Silent Majesty - a photo on Flickriver

Silent Majesty

Sunset Crater Volano National Monument, Arizona

The moon and the Milky Way typically do not make happy photographic partners. But here I managed to capture both in a seconds-long window of opportunity before the moon rose higher and completely washed out the Center of Galaxy. It was a tricky shot, difficult to capture enough light from the stars yet avoid overexposure from the moon. And the light pollution from nearby Flagstaff made it even more challenging. I credit PhotoPills for enabling some solid planning for the photography here.

Sunset Crater is an incredible volcanic landscape, with vast fields of cinders and basalt lava flows that killed all life around for 900 square miles, one thousand years ago. There's ponderosa pine and juniper trees here, but not much life otherwise, and as a result it is stunningly quiet at night.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, made a sound that night.

This national monument is rated a Dark Sky Park. A 3-minute exposure long before moonrise did not bring out any details of the landscape. Only the silhouette of Sunset Crater against the stars provided any hint of the cinder cone's existence.

In near complete darkness, and in complete silence, the mystery of the moon and Milky Way made for a truly majestic experience.

Single long exposure processed in Capture One Pro.

Selected for FLICKR Explore February 22, 2025
# 33

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Taken in: United States / Arizona / Silver Saddle Mobile Home Park (show map)

Taken on: October 18, 2023

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Camera: Nikon Z 8, f/1.8, 8 sec, 20mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon Z 8
Lens:	NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	8
Focal Length:	20mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture One Macintosh
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