The constellation of Orion and the bright star Sirius in Canis Major, down my country road, on a very cold and frosty moonless January night, with the temperature at -25° C. But no wind! This a stack of 5 x 15-second exposures, untracked, for the ground, stacked with mean combine mode to smooth noise, plus a single exposure for the sky, to keep the stars as pinpoint as possible. All at f/2 with Sigma 24mm Art lens and the Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. The image serves as a good workshop example of Rule of Thirds composition.
Orion and the star Sirius, at left, setting in the dawn sky over the Chiricahuas on the morning of December 9, 2015. The orange star is Betelgeuse. Light from the eastern dawn illuminates the landscape. Haze added the natural star glows — no filter used here. The sky is a stack of 5 x 90 second exposures at f/2.5 with the 35mm lens and Canon 5D MkII at ISO1600, with the camera on the iOptron Sky-Tracker to keep stars from trailing. The ground is from another set of 5 similar exposures with the tracker motor off, the eliminate blurring from the camera tracker motion.
Orion and Taurus rising above the Peloncillo Mountains in southwest New Mexico, as shot from Arizona near Portal. The red nebulosity in and around Orion shows up despite the low altitude due to the clarity of the desert air, though there is some discoloration from airglow and light pollution. This is a stack of 5 x 2.5-minute exposures at ISO 1600 and f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII, on the iOptron Sky-Tracker, with the ground coming from just one image to minimize blurring. An additional two exposures through the Kenko Softon filter added additional glows around the stars.
