Beautiful Night Sky over the Bay

I am on the verge to go on a month-long trip to South America but wanted to share some of my new night images taken during the last month.  I will travel overland in Patagonia visiting glaciers and rugged mountains before ending up at the Magellan Street where I will explore the waters and marine life on a small boat for another week.

Moon-rise over Bay Bridge

The first full moon in the year is called the wolf moon and legend has it the ancient people named is such since hungry wolves could be heard more in the winter time the food sources scarce in January and more howling to be heard through the cold nights.

So it was the Wolf Moon that I captured last weekend over the Bay in the above time lapse video.  The images were captured over almost 2 hours and while my camera was working I connected with many photographers who were out on the Embarcadero photographing the raising moon.  Although cold, it was a beautiful evening.

The winter months are excellent for night sky photography since the sun sets early and the twilight is beautiful.  The sky is much clearer in the winter without the fog rolling in as is so often the case in the summer months.  However, finding ‘dark’ sky not polluted by the city lights can be a challenge.  So I spent many cold evenings and nights ‘out there’ capturing the night sky for star trails and time-lapse videos exploring various locations.  I found that even over the heavily lit Bay Area one can get interesting images despite the city lights and the heavy airline traffic streaking over the sky. 

Enjoy the sampling of last month’s images:

Star Trails and Sky Art over the Baylands and the Duck Pond

Twilight over the Ocean near Pescadero

Heavy airline traffic out of San Francisco Airport

A gorgeous but very cold night at Mount Hamilton

Looking South towards San Jose with its air traffic.

Beautiful Star Trails over Golden Gate

Pigeon Point Lighthouse -  a beacon against the night

It's raining stars above Golden Gate

... and last but not least, the stars right over my home, captured right from my balcony in Palo Alto.

I marvel at what the camera can see when our eyes only pick out a couple of stars.

For right now, I am off to new horizons again - but I know that I will continue to explore the night sky and my new-found nightlife further.

So long,

and til next time,

Meggi

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Upcoming Photo Workshops:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things 
you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
~ Mark Twain~

Copyrigth M. Raeder-Photography

See Tahoe Through the Eyes of Renowned Fine Art Photographer Jon Paul Spring is a beautiful time in Tahoe and Hope Valley – Explore Tahoe’s hidden places with renowned Tahoe Fine Art Photographer Jon Paul, owner of the Jon Paul Gallery and Wildlife Photographer Meggi Raeder. Date: May 3-6, 2013 Early Bird Registration til Jan 15, 2013 Pl see all details here.

Amur Leopard                  ©M. Raeder-Photography

Spring Wildlife: Cubs, Pups and Kittens Wildlife Photography at its Best An amazing opportunity to photograph wildlife babies:  wolf pups, fox kittens, lynx kittens, Badger pups and more! Come face-to-face with these wonderful babies! Date:  June 28-July 1,  2013 Optional Activities June 25-27, 2013 For further details pl click here.

Reno Balloon Race

The Great Reno Balloon Race

Up, up and away  --  Don’t miss the Video of the event!

In its 31^st year the Great Reno Balloon Race has drawn about a hundred of balloonists and thousands of spectators to this colorful event.  Most of you have probably seen a single balloon floating calmly in the air maybe over Napa’s wine country but seeing the mass ascension of a hundred balloons and seeing them ‘dancing’ in the wind against the deep blue sky is an unforgettable sight.

I have visited Reno and photographed the Balloon Race now for several years and won’t get tired of it.  Last weekend 6 photographers joined me in Reno to experience this unique photo opportunity.  We stayed comfortably in spacious condos with all amenities to be well rested for the early morning activities – and early means really early before dawn.  We left for the Rancho San Rafael just outside Reno shortly after 4am to be there for the glow show and see 7 special night-flying balloons – the dawn patrol - ascend at the start of dawn.  During the glow show and the ‘dawn patrol’ the balloonists choreograph their burners that heat up the air in the balloons to make them ascend with the music - each balloon representing another instrument.  Against the dark sky it is quite a sight to see.

Glow Show

The Wells Fargo StageCoach Balloon

The Smiley Balloon

Dawn Patrol

As dawn lightens the sky, the wind carries the Dawn Patrol over the horizon.

As the sun rises, the balloonists prepare for the mass ascension of ~100 balloons and it is fascinating to observe the balloonists and their crew as they prepare for rising in the air.  The balloons are laid out on the ground, first filled with cold air using big fans. 

Once inflated, the burners throwing big flames are turned on heating up the air and the balloon rights itself.

All the while, people walk between the balloons, experience the heat from the burners while standing close and looking into the balloon.  Overhead, a flock of geese makes a fly-over curious what’s going on down there.

The Shark Balloon over towers all.

If you have never been to a balloon festival, don't miss the opportunity to come to Reno with me
on September 6-9, 2013!   Save the Date!

Til next time,

Meggi

For those who are interested, the video was composed of over 2500 images taken over 3 days of the festival.

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For all Animal lovers and conservationists:

Please see for yourself how the kindness of a small group of people can make a difference!  

Please join me in October for a great visit at a wild mustang sanctuary right here in California.  

The proceeds will directly benefit the horses at RTF.

Copyrigth M. Raeder-Photography

Photo Safari at a Wild Mustang Sanctuary An unforgettable afternoon Equine Fine Arts Photographer Kimerlee Curyl and Wildlife Photographer Meggi Raeder Date:  October 19-21, 2012 [save the date] For all details click here.

Milky Way - Time-Lapse Video

A Million Stars Overhead

When being out under the dark night sky away from light pollution, you can see millions of stars.  It requires a little bit of driving  but when you reach an area of 'dark sky' it is quiet out there with the occasional rustling of an animals or hooting of an owl.  At some occasions, I took a lawn chair and just gazed up and  was fascinated that I could observe the earth rotation by the movement in the stars in the night sky.  Experienced astronomers will of course yawn at my statement but for me as a novice it held my imagination and awe.

To capture the milky way I traveled to the Easters Sierra where there is essentially no light pollution (no big towns and cities) and the number of stars in the sky was greater that you can ever see in the Bay Area.  But there are places closer to home where the milky way is visible.  The first part of the video is from the Eastern Sierra and then the last clip from the Bay Area with many more airplanes criss-crossing the sky.  For the first time, I tried my hands at time-lapse photography and and you can see the maiden voyage here.

If the embedded video doesn't work properly, please click here.

Til next time,

Meggi

Please join me in October for a great equine photography adventure:

Copyrigth M. Raeder-Photography

Photo Safari at a Wild Mustang Sanctuary An unforgettable afternoon Equine Fine Arts Photographer Kimerlee Curyl and Wildlife Photographer Meggi Raeder Date:  October 19-21, 2012 [save the date] For all details click here.