I took some milky way images this autumn. Here is a pair from Capitol Reef National Park: Pectols Pyramid in the main part of the park, and Temple of the Sun in Cathedral Valley.

The lead image is Pectols Pyramid, a 6,211-foot (1,893-meter) elevation summit located in Capitol Reef National Park, in Wayne County of Utah, United States.

The best view of the pyramid is on the Hickman Natural Bridge trail.

This is a blue hour blend of the pyramid and foreground. The milky way image was made using a star tracker which would blur the land component if processed as a single image.

Because I use a star tracker, all of my milky way images are composites. I use an app called Photo Pills to mark the location of the Milky Way if the composite images are not from the same evening.

I lit the foreground with four Lume Cubes near the at the tail end of the blue hour. One light is directly behind the largest foreground rock. Two lights are on light stands on the right. And I hand held a fourth light on lower power.

Temple of the Sun

Temple of the Sun is in Cathedral Valley. The valley is along a rough, unpaved road with one river crossing through the water. I highly recommend a high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle to do the full loop.

This image utilized two Lume Cubes on stands off to the right, and one hand held cube to add some foreground light.

In the autumn, the Milky Way is nearly vertical in the Southwestern sky, shortly after sunset. On this shot, there is a bit of alpenglow plus the Lume Cubes adding some light on the right side of the Temple.

Equipment

Those interested in my equipment and recommendations can find it here: Mish’s Equipment List.

Coming up I have a pair of Milky Way images from Devil’s Garden in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, plus some beautiful Autumn color images from Zion National Park.

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Mike “Mish” Shedlock