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Nightscapes

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Photography is all about light, which would seem to make it a daytime activity. Yet some of the most fascinating images can be taken at night. Where does the light come from to make an image then? There are many sources of light during the dark hours of the day; starlight, moonlight, light pollution and even lightening storms. The light levels are often low, but a tripod and long exposures allow those low light levels to build up, and modern digitial cameras have become excellent at capturing images in the dark. Here is a collection of "Nightscapes" taken over the years.

 
 
 
Star trails over Avon NC (outer banks) on November 5, 2023 (left). Note the red glow on the left above the horizon (more visible in the version above right, processed to remove the star trails). This is the aurora borealis, or northern lights, rarely visible this far south.
 
 
 
Orion over Death Valley NP (left, October 2016); Five planet alignment, Alpha Ridge Park, MD (right, June 2022)
 
 
 
Full moon over Orkney Islands, Scotland (September 2019)
 
 
 
Mackinac Point Lighthouse, MI (left, June 2018); Lightening storm over Cape Hatteras beach (right, June 2018)
 
 
 
Milky Way over old shipwreck, Cape Hatteras NC (left, October 2018); Milky Way and thunderstorm over Hatteras beach (right, July 2018)
 
 
 
Lake Huron, MI (August 2018)
 
 
 
Lake Huron, MI (left, August 2018); Presque Isle MI (center, August 2016); Arches National Park (right, November 2014)
 
 
 
Presque Isle, Lake Huron, MI (both August 2016)
 
 
 
Scenes off Cape Hatteras beach (all September 2012)
 
 
 
Hatteras Village, NC (left, June 2016); Cape Hatteras lighthouse (right, June 2016)
 
 
 
Death Valley National Park (left, February 2016); Hovenweep National Monument, UT (center, November 2014); Yellowstone National Park (right, January 2014)
 
 
 
Arches National Park, UT (left, November 2014); Mormon Row, Grand Teton National Park WY (right, September 2013)
 
 
 
Thor's Hammer, Bryce Canyon NP (left, March 2010); Milky Way over hot springs, Yellowstone NP (center, September 2011); Star trails over Cassamero ruins, NM (right, February 2011)
 
 
 
Star trails over Three Rivers Petroglyph Park, NM (left, March, 2011); Stars over Painted Hand Ruin, NM (right, March 2011)
 
 
 
Milky Way over Bryce Canyon National Park (March, 2010)
 
 
 
Full moon over sleeping cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (January, 2010)
 
 

All images, text and content Copyright © Bradley Sheard. All rights reserved.