Orion and the Dog Stars over an old rustic farmhouse near Vulcan, Alberta. Orion is at centre, while to the lower left is the “Dog Star” Sirius in Canis Major, while at upper left, at the edge of the frame, is the dog star Procyon in Canis Minor. The nearly full Hunter’s Moon in the morning sky off frame at right provides the illumination, plus a passing car headlight in one frame to add a warmer light to the house. This is a stack of 6 exposures, mean combined, to reduce noise in the foreground, with the sky coming from just one image to prevent star trailing. All were 8 second exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 800 with the Canon 6D and 24mm Canon lens. Shot in the dawn on October 28, 2015.
Orion and the Dog Stars over an old rustice farmhouse near Vulcan, Alberta. Orion is at centre, while to the lower left is the “Dog Star” Sirius in Canis Major, while at upper left, at the edge of the frame, is the dog star Procyon in Canis Minor. The nearly full Hunter’s Moon in the morning sky off frame at right provides the illumination. This is a stack of 4 exposures, mean combined, to reduce noise in the foreground, with the sky coming from just one image to prevent star trailing. All were 8 second exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 800 with the Canon 6D and 24mm Canon lens.
Orion and Sirius rising in the moonlight over the rocky landscape of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico north of Pinos Altos and the Continental Divide. Orion’s three Belt stas point down to Sirius in Canis Major just rising. To the left is the other “dog star,” Procyon in Canis Minor. This is a two-image stack: a short exposure 25 seconds at f/4 and ISO 2000 for the stars to keep trailing to a minimum, and a long 4-minute exposure at f/11 and ISO 1600 for the ground to increase depth of field and sharpness from foreground to distance. Gound and sky masked and processed in separate layers in Photoshop. Taken January 27, 2015 on a partly cloud and hazy night, with a waxing quarter Moon providing the illumination.
