatly to a composit image that shows the landscape under the starry skies. And usually I end up with such light situations after 6 mins of exposure.
Greetings from Hamburg,
Christian.
Sureshwe
It is just fantastic!!!! One day you should visit my beautiful island srilanka.
Lisa
Stephen, thank you for your response. I live far enough away from big cities that on clear low-humidity nights, I can see the Milky Way as if it were a high thin cloud. I couldn’t see it last night during the Geminids, due in part to my lone neighbor’s porch light — I couldn’t find my BB gun to take care of that
After viewing your photo and reading your prose, I am anxious now to learn where the center of our galaxy is along the Milky Way.
Malta Photography
great shot as usual with a very intriguing backdrop.
Stephen Oachs
Christian, I wrote an in-depth article on how I took this shot. You can read it here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenoachs/5225209293/
Christian Klepp
Stephen,
thanks for answering and the link – the story is a pleasure to read and explains well how much effort can go into a single shot. Well done! This is the reason why so few excellent astronomical landscpae pictures exist – its just tremendous work to get one perfect. But its also great fun!
All the best,
Christian.
ashlee
ilove it.
Patrice R.
Truly stunning and majestic, for lack of a better term. I have to admit, an involuntary gasp escaped me when I saw this!