Twelve-Years Ago (28-August-2007) — Colorado

Summertime Night Sky Over Colorado.

There was a partial Lunar Eclipse  while I was working at the Merck/Sirna site in Boulder. The sky was clear and I spent much of the night observing the eclipse from the Sirna parking lot. At one point I must have stood in front of the camera for a selfie.

Accidental Ghostly Self Portrait Taken During a Lunar Eclipse. Boulder Colorado, 28-August-2007. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Accidental Ghostly Self Portrait Taken During a Lunar Eclipse. Boulder Colorado.  Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (27-August-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Star and jet trails plus clouds. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite generated with Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). One problem I continue to have is moisture condensing on the lens as temperature cool over the night. Especially with wide angle lenses with lots of glass surface area. You can see how the condensation blurs things in the final image. I’ve read about adding electrical resistance thermal tape to heat the lens, but worry about damage and optical artifacts. I’ve also added a time-lapse video of the night sky show.

Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (01-50) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (01-50) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (51-100) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (51-100) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (101-150) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (101-150) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (151-200) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (151-200) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (27-August-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Star trails looking north and the waxing gibbous moon (both a composite and time-lapse video).

Startrails Looking North. Composite of 60 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro with the composite processed using Phototshop CC Statictics/Maximum. (David J Mathre)
Startrails Looking North. Composite of 60 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro with the composite processed using Phototshop CC Statictics/Maximum. (David J Mathre)
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Composite of 12 images taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Composite of 12 images taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Seven-Years Ago (25-August-2012) — North Atlantic Ocean

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 03: At Sea, North Atlantic Ocean.

Time-lapse video of the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean from the aft deck of the MV Explorer.  Images  taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the time-lapse video created with Photoshop CC.

Seven-Years Ago (24-August-2012) — North Atlantic Ocean

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 02: At Sea, North Atlantic Ocean.

Waiting for the Sun to set from the aft deck of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 122 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec).

Sunset at Sea on the M/V Explorer. Fall 2012 Semester at Sea Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 122 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset at Sea on the M/V Explorer. Fall 2012 Semester at Sea Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 122 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Time-lapse video of the sun setting from the aft deck of the MV Explorer.  Images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro. Time-lapse video created using Photoshop CC. Two versions first without additional processing, and the second applying a warping filter using After Effects CC to minimize motion while hand holding the camera on a moving ship.