Hello, dears!
Ahh, I’m so so excited for this post! I’m super proud of how these pictures turned out and can’t wait to share them with you guys. π Remember last post, when my friends came and I said that we all had a bonfire and Fleet taught me astrophotography? Well, here are the pictures from that evening: stars, sparklers, and a big bonfire. EXCITEMENT.
So much for the words – I’m ready for the pictures!
Let’s start with the bonfire. We actually had bonfires two nights while Aria was here – this is the first one. I used a long exposure with my camera on the tripod to get this weird orange whoosh and some blurry people. π
I got more ordinary fire photos the second night. Doesn’t this little fire look so perfectly shaped?
Fires are much more interesting to photograph when they’re sparking. (That’s the proper term… definitely. *nods*)
I discovered while editing these that upping the clarity really brought out the shower of sparks. It’s an orange glitter tornado!
I kept Jeff’s face pretty dark in this one so his concerned expression wouldn’t be as distracting… But now I said that and it will be even more so. *facepalm* Heh heh. I think he was just concentrating hard since the sparklers weren’t easy to light.
Okay, NOW for the stars! π Fleet’s an amazing astrophotographer and had taught Aria a while before, so I was super excited to learn after seeing both of their pictures. It was actually easier than I thought! In summary, you first of all shoot in RAW mode; then manually focus on the stars, fix up the settings (the key is a super long exposure, like 6+ seconds), and shoot with a self-timer on a tripod so your camera doesn’t shake. Editing is a lot of what really brings out the stars. See, this is an unedited one:
And this is an edited one! *grins happily* I AM SO PLEASED. Aren’t stars breathtakingly beautiful? I think these are my settings, using my Nikon D3400 and a 35mm lens:
Aperture: f 1.8
Shutter speed: 6 seconds
ISO: 800
Here’s a shot of the night sky at a different angle, not including the Milky Way. If you zoom in, you can see some different colored stars. O.o
Fleet also showed me how to use a stacking software called Deep Sky Stacker to bring out the stars even more. (And, apparently, an airplane – that’s what the red streak to the right is.) We live waaay out in the country and it was perfectly clear that night, so you could see the Milky Way just by looking up – though not as clear as this, obviously. π
Here’s a brighter one with our house under a “shooting star” that’s actually another airplane. π
And to end with, here’s a black and white version a couple of seconds later. π I looove this one.
*happy sigh* Well that was fun! I hope you guys enjoyed these night light photos as much as I did. π I’ll have to take some more star photos, maybe this winter when the sky is extra clear.
Which photo was your favorite? Have you ever done star photography? If you made a post about it, put a link in the comments and I’ll check it out!
Thanks so much for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!
***Allison***
This is all so beautiful!!! Now I KNOW I need to get into astrophotography! π I love the first (edited) photo of the Milky Way and those bonfire sparking photos! π So beautiful!
And I’ve always loved sparklers… they’re so pretty. I only wish they would last longer…
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Thank youuu! Ha ha, you should! It’s so fun. Me too! β€
I know, right? Same.
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I loved all of these pictures they are so beautiful:) I love this blog.
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Aww, that made me happy, Johanna! Thank you. β€
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I really loved all your photos. Favorites, maybe, are the fire photo with all the sparks blowing to the left, your second star photo and the second to last photo with the glow of the house in the background.
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Thank you so much! I love those as well. β€
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these are such pretty pictures! if the sky here had stars like that i would camp out every night β€ lovely post!
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Thank you! Ahh, I know, right? I could stare at them forever.
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Amazing! Just amazing photos. You do such wonderful work.
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Ahh, that’s so kind. β€ β€ Thank youu, and I'm glad you like them!
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Those star photos are amazing! I love the night sky. β€οΈ
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Thanks so much, Sam! I do too. β€
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These are stunning, Allison! I always feel sad for the people who donβt live in the country and canβt just look up every night and see a masterpieceβGod sure is incredible!
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I KNOW. Exactly. And thanks – I’m so glad you enjoyed!
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AHHHHHH. Ooh I LOVE the black and white one! That’s lovely! And heh, sparking. XD *dies*
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Thank youuu! I do too. π HEH.
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Its beautiful I love how to came out!!
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It came out*
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π π
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I think my other comment may have went to spam. I was correcting my auto incorrectππ
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Oh, whoops! No, it came through but I accidentally forgot to hit “send” for my reply. π Dear me.
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Haha that’s fine I do that a lot and I’m like why didn’t they reply to my comment? And then I’m like ohhhhhhππ
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HAHA YEAH.
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Thank you so much! π
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Loved all the photos, they’re awesome!!! My faves are the 3rd one from the top with the fire and sparks, my second fave is the 5th one from the bottom. Love the silhouette of the trees against the starry sky π Have a love weekend!!!
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Ahh, thanks so much – and I loved hearing your favorites! I loved that as well. Thank you – you too!
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Whoa those pictures of the stars are INCREDIBLE!!! That milky-way photo looks like a stock photo (in a good way!). Great job!!!
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AGH WELL THANKS. I really appreciate the compliment, dear! π
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lol! You’re welcome. π
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These shots are so good! They honestly look like stock photos of galaxies and stuff because theyβre just that good!
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*gasp* Well goodness, THANKS. β€
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So cool! Definitely going to look into doing this myself! π
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You should! It’s a lot of fun. π
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Itβs so beautiful…
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It really was. β€
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I love theseeee. Especially the sparkly fire ones π€©
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Thank youuu! Those were so fun to take.
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I just bought myself with my mouth open. XD WOW ALLISON! Those are so amazing!? I would love to learn astrophotography, it’s so cool! You should submit the Milky Way pictures somewhere, they’re stunning!
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Oh my GOODNESS. THANK YOUU! That was, like, the nicest. β€ β€ Thanks for always being so nice, AK, gracious. But also ooh, that's a great idea! I *should* try and find magazines to submit to. π
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THESE ARE INSANE
the last twoooo ππ
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AHH WELL THANK YOUUU. β€
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I wish I could see stars like that!!!!βοΈπ«ππβ¨
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You can really see them so much clearer in the country!
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AMAZING. π²
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THANK YOU. π
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Ahh your photography is absolutely beautiful Allison. I am excited every time you post to see it π
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Aww! That means so much. β€ Thank youuu, Hope!
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Of course girl! π
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The pictures are beautiful! I love staring up into a starry night sky!
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Thank you so much – SAME!
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Allison, beautiful photos!
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Thank you so much! π
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All your photos are so stunning, Allison ππ
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Ahh, thank you!
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WOW, the pictures are just awe-striking. Especially the one with the shooting star.
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Thank you so muuuuch! I only wish it was a shooting star, but I think it was an airplane. π It still looks nea,t though!
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Oh my word, those are absolutely BREATHTAKING! It is beautiful! Now I want to try star photography. XD I finally got my Canon camera, so I may have to experiment.
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AHH. So sweet! β€ And yesss, you should totally try it out! It's really fun. π
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Wow, these pictures turned out amazing! Love the stars, and fire is always interesting to photograph. It’s usually either a hit or miss but dang, I love these.
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Thank you so much! I know, right? I was really pleased with how they turned out too. π
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:O :O :O I AM FINDING IT HARD TO CLOSE MY MOUTH :O These are FABULOUS!! If I didn’t know that you are such a good photographer, I wouldn’t have believed that you took them xD They look AMAZING! You really should try to submit them to something? Maybe even National Geographic? Seriously! THEY ARE REALLY AMAZING! What a beautiful sky God has created! keep posting photos my friend! Maybe you could do another art post sometime soon? π
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Aww, oh my goooodness, that was the SWEETEST! Thank you so so much for making me smile, Bronwyn! I know, God is just such an incredible Creator. β€ And yeah, that's a great idea to submit them to a magazine somewhere! Also I was just thinking it was about time for another art-related post… π
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So glad I made you smile π π
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Wonderful fire and night sky photos! The Milky Way photo is amazing too, thanks for the sharing! π
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Thank you so much for reading! Glad you enjoyed. π
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The pictures were really beautiful!
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Thank you so much! β€
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Great pictures, well done !
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Thank you so much!
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Really spins my heart π All the pics are beautiful β₯οΈβ₯οΈI have definitely considered astrophotography ββ₯οΈLove from India
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Aww, thank you! Astrophotography is a lot of fun.
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Its soo beautiful!!!!loved it πππ. Each photo is amazing in it’s own wayπ
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Aww, thank you! β€
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Allison, I’m always blown away by your photography! These are breathtaking β€
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Aww, thank you ever so much, Gaby!
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β€
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Wow
So beautiful. I was always interested in astrology, reading about mostly made up things but very interesting things about zodiac signs. But this seems so much more real.I certainly feel close to milky way. Iβm going to use that deep sky stacker! Thanks :))
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Thank you so much! β€ I'm not really interested in astrology but I do love looking at the real thing! And ooh, I hope you enjoy the deep sky stacker – it's a great tool. π
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Wow, those sky ones are beautiful! God’s creation is amazing! Have you ever seen Louie Giglio’s videos?
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Thank you so much! It really is. β€ Hmm, that sounds familiar but I don't think so…
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Oh my god, your each and every photo is so good and amazing! I really loved the ambience which each and every photograph gave me. Keep up the great work. πππππ
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Thank you so much for the compliment!
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Welcome π
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Wonderful captures, looked at your clicks again and again..
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Aww, thank you!
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*mind is blown* *slowly blinking in awe* Allison, these are probably some of the best pictures I’ve ever seen! Those milky way shots *dies* They’re all just beautiful! β€ π
-Laura β€ π
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Oh my gooooodness! *gasps* Well THAT’S a compliment! Thank you so much, Laura!
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I’m glad I found this post, these pictures are very beautiful. The cosmos are absolutely gorgeous! Do you think it would be possible to use any of your phenomenal pictures on my blog in the future?
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Aww, thank you! And thank you for asking! I own the rights to these pictures so please don’t post them without credit, but you’re welcome to reblog my post or link to it if you’d like to share! Glad you enjoyed. π
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Sounds good! Thank you!
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I love bonfires π These pictures are so beautiful
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Me tooo! Thanks so much, Naya!
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So wonderful β¨ fantastic images
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Thanks so much!
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Ahh! I love these! And that last one stole my heart. β€
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Aww, thank you. I love that one too. β€
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these are beautiful shots
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Thank you so much!
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Wow amazing photos. Not sure I can pick a favourite, so many to chose from.
Wish I was better at night/low light photography.
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Ahh, thank you! To be honest, I’m not usually all that great at night/low light photography either, ha ha. Playing around with post-processing really helps.
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Really great photographs! I especially liked the ones of the bonfire with the hot ashes in the air that was amazing! Well done and keep it up!
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Thanks so much! I love that one too. π
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Well done Dearest Allison.
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Thank you!
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Wow! Your photographs look amazing!!
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Thank you so much! β€
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Very nice pictures. I didn’t know that you had to edit the star photos to make them pop.
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Yes! RAW photos (a certain file type) in general are made to be edited, so it’s a lot of fun to see them pop when you’re done!
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Great work on the night sky photography they all look great. I love the shots with the Milky Way.
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Thank you so much! I love those too.
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