The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter of November 23, 2019, as seen over the foothills and front ranges of the Rocky Mountains in southwest Alberta. I shot this from the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, prior to their monthly Open House event that night with about 400 in attendance. But at this time it was just me and one other ardent photographer present to shoot this scene. This is an HDR blend (stacked using Adobe Camera Raw) of 5 exposures at 2/3-stop intervals, with the Rokinon 85mm lens at f/4 on the red-sensitive Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 100. It works great on sunsets, bringing out the reds and magenta hues. The high dynamic range blending brings out details in the dark foreground without blowing out the highlights in the bright sky. A mild application of an overlay-mode dodge-and-burn layer touches up the mid-tone luminosity levels.
A panorama of the sunset sky with Venus (brighter) and Jupiter (fainter above Venus) near centre in the twilight on November 22, 2019, a day before their close conjunction. This panorama is overlooking the Bow River Valley at Blackfoot Crossing east of Calgary, Alberta. This is a 5-segment panorama with the 85mm Rokinon lens on the Canon EOS Ra, a red-sensitive camera that accentuates the red sunset. Stitched with Adobe Camera Ra.w.
The nearly 2-day-old and very thin waxing Moon in the evening twilight, above Venus which is just above the tree tops at right, about to set. Venus is just beginning a superb appearance as an evening “star” in late 2019 and early 2020. This is a single exposure with the 135mm lens and Canon EOS R camera. No gradient filters were applied here — the sky was very clear with a womderful natural gradient in colours along the horizon.
