night photography

One night alone in Mt Hood

in

I visited, hiked and photographed Mt Hood more times than I can count during the 6 years I lived in Portland. It’s a place where I’d go in search of peace and calm. Seeing that magnificent mountain helps to put things in perspective, how small we and our problems are.

But I’d never spent the night up there. I guess that having a comfortable bed just one hour away didn’t make it sound very attractive. I took it for granted, as I prioritized farther away locations.

This time, though, I wanted to fix that. I wanted to do the Timberline Trail over 4 days and 3 nights, but the amount of downed trees on the trail from a recent windstorm made that option almost impossible. I still wanted to spend a night up there, so I hiked as far as I could in one day, set up camp, and enjoyed the views.

It was perfect: there was no wind, it wasn’t too cold, clear skies, an almost full moon, and the whole place for myself.

Night and Day photography at the Alvord Desert, Oregon

in

The Alvord Desert is one of my favorite spots in Oregon. A remote place in the vastness of SE Oregon, we first visited this place a few years ago during Thanksgiving. It was a trip I will never forget.

In this video, I remember that trip, and try to make new memories… and images. The weather didn’t cooperate as much as I’d have loved to, but we still had a great time.

Foggy night at the bridge

in

Some images I made last night at the "roman bridge" (even though the locals call it roman, the bridge is actually from the medieval ages) in heavy fog.

How I made these Star Trail images

in

It's been a long summer here in NW Spain. It feels like we've had nothing but sunny and clear skies for the last two months. I'm more than ready for some fall weather but hey, if life gives you sun and blue skies, you play with star trails.

This is what I wanted to show you in this video. If you've never shot the night sky, then this can be good to get you started. I talk about the gear you will need, and the software.

Hope you enjoy it!

The dangers of night photography

in

The full moon is here. Last night was going to be my best chance to make a photograph of a moonlit landscape -clouds are coming for the rest of the week.

I wanted to make a long exposure of the full moon above a nearby canyon. I thought it'd be a cool image.

This place is not remote. Still, the closest town is a few kilometers away. I drove there and parked the car in the empty parking lot around 11pm. There's a viewpoint where I was planning to make this image from.

The moon was still rising above the walls of the canyon, so it was pretty dark outside. I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight, and opened the door.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, I heard it. It was a shot. I didn't know if it was a gun, or a shotgun, or something else. I didn't know in what direction. But it was close.

In retrospective, and having talked to some people, I believe it was a device used by locals to scare the wild boars from the vineyards that populate the landscape of the area. I'd never heard it before, but they say it sounds like a gun.

At that time, being alone in the dark in a place where I thought there was no one, it didn't feel that way.

I got out of there as fast as I could.

Probably a place I won't be visiting at night again.