Your shopping cart is empty.
Sep 28, 2016
One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of my photography work in Coastal Georgia is photographying the night sky. It takes quite a bit of patience, timing, sleep deprivation, as well as knowlege and skill in order to get that near perfect photograph of the stars in all their glory.
Tybee Stars and Sand before Sunrise. Canon 5D Mark II, EF50mm lens, f1.8, ISO 3200, 20sec.
This blog is not meant to be a lesson on how you can go out do this type of photography with your own camera. You do need a good camera and lens and knowledge of the camera settings needed to capture this in very dark conditions as well as a sturdy tripod. You do need a knowledge of when the best times of the year and month are for the best conditions to capture it. You do need stamina to be able to get up and get out there in the middle of the night as well as the bravery it takes if you are going alone. You do need a knowledge of when the best weather conditions might be occuring and finally, you do need a knowledge of the postprocessing skills that it takes to "develope" your photos for the best presentation available. Hence, this is not for the faint of heart to try to figure it out all by yourselves and taking a class or workshop is highly recommended.
Midnight at the Pier. Canon 5D Mark II, Sigma 24-35mm lens, 24mm, ISO 3200, f2.0, 20sec.
This type of photography, if done correctly or at least "well", can come with some immense rewards. Personally, I find them rewarding just to view them. In my opinion, the are beautiful and they remind me of the heaven above us and that we are God's creation. The beauty that I find in nature always reminds me of this and all of God's creation seems to radiate with beauty, and the night sky exemplifies this to the max. The stars and the Milky Way in particular also remind me of how small we are compared to the entire universe. Our entire solar system with the sun, the earth, our moon, and the other plants, are but a spec in one of the circulating "arms" of our Milky Way Galaxy which has over 100 billion stars. Of the 100 billion stars (all of which could have planets circulating them), only about 500 other solar systems have been discovered and confirmed and that list is always growing. Our own Milky Way Galaxy is itself only a spec in the universe and some other little "specs" that look like stars in the sky are actually galaxies as large as ours or larger.
No. 19 Milky Way View. Canon 5D Mark II, Sigma 24-35mm lens, 24mm, ISO 3200, f2.0, 20sec.
Aside from my own personally rewarding feeling that I get from astrophotography, the rewards can be considerable if you are looking to establish a market for your photography works. Since this type of photography does require the equipment, knowledge to use the equipment, and the stamina to get our there in the middle of the night, it is fairly rare compared to other types of nature photography. This alone can set your artwork apart from others. The beauty and the uniqueness of the artwork has also brought some other rewards that I am truly thankful for. The 1st photo above, "Tybee Stars and Sand before Sunrise" recently won 3rd in a statewide Georgia Nature Photography Association contest called "Double Vision". The idea was to get painters from the Roswell Fine Art Academy paint the top 24 photos and the person who painted my photo won 1st place for the paintings. The second photo above, "Midnight at the Pier", went viral on facebook and had over 300,000 views and over 30,000 likes. This social media recognition also brought many new fans to my facebook business page as well as to my business web page. It has also resulted in many new email contacts and new sales. It also caught the eye of a gallery owner, Judy Trout, who invited me to become a part of her co-op gallery on Tybee Island, Georgia called The Tybee Cottage Art Gallery. Membership at this gallery has also been rewarding, a new learning experience, and has resulted in sales. For all of this recognition, I am truly thankful. The 3rd picture above "No. 19 Milky Way View" hasn't won any awards, but has been pretty good for sales. It is also now somewhat historic in nature becuase the white painted lifeguard stands have been replaced with new brown wooden ones (unpainted) with help from the Baywatch II Movie set that was filmed on Tybee Island, Georgia.
Some of my best night sky astrophotography from Coastal Georgia can be viewed and purchased by clicking here: COASTAL NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
This is only visible to you because you are logged in and are authorized to manage this website. This message is not visible to other website visitors.
This means you can use the camera on your phone or tablet and superimpose any piece of art onto a wall inside of your home or business.
To use this feature, Just look for the "Live Preview AR" button when viewing any piece of art on this website!
This means you can use the camera on your phone or tablet and superimpose any piece of art onto a wall inside of your home or business.
To use this feature, Just look for the "Live Preview AR" button when viewing any piece of art on this website!