The Night Watch- Ruby Beach, WA

This will be my last day posting to the blog for a week, I am headed off to Italy for a much needed vacation. We are landing in Venice, then traveling Cinque Terre & the last destination is Rome. Hopefully there will be some great weather, lots of new pictures, along with some amazing food & lots of wine. If you want to learn some star photography while I'm gone, here are some useful links to do so.

Free Star Photography Tutorial

In the Field Star Photography Workshops @ Mount Rainier

Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshops

Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial

Under the Stars Lightroom 4 Presets
Star Photography Portfolio

The Shot

During my last Online Star Photography Post Processing Group Workshop we processed this shot. I really like how it turned out. The night it was taken at Ruby Beach Washington was one of the darkest nights I have ever seen. The Milky Way felt so bright that it seemed to hang right over the ocean.

Click to hang this shot on your wall

Journey to the Heavens - Ruby Beach, WA

There are only a few days left to vote for my picture in the Smithsonian Photography Contest Finals. I have pulled into first place and would love to win this thing! Please help me by clicking HERE and voting for my shot which is number 18. After selecting the picture just scroll to the bottom and click submit. You can vote once every 24 hours. 

As for tonight I am just finishing up a few pictures from NYC and packing a bag for Miami. Tomorrow morning I leave for my vacation and Ultra Music Festival, so I'll be taking a break from posting a picture for the next few days, unless somehow motivation comes through in the wee hours of the morning. If you get bored take a few of my free tutorials provided at :

www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

The Shot

One of my favorite places to shoot star photography is the Olympic Peninsula, there is just something great about the Milky Way combined with water and the beach. I found a small bridge made of logs crossing a stream on Ruby Beach and thought it was cool enough to capture, so here ya go...

The Night Goddess - Ruby Beach, WA

Find some great places to travel by checking out all the links on the right hand side bar in the "Take Me To..." category, just scroll down til you find it. I also provide tags such as "The Night Sky" which will lead you to all of my star shots and learning material, just give it a click and try for yourself.

I also provide a Travel & Adventure Map which shows you on a map exactly where I took every shot in my portfolio. I love maps, so this kind of this is really fun for me!

Here are a few fun star photography links:

Free Star Photography Tutorial

Under the Stars Lightroom Presets

Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorials

The Shot

Ruby beach has quickly become one of my favorite places for photography, especially star photography. I've been looking for some other star shots from Ruby, but can't seem to find any. Feel free to share your links to star shots in the comments below!

High Glow - Ruby Beach, WA

Some day's I find it helpful to step away from whatever you like doing to fill your free time and do something completely off the wall and different. Doing something random everyday even if it is small is something I always look forward to. On a side note I was also selected as a finalist in Smithsonian Magazine's Photo Contest, the Grand Prize Winner will be selected next month... cross your fingers.

The Shot

I was at Ruby Beach on the Washington Coast this past summer capturing some star shots, I also managed to grab a sunset and sunrise or two.

Swing & Miss

Just processed 4 new pictures from my 16mm f/2.8 super sexy fisheye lens. Anyone else shooting with it? What an awesome piece of equipment  it opens up entirely new realms of life... The LSD of camera lenses you ask? Yes, fisheye is a must try!

Is anyone interested in a star photography workshop this coming summer? I have a few requests but need a few more in order for the whole thing to work out... let me know if you're up for it!

If you want to learn to process some star photography my new Star Photography Post Processing Video Tutorial may be just what you need;)

The Shot

The one and only Ruby Beach, I posted another photo not so long ago from here, and can't wait to return in the coming months to grab some more.

Ruby Beach & Beyond

I just returned from an 8 day road trip to Yosemite meaning tons of new pics to add to my ever growing backlog. Thankfully Seattle winter weather has arrived which gives me the time to catch up on all that picture processing.  Besides the upcoming star photography tutorial for Photoshop, I would love some ideas on other tutorials you guys/gals would find helpful? Leave your thoughts in the comments section or shoot me an email.

The Shot

Besides being a great place to take star photography, Ruby Beach Washington is also great for sunsets and rises as well as relaxing. This shot was taken an hour before sunset which allowed for some great light and amazing colors.

Exploring the Night Skies of the Washington Coast

I am so excited that you all are enjoying my Under the Stars Lightroom Presets, thanks so much for the positive feedback. If you have not picked them up yet check out the following link- Dave's Under the Star Lightroom Presets. They are guaranteed to take your night photography to a whole new level.

If you would like to learn how to take these shots, check out my Free Star Photography Tutorial!

You can find all my FREE tutorials at: www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography

So enough with the promotion, I am headed off to Victoria BC tomorrow by way of boat. Hopefully there will be some unique landscapes to shoot up there. Due to all the clouds I see hanging over Seattle right now I really doubt any stars will be hangin' around.

The Shot:

My first time at Ruby Beach on the Olympic Peninsula was amazing. After a decent sunset I went back up to my car and had a few drinks and laid around waiting for the stars. After a while things started to dim down a bit and there it was the Milky Way. This night was like nothing I had ever seen, the stars were basically laying right on top of me. I laid there and stared into the sky forever...

Star Photography Tutorial: Part I

I've gotten so many questions about my star photography lately that I decided to put together a few tutorials to help everyone out. If you still have more questions after reading through the tutorial feel free to get in touch. Once you get the hang of regular star shots and processing you can move onto massive panoramas as I have included below. Here is a little more about the shot. I took 11 shots at Ruby Beach, WA on the Olympic Peninsula last weekend. The moon was barely visible and the Milky Way covered the sky.

Star Photography Tutorial: Part I

Processing Technique:

First sync all 11 shots in Lightroom 4 so they will blend nicely once merged. After that Photoshop 6 Photomerge blends them all together. The next step is "free transform" which in this case took around an hour to straighten the picture out. OUCH. Next step, some general luminosity masks on the stars and a little levels work. After that, some dodge and burn action with a 50% grey layer. Final step noise reduction with Nik Define. Hope you guys like this one as much as I enjoyed putting it together. After trying the tips, please share your star pics through email, G+ or whatever for you like. I would love to see them.

Shot Details:

300MP

250MB file size

27000 pixels horizontal.