Just got home, photo from Twisted Shoe Campsite

[JeffB]

We just got home from a 10 day trip and have hundreds of pictures to sort through.  Here's one of my favorites from our campsite at Twisted Shoe near the junction of Dodson and Juniper Canyon trail.  I'll post a lot more pictures and a trip report in the next couple of days.


Left to right: Toll Mountain, Casa Grande and Crown Mountain from the south.  My tent and the Twisted Shoe Campsite sign at bottom.

[jeffblaylock]

Nice Jeff - very pretty night, and one of the best sites to see it from. Looking forward to more.

[SA Bill]

Nice Jeff!
I like any picture with stars in it.
Can't wait for more!  Bill

[mule ears]

Jeff,
Welcome back it's been a long time since we heard from you. Great night sky shot. Can't wait to see and hear it all. 10 days all in the backcountry?

[BigBendHiker]

Nice picture, Jeff.  Can't wait to see the rest of the pictures and read the trip report.


BBH

[stingrey]

This question probably belongs in the photo forum, but how in the heck did you snap a pic w/the stars and the background still visible like that??? That is AWESOME!!!

[uh_clem]

That's a really nice picture. Thanks for posting.

[astrofizz]

Great BBNP sky & campsite image! A question (just curious): Looks like the 4 stars that form the head of Draco the Dragon are at the center of the sky image; Vega (brightest star) & other Lyra the Lyre stars at the upper left corner. Yes? Did you shoot the sky image with a relatively long focal length lens, or is it perhaps a portion of a larger image?
 

[JeffB]

Another shot with Casa Grande and the Milky Way rising behind. Shot from the Lost Mine trail head. (20mm f/2.0 20 seconds)

Astrofizz, you're right on the money. That's Draco along with Vega and Lyra, portions of Ursa Minor and Hercules. This is a full frame image resized to post here on the board.

Stingrey, I shot these images with a fast 20mm lens at f/1.8 to f/2.4, for about 20 seconds each. There was a waning gibbous moon rising low over the Sierra Del Carmen range during the Twisted Shoe image. That provided just enough light to illuminate the landscape but still get a shot of the stars. I like the shot but it still doesn't capture the Glory of being there, hearing the "hoo-hoo hoo hoo hoo" of Great Horned owls and feeling the unseasonal cool breeze under perfectly clear skies and mountain/desert landscape.

I highly recommend the Twisted Shoe site. The shot of the rare Texas Lyre snake was shot from the same site,  appropriate with the constellation Lyra looming overhead (as noticed by Astrofizz). They are called Lyre snakes from the spot on the head that is shaped like a Lyre. The last shot is again from twisted shoe. The ridge in the foreground is one of the ridges nearby and south of SouthRim.


Astrofizz and Bill may notice Antares and the dust lanes around Rho Ophiuchus in the last image.  Wow, what great dark skies we have in the Bend.

[SA Bill]

Love it Jeff!
The Pipe dark nebula is so easy to see in that last pic.
What camera? My poor Sony a100 can't do what you've done in 20 seconds! I really haven't pushed it on the stars too much but might this coming week...it looks like it will be great all week so I'll have 5-6 nights to play around. Maybe I'll get lucky. 
   Bill

[Burn Ban]

texas lyre snake...and thought that was a "me sh*t*ing in my pants" snake.  i learn something new every day.

[stingrey]

That snake is pretty sweet! For the guys who are scared of snakes, there are only a few venomous snakes in the park... Most of 'em are rattlesnakes, the other is a copperhead. Although you should respect 'em all, the fact of the matter is that most of the guys that you'll see IF you see 'em are about as harmless as a lizard. Scary? Maybe... But not dangerous.

Hate to say it, but I think I'm particularly intrigued by snakes from the park because of how many are there and how many I have yet to see... AND because of what I've seen some of 'em do. Once I had a whip snake (not a coachwhip) rattle its tail in dry leaves at me on the way down from South Rim, and when I was leaving the park last week my friend and I saw a snake race across the road WAY faster than a coachwhip normally would. These guys are interesting in their own right.

Your pictures are absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the insight on the star shots... Now on the snake, what type of lens? And for that matter, how did you get that shot to look so absolutely flawless in the dark? That is my BIGGEST downfall when I spot critters in the dark.

[bdann]

Those shots are beautiful JeffB, welcome back!

[tjavery]

Nice shots! The star shots came out exceptionally well.

...I shot these images with a fast 20mm lens at f/1.8 to f/2.4, for about 20 seconds each...

That's a Sigma, right? They make a series of f/1.8 lenses in 20, 24, & 28mm. I've been wanting a fast, wide prime like that, particularly for shooting the night sky 

How do you like the 20mm?

[homerboy2u]

I have been holding from posting any comments waiting to see more of those really AMAZING shots from the stars. I hope you have some more for us.

 Thank you very much for posting this unique photos. Good to see you again here.