I had an idea for a shot with constellations Orion and Canis Major (with Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky) setting over the rugged peaks of the Gore Range. So with a thin moon rising in the east, I had lot of cold weather gear and what I hoped was a pretty good plan to make it happen up on Ute Pass.


Everything went according to my plan with clear dark skies and the constellations lining up horizontally above the peaks right as gentle light from a rising moon started to illuminate the scene. But then, some thin clouds showed up to diffuse the light from the brighter stars and reflect the light pollution visible from the Summit County ski towns a little ways to the south. This changed the look of the scene entirely and for me, it made the scene turn into something really special!

There is a lot more to this post... see the rest of the backstory, how I got the shot, and get free wallpaper from www.coloradocaptures.com/sirius-diffusion-gore-range

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Only two spots left in my highlight event of the summer... don't miss my Night Photography Workshop in Arches & Canyonlands during the predicted meteor shower on Memorial Day Weekend. Both Darren White and I will be instructing for this special event so check out the details now, before it fills up!

Tags:   All Rights Reserved Canis Major Clouds Colorado Colorado Captures Constellations Copyright 2013 by Mike Berenson Diffused Light Gore Range Landscape Mike Berenson Moonlight Mountains Nature Night Night Photography Orion Orion's Belt Peak Z Pleiades Silverthorne Sirius Sky Stars Taurus Ute Pass Weather Snow

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I've heard this spot at the Crystal River Mill near Marble, Colorado referred to as the most photographed spot in the state. I don't think that's true partly because there's a 4WD trail that tends to discourage the crowds. On this late night adventure during the peak of the fall foliage season, I decided to make a run for my vision of this historic mill with some long-exposure star trails above.

In this case, I had a pretty big challenge come up though… just outside of Marble, a deer bolted out of the woods and flashed right in front of my 4Runner. I was going about 45 and ended up killing the deer instantly and causing damage to my 4Runner. I had a few minutes on one of the pullouts to assess the damage and consider my options. And after pulling a bunch of metal and other materials out of my wheel wells to get some of my turning radius, I determined that nothing critical had been damaged… I still had some lights! So I made the decision to stick with my plan and continue on to 4WD trail up to the mill.

There is a lot more to this post... see the rest of the backstory, the techniques, and get free wallpaper from www.coloradocaptures.com/starry-night-star-trails-crystal-river-mill

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Don't miss the December Discount Days running for the rest of December 2013 where you can get a 20% Discount on your Night Photography Workshop fee$! Check out the details and get your discount code here.

Tags:   4-Wheeling Aldebaran All Rights Reserved Aspen Aspen Leaves Aspen Trees Autumn Betelgeuse Colorado Colorado Captures Colorado Icon Copyright 2013 by Mike Berenson Crystal Crystal City Crystal Mill Crystal River Crystal River Mill Deer Fall Fall Foliage Foliage Landscape Leaves Light Painting Long Exposure Mammal Marble Mike Berenson Milky Way Mill Nature Night Nightscape Orion Pleiades River Schofield Pass Seasons Sky Star Trails Stars Taurus Trails Trees Waguila StarTrail Stacker Water Waterfall Wildlife

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Like layers of a cake, some of the most beautiful elements of summer lined up for a wonderful nightscape image on this July night high in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Wildflowers, a rocky waterfall, and Milky Way skies combined to make sleep seem like a distant priority.


There is a lot more to this post...
See the rest and get free wallpaper from www.coloradocaptures.com/wildflower-nightscape-porphyry-b...

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Tags:   All Rights Reserved Colorado Colorado Captures Copyright 2013 by Mike Berenson Indian Paintbrush Landscape Light Painting Mike Berenson Nature Night Nightscape Ouray Paintbrush Porphyry Basin Porphyry Basin Falls San Juan Mountain Range San Juans Silverton Sky Starry Night Starry Skies Stars Sunflower Water Waterfall Wildflowers Telluride

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The clouds cleared out just in time for this long-exposure nightscape image taken during one of my night photography workshops in Arches National Park. And with no moonlight, just a little reflected light pollution from the little town of Moab, Utah, the lighting was amazing! So with swirling milky way skies over the Three Gossips (on the left), we set up for a some great long-exposure images...


There is a lot more to this post...
See the rest and get free wallpaper from www.coloradocaptures.com/milky-way-swirls-over-arches-par...

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Official Website | Night Photography Training | Learning Center Blog | Google+ | Facebook | FAA

Tags:   Airglow All Rights Reserved Arches Arches National Park Clouds Colorado Colorado Captures Copyright 2013 by Mike Berenson Courthouse Towers Landscape Light Pollution Lightning Long Exposure Mike Berenson Milky Way Moab Nature Night Night Photography Night Photography Workshop North Star Park Avenue Polaris Rotation Sandstone Sheep Rock Sky Star Trails Stars Swirls The Organ Three Gossips Utah Weather

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On a night where the primary plan (for great night photography) went to pot, I decided to improvise with a plan to head south to the Spanish Peaks with good friend, Jon Blake.

We were hoping for some more cooperative weather (than was predicted up north) and with a big 84% full moon setting at 3:30 am, I figured we had a chance for a good composite image. I was hoping for some good light from the moon just as it set on the horizon followed by some good dark sky shots of the milky way afterward.


There is a lot more to this post... see the rest and get free wallpaper from
www.coloradocaptures.com/lunar-alpenglow-milky-way-skies-west-spanish-peak

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Big Announcement

I've given my night photography training schedule for the summer a real kick in the pants with some hot new content and exciting locations - hand picked for night photography.
• Learn night photography at Arches, Sand Dunes, and Rocky Mountain National Parks.
• Each workshop is limited to 6 students to ensure plenty of individual interaction.
• Choose either a single-night in-field photography workshop or a multiple night combination with both in-field and classroom night photography training.

Check out the details at www.coloradocaptures.com/night-photography-training/.

Tags:   Alpine Colorado Colorado Captures Copyright 2013 by Mike Berenson La Veta Milky Way Mountain Mountains Nature Nebula Night Peak Rocky Mountains Sky Snow Spanish Peaks Star Clusters Stars Walsenburg Weather Lagoon Nebula West Spanish Peak Landscape Star Clusters Lunar Alpenglow Moon Moon Light

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