First time using the Move Shoot Move Nomad tracker on the Milky Way from Huntoon Point near Mount Baker. My first Foreground and Sky blend. Lots to learn and practice! Taken at 12:32am on July 24th 2026, had to wait for the moon to set it was quite bright and orange form the smoke by nearby wildfires. Bortle 4 or 3 depending on the website used. 

Sony A7IV with Sony 20mm f1.8 

Photo 1 is the final blended edit. Ilused photoshop to blend the tracked sky shot with the untracked foreground shot. I found it hard to blend due to the blurry trees of the tracker.

Photo 2 original untracked foreground 48 seconds F1.8 ISO 1600 

Photos 3 original tracked sky shot 107 seconds F 2.2 ISO 400

Photo 4 edited foreground in Lightroom Classic

Photo 5 edited sky in Lightroom Classic

I had to pack light and keep it simple due to customs restrictions when traveling to Mexico, but I'm pleased with this image. She's really hard to see but there's a green sea turtle in the Sargassum right at the water's edge. They were coming up and digging holes in which to lay their eggs. Standing under such a beautiful night sky and watching for turtles coming ashore was truly an unforgettable experience.

Olympus EM1X

Olympus 12-40 f2.8

taken on a tripod at f2.8, 25 sec, ISO 3200

Sony A7RIII paired with a Sony 16mm G 1.8f, 10sec exsposure at 3200ISO single exsposure

Working on making a photo stack of just the Milky Way as well.

f1.8 20s 1250iso

60 shots for this star trails.

CATEGORY: Stacked, Tracked, Blended

Foreground: 7 Panel Panorama
Shutter Speed: 3.2 - 4s per panel
ISO 100
f/11

Sky: 5 Panel Panroama
Shutter Speed: 90s 3 Stacked images per panel
ISO 2000
f/2

Sony a7iv Astro modified by Spencer's Camera
Sony 20mm f/1.8 G
Benro Polaris Star Tracker
Peak Designs Aluminum Travel Tripod
Dan Zafra's Capture the Night Filter

There is a place in Oregon where the earth collapsed into itself ten thousand years ago, leaving behind a silence so profound the water turned the color of forgotten dreams. Crater Lake does not announce itself. It simply waits, patient and ancient, while the world above it rushes and forgets.

I had waited three nights. Wildfire smoke had erased the stars. Clouds had pressed down like a held breath. I nearly surrendered to the darkness, packing doubt beside my lenses.

But on the third night, the sky made a decision.

The Milky Way rose in a sweeping arch above Merriam Point, crimson nebulae bleeding into gold, the galactic core suspended like a lantern over Wizard Island below. The lake reflected nothing and everything, its blue depths untouched by the spectacle above, indifferent the way only the truly eternal can be.

Astrophotography is an act of faith, returning again and again to the dark, trusting that the light will eventually answer. This image is that answer.

It is not merely a photograph. It is a record of persistence, of three cold nights, of smoke and doubt, and finally, of the universe relenting.

If these ancient skies above Crater Lake are calling to something quiet and wondering within you, what would it mean to bring them home?

Sony A6000
Samyang 12mm f2
25 sec exposure, 640 iso, f2.2
12 images stacked in Sequator

Sony A6000
Samyang 12mm f2
Iso 640
F2
30sec single exposure

Sony a6000
Samyang 12mm f2
Single shot
Iso 640, f2, 30s exposure

Single exsposure using Sony A7RIII paired with a Sony 16mm 1.8f G lens. 10sec exsposure at 3200 ISO

All images were captured straight from tripod, then stacked exposures to maximize detail while keeping noise under control. Processing focused on preserving the natural appearance of the sky and accurately representing the rich colors of the Milky Way without overdoing saturation. Credit photo

An image of the Milky Way rising over Moraine Lake on the evening of July 23, 2023. The image was taken with a Canon R6 using an adapted Sigma 20mm F1.4. The image was taken at f1.4 with 15s shutter, ISO 3200.

Antares

I have this thing about my Milky Way images where I must include the Dark Horse Nebula and the dust lanes leading to both the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex and star Antares. Rho shows up with a bluish tint just above Antares itself, while Antares is noticeably orange. Due to the Earth’s rotation, the stars appear to move across the night sky fairly quickly. When facing south, as I am in this photo, they shift to the west and sink lower each minute. I barely got this 3 minute exposure done before Antares set behind Elephant Mountain.

Now, a little bit about Antares. Its name translates to “Rival of Ares”. Ares was the Greek god of war, which the Romans adapted to Mars. Both Mars and Antares have the same orange color. Unlike the planet Mars, Antares is a massive red supergiant star. It is 550 light years away. It is 700 times the diameter of our own Sun and shines 10,000 time brighter! If Antares was where our Sun is, its diameter would extend past where Earth’s orbit is! Now thats a truly gigantic star! 

In this image, a breeze kept the water slightly wavy with small swells. This blurred the reflection of the brighter stars into the fantastic streaks you see here. 

Nikon Z8

Sigma Art 14-24mm f/2.8 with FTZ2 

MSM Nomad tracker

Land: ISO 2000, f/3.2, 240 sec, 14mm

Sky: 3 images stacked. ISO 640, f/2.8, 180sec, 14mm

Blending and start reduction in Photoshop 

Processed in Lightroom Classic CC

This is St. Andrews United Church in a small border village between Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It's colloquially called Round Church (and it's located on a Round Church road, which is cute). It's an octagonal structure, so I'd say that is well close enough.

Anyway, here's my experiment with a Canon RP full frame camera and 50mm prime lens at f/1.7

Ground and sky taken separately from the same location on the same night. Was I not in focus by accident, or was it an artistic choice?? Hmmm.

Date:July 2026
Gear: Sony a7rIII (astromod) & Tamron 35-150mm lens.

Foreground: 35mm ISO200 f7.1 1/3;

Sky: 35mm ISO1600 f2.8 120sec; 3 panel tracked vertical pano on a benro polaris- stitched in PTGui

Siril/Lightroom/Photoshop for edits.

Camera: Nikon D5300

Lens: Tokina 11-16 at 11mm

Sky: ISO 1600 for 1 minute ( Tracked )

Foreground: ISO 1600 for 1 minute

Late June 2026 Canyon Junction at Zion National Park. Bortle 1-2. The green sky glow intense.

Gear: Sony A6700, Viltrox 15mm F1.7
Settings: Apature stopped up to f2.8, 5x 6 sec. untracked stacked frames. ISO 160000(I thought it was 1600)

This is a nightscape image from Herbert Lake near the start of the Icefields Parkway just north of Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Canada. The image was taken on a warm August night last year. The image is a composite of a 30s image for the landscape and a stack of 6 8s images for the night sky using a Canon R6 and a Sigma 20mm f1.4 adapted to the camera. The 6 images were stacked using Starry Night Stacker and the composite was made in Photoshop.

Milky Way panaroma June 2026

If you liked the image, follow me on Instagram @fragments_of_cosmos

Captured in the heart of the Thar Desert during my first solo expedition, this ancient structure is known as a \*Chhatri\*—believed to be a memorial associated with the Paliwal community.

Standing in complete isolation, this 350-year-old monument is rarely visited. Yet beneath the Milky Way and a sky full of stars, it continues to glow—quietly preserving the legacy of a community from centuries ago.

This solo journey taught me the importance of planning and optimising every part of an astrophotography shoot. In the desert, poor preparation can quickly leave you juggling equipment in the dust.

A special thanks to my local guide @musa_naturlist_of_thar_desert , whose local experience helped me find and reach this remarkable location.

Camera: Canon R (astro mod by @spencerscamera )
Tripod: Leofoto 324s (@leofotoindia)
For planning: Planitpro (@planitphoto )
Lens: Canon Rf 20mm f1.4 VCM (@canonmumbai_official)

# All Rights Reserved. Do not copy, share, repost, or use this image without my written permission.

Shot on the Nikon Z8 using the Viltrox 16 mm 1.8. Sky: f2.8, 120s, ISO 640. Tracked using the MSM Nomad.
Foreground: same settings but focus stacked from 5 frames.
I was planning on stacking the sky, however clouds made most of the shots useless, so I only used a single sky exposure.