August 26, 2024
Running back out to Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve when it was dark enough gave us a sliver of time before the clouds rolled in to capture the vivid stars. And a sliver is all we had left having taken two flights and driving several hours after Read more…
August 2, 2024
Once I settled in at the City of Rocks State Park campground, an unsettled sky darkened the distance. Thunderstorms with bolts that illuminated and crackled beautifully but worried me. I sat them out in the tent wondering if the tent was a careless place to hang out in a thunderstorm. Read more…
June 6, 2024
There aren’t many National Parks east of the Mississippi River. We don’t have the magnificent land formations born of the Colorado Plateau. But we got the the Great Lakes. Indiana Dunes National Park is right next to the gorgeous Lake Michigan. It would be my day and night destination as Read more…
April 8, 2024
For years I had been looking forward to seeing another total solar eclipse. And when I moved out of New York City to Rochester, New York, I was so happy to be in the path of totality. But then, disappointment along with the accompanying excitement of traveling to North Carolina. Read more…
November 18, 2023
With a finally clear night, we headed to the dark. But the effect of what amounts to a small ocean continues to alter forecasts. Though it is frustrating, we made the best of the clouds, manaing to capture plenty of stars and playing with his daughter’s Fisher Price red and Read more…
September 19, 2023
It always a shock to see how vibrant the stars are at Montauk. Sure, there is also a lot of light pollution at the horizon–but the Milky Way always says “Hi” to me. I like to blame my starry luck on my underwear which is always star-patterned. And in some Read more…
August 20, 2023
Despite the all-day of trickling rain and a sky full of gray, I knew I’d see the stars in the evening. It’s not because I checked the weather, though I did. I just kind of knew. The stars had satisfied every evening I wanted to shoot them. Though I don’t Read more…
August 13, 2023
It was a gorgeous night with crisp stars… but some wispy clouds persisted to enter the landscape. Still, the night shoot went better than I expected, with the most beautiful Milky Way right outside the door pretty early on. It makes a case for how a gorgeous galactic core can Read more…
September 6, 2020
An astroshoot in New York City? Sure, let’s do it. There were a few stars and a very bright Jupiter and Mars, though the billions of other celestial bodies were shy of the bright lights in the big city. Still very worth the while… The 9/11 Tribute lights were on. Read more…
August 23, 2020
Though Tonopah, Nevada is not dark sky certified by the IDA, it was rated as the #1 stargazing destination in the United States by USA Today at one point. And it has an official stargazing park, The Clair Blackburn Memorial Stargazing Park that has concrete picnic tables set for you Read more…
June 29, 2020
The Knightridge Space Observatory in Bloomington, Indiana is a simple observatory built in simpler times. But since that time the city of Bloomington and telescopic technology have grown. And the two-room structure with a rotating dome ceiling has been left alone in the woods since. Functioning only for 30 years, Read more…
June 28, 2020
In 1919, when East Cleveland was not a source of distracting ambient light, the Warner And Swasey Company gifted an observatory to the Astronomy department of the Case School of Applied Science. Though they manufactured a variety of machinery and tools, Warner and Swasey was best known for its giant Read more…