New on 500px : Noctambulism by miketaylorphoto by miketaylorphoto

An incredible amount of green and a bit of maroon colored airglow are prominent in this 16 image night sky panorama which features the full Milky Way arc and covers 240 degrees of view from North (left) to South (right). I centered this image around one of the iconic gnarly trees that clings to the top of the canyon wall at Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah. The bright light on the horizon to the left of the tree is light pollution coming from the town of Moab. This image was stitched via PTGui and processed through Lightroom 5 (twice, once for the foreground and once for the sky) and Photoshop CS5.

Noctambulism is another word for sleepwalking.

Nikon D600 & 14-24 @ 14mm
f/2.8 – 16 x 30 secs – ISO 4000 – WB Kelvin 3570
06/04/14 – 1:20AM

Taylor Photography Prints & Portfolio – 2014 Night Photography Workshops Schedule

© Mike Taylor – Taylor Photography

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New on 500px : Nature & Man by miketaylorphoto by miketaylorphoto

Nature & Man: Iridium Flare, Milky Way, Clouds and Light Pollution

What is an Iridium flare?

Iridium flares are often mistaken for meteors because of their notable bright flashes of light in the night sky but they are actually caused by a specific group of satellites that orbit our planet. An Iridium flare is a specific type of satellite flare that is made when the antennas of an Iridium communication satellite reflect sunlight directly onto the surface of the Earth. The satellites are in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 485 miles and their orbital period is approximately 100 minutes with a velocity of 16,800 miles per hour. The uniqueness of Iridium flares is that the spacecraft emits ‘flashes’ of very bright reflected light that sweep in narrow focused paths across the surface of the Earth. An Iridium communication satellite’s Main Mission Antenna is a silver-coated Teflon antenna array that mimics near-perfect mirrors – this array is angled at 40 degrees away from the axis of the body of the satellite. This can provide a specular reflection of the Sun’s disk, periodically causing a dazzling glint of reflected sunlight. At the Earth’s surface, the specular reflection is probably less than 50 miles wide, so each flare can only be viewed from a fairly small area. The flare duration can last from anywhere between 5 to 20 seconds and can easily be seen by the naked eye.

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This image is one frame from a time lapse of the Milky Way & other features of the night sky in motion against a silhouetted foreground. Photographed from an undisclosed location in Western Maine, this shot includes quite a bit of light pollution & some fast moving cloud cover. Most of the light pollution in this image is coming from Farmington, Maine which is about 35 miles from this location. The footage from this time lapse will be featured in my upcoming short film Shot In The Dark.

Nikon D600 & 14-24 @ 14mm
f/2.8 – 30 secs – ISO 3200 – WB Kelvin 3570
06/23/14 – 11:07PM
Processed via Lightroom 5 & Photoshop CS5

2014 Night Photography Workshops Schedule – Taylor Photography Prints & Portfolio

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New on 500px : Dead Horse Point at Night by miketaylorphoto by miketaylorphoto

The Milky Way rises in the Southeast as the quarter moon slowly sets in the Southwest, lighting up the foreground area and creating a ‘blue hour’ glow in the sky over the red rock hues of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah. This is one frame from a 2 hour time lapse, processed through Lightroom 5 & Photoshop CS5.

2014 Night Photography Workshops Schedule – Taylor Photography Portfolio

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New on 500px : Wonders Below by goldpaintphotography by goldpaintphotography

Tufa (too’-fah) is essentially common limestone. What is uncommon about this limestone is the way it forms. Typically, underwater springs rich in calcium (the stuff in your bones) mix with lakewater rich in carbonates (the stuff in baking soda). As the calcium comes in contact with carbonates in the lake, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate–limestone. The calcium carbonate precipitates (settles out of solution as a solid) around the spring, and over the course of decades to centuries, a tufa tower will grow. Tufa towers grow exclusively underwater, and some grow to heights of over 30 feet. The reason visitors see so much tufa around Mono Lake today is because the lake level fell dramatically after water diversions began in 1941.

You can read more about Mono Lake by visiting The Mono Lake Committee’s Website.

If you’re interested in joining me out in the field, there are still a few spaces left in our 2014 schedule. Visit our 2014 Night Sky Photography Workshops page for more info.

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New on 500px : Corona Arch at Night by miketaylorphoto by miketaylorphoto

2014 Night Photography Workshops Schedule

Metallic prints: Taylor Photography Portfolio

The Milky Way galaxy makes a dramatic background for Corona Arch, located in Bootlegger Canyon just outside of Moab, Utah. The opening of Corona Arch is 140 feet tall and 105 feet wide. During this photography workshop the arch was lit with an orange LED to match the surrounding landscape. There was quite a bit of airglow in the sky this evening. This image is a blend of two shots, one for the sky and one for the foreground. Processed and blended via Lightroom 5 & Photoshop CS5.

Sky:
Nikon D600 & 14-24 @ 14mm
f/2.8 – 30 secs – ISO 3200
05/27/14 – 1:15AM

Foreground:
Nikon D600 & 14-24 @ 14mm
f/2.8 – 337 secs – ISO 1000
05/27/14 – 2:30AM

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New on 500px : Galactic Tracks by miketaylorphoto by miketaylorphoto

This is a 9 shot panorama covering 180 degrees of sky view from North (left) to South (right) while looking East. Featuring the Spring arc of our Milky Way galaxy, this was photographed at Unity Pond, Maine along the unused train tracks. There is a bit of green airglow in the sky and the orange hue on the horizon is light pollution. This image was processed through Lightroom 5 & Photoshop CS5 and stitched together via PTGui.

2014 Night Photography Workshops Schedule – Metallic prints:Taylor Photography Portfolio

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New on 500px : Portal by goldpaintphotography by goldpaintphotography

My participants and I had a lot of fun during our night sky workshop in Arches National Park over the weekend. Not only am I an instructor, but also a full-time light painter. If you’re interested in joining me out in the field, there are still spaces left in our 2014 schedule. Visit our 2014 Night Sky Photography Workshops page for more info.
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