Skyscapes

As a landscape photographer I am interested in how sky, land and water combine visually. Skyscapes, or sky portraits, are terms I use to describe images that focus attention on the sky but that also include objects on the earth’s surface in the composition.

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and Comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) both appear as faint smudges in the centre of this 30 second exposure, over Lake Huron. Friday 5 April 2013 at Lurgan Beach.

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and Comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) both appear as faint smudges in the centre of this 30 second exposure, over Lake Huron. Friday 5 April 2013 at Lurgan Beach.

 

The western tip of Lake Ontario glows at night with light pollution. A few stars try hard to peek through the clouds.

The western tip of Lake Ontario glows at night with light pollution. A few stars try hard to peek through the clouds. The foreground, at left, is Grimsby. Hamilton is centre, Burlington to the right. Photographed 8:20 PM 1 January 2013 from a small lakeside park in Grimsby… and it was cold!

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A thunderstorm over Lake Huron, with Ursa Major and Polaris overhead. The bright star just rising to the far right is Capella. The lower right side of the image is reddened by light pollution from the shore. Photographed at Lurgan Beach, 18 August 2012, 10 PM. 50 second exposure, ISO 2000, f/3.6, Nikon D7000, lens focal length 10 mm.

Despite light pollution from either side of Lake Huron (some of it from more than 80 km away) the Milky Way is still magnificent at is rises over Lake Huron. Photographed 15 August 2012 from Point Clark, looking south.

Despite light pollution from either side of Lake Huron (some of it from more than 80 km away) the Milky Way is still magnificent at is rises over Lake Huron. Photographed 15 August 2012 from Point Clark, looking south.

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Ursa Major over Lake Huron. Photographed 8 October 2010, 8:30 PM. 30 second exposure.

Lurgan Beach at night, with an unexplained visitor. A 77 second exposure taken om 19 August 2012 at 10:29 PM EST. The red glow along the horizon is light pollution from Michigan, 80 km away. The glow above the trees to the left is a combination of the Milky Way and the Point Clark Lighthouse. Off in the distance, a reddish object moved along. I contacted the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada to get help with ID. Might be a satellite or an aircraft, but they couldn't pin it down either.

Lurgan Beach at night, with an unexplained visitor. A 77 second exposure taken on 19 August 2012 at 10:29 PM EST. The red glow along the horizon is light pollution from Michigan, 80 km away. The glow above the trees to the left is a combination of the Milky Way and the Point Clark Lighthouse. Off in the distance, a reddish object moved along, producing a meteor-like trail on the image. I contacted the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada to get help with ID. Might be a satellite or an aircraft, but they couldn’t pin it down either.

A short exposure of Lake Huron, looking north from Lurgan Beach, Ontario. On the horizon are a thunderstorm and the lights of a nuclear power plant and the town of Kincardine. Photographed 18 August 2012.

A short exposure of Lake Huron, looking north from Lurgan Beach, Ontario. On the horizon are a thunderstorm and the lights of a nuclear power plant and the town of Kincardine.  Overhead, a few clouds drift in front of the Milky Way. Photographed 18 August 2012.

Before dawn on the morning of 6 December 2012, three planets could be seen over Hamilton, Ontario: Venus (the brightest "star" in this image), Saturn (up nd to the right) and Mercury (below venus and to the left - quite faint).

Before dawn on the morning of 6 December 2012, three planets could be seen over Hamilton, Ontario: Venus (the brightest “star” in this image), Saturn (up and to the right) and Mercury (below venus and to the left – quite faint). Photographed near Dyment’s Farm store in Dundas, on top of the Niagara Escarpment, looking south-east.

© 2012, David Allan Galbraith