Astrophotography
There I was, minding my own business, finally noticing that the skies of Hawaii are filled with stars. I guess I was hooked.
The Milky Way over Cathedral Rock
The Milky Way over Cathedral Rock, Arizona, June 25, 2024
We were visiting friends in Sedona and realized the skies are incredibly dark. So we found our way to Cathedral Rock during the day, chose our spot, and came back around midnight. I took this with a Nikon D750, 14 mm, f/1.8 lens, using it wide open, a 20.0 second shot, at ISO 3200.
The Milky Way over Lake Rotoiti, New Zealand
The Milky Way over Lake Rotoit, South Island, New Zealand, June 23, 2025
We went on this journey specifically to catch the Milky Way twice, once vertical (this one) and another horizontal (next).
I took this using a Nikon Z8 with a 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, taking ten shots, each at 15.0 seconds, ISO 6400, each image stacked on top of each other to sharpen and reduce noise.
The Milky Way over Milford Sound, New Zealand
The Milky Way over Milford Sound, New Zealand, June 29, 2025.
Grace took this using her Nikon Z5 with a 14 - 24 mm f/2.8 lens, shot at 15 mm, using ten photos shot at 13.0 seconds, ISO 6400, stacked to increase sharpness and reduce noise.
The Moon
Supermoon
A "supermoon" appears larger-than-usual because it's a bit closer to Earth, what astronomers call a perigean full moon – a moon that is full and at its closest point in its orbit around Earth.
I took this shot from our front yard in New Hampshire, over the light polution of Boston, about 40 miles away. The sky was so clear and the moon was so bright, that the light really didn’t matter.
Camera: Nikon D750, 200 - 500 @ 500mm, f7.1, 1/4000s, ISO 1000, 2019-05-16
The Competition
A month before I took the full moon shot above, our company had a contest which was due before the full moon, so I had to use a phase of the moon called “Waxing Gibbous.” Everyone in the company got either a telescope or a microscope for Christmas and the competition was to “explore without or within.” No matter which we got, we also got an attachment to mount our iPhones over the eyepiece and were to submit our best photos.
I found an attachment that connected my Nikon D750 DSLR camera directly to the telescope and took the shot here. Then I had to have some fun with it. A week before the winner was announced the Company’s CEO called me to ask how I got such a good shot. I explained. She said, “So you cheated.” I had to admit that I guess I did. “Well, we can’t give you first prize then.” I told her I understood. She said, “But we’ll give you honorable mention.” So I said, “You are giving me honorable mention for being dishonorable?” “Exactly.”
