Rock Stars.

These are photos of rocks and stars, the result of 24 hours of photography in Joshua Tree, California, United States.

This photo: Star trails in what is a 40-minute exposure in total, combining eighty 30-second photos ("stacking") to create this photo, showing the movement of the stars and earth.

The faint almost horizontal red line on the left side is an airplane. The faint white dots on the far right hand side is a falling star. I initially took them out, then decided I'd leave them in and give the photo a little patina. :D

The foreground was "light painted" by the ambient light from a couple of passing vehicles. It's a bit "softer" than the photo below, which I "light painted" with my flashlight. Long exposure star trail photos can look fantastic either with silhouettes or with "light painted" foregrounds. The "light painting" probably looks a little more unusual. The act of "light painting" is an absolute blast, and makes time go by very fast. Who knew that waving a flashlight around could be so much fun?

Starting out with this photo is sort of like having a song start with a catchy chorus.

Geek stuff: Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm wide-angle lens, manual focus. Each of the eighty photos was f/4, ISO 800, for 30 seconds each. I did not have an intervalometer, so I simply locked the remote shutter release down for 40 minutes, setting the camera's manual settings for 30 seconds. The joshua trees were light painted by a couple of passing cars' headlights. Taken at Joshua Tree National Park near the Boy Scout Trail. If you look at the Extra Page, I have one of the eighty photos that were stacked so you can get a peep behind the magic curtain.

Jumbo Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park. Usually, I get an idea that the photos I'm taking might be great in black and white. Not so here. It was only when I was fiddling around in Photoshop that I thought, "Hey, these feel much more dramatic in black and white." It also places greater emphasis on texture and form, which appealed to me. For those of you who want to see the color versions of this, go to the Extra Page. All photos on this page were taken with my new Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens.

I was supposed to take a night sky photography class through the Desert Institute. The instructor canceled. Another student contacted everyone who was to take the class, asking if some of us wanted to meet anyway. I said yes. I gave my cellphone and general description; he didn't reciprocate, always a clue that someone is going to flake. He never showed. No matter. I anticipated this, and went about enjoying the park and taking photos.

Jumbo Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park. Usually, I get an idea that the photos I'm taking might be great in black and white. Not so here. It was only when I was fiddling around in Photoshop that I thought, "Hey, these feel much more dramatic in black and white." It also places greater emphasis on texture and form, which appealed to me.

Of all the versions that I ultimately decided to go black and white, this is the one I agonized over most. This looks about equally good in color as it does in black and white, but the black and white version had a little more emotion to me, so I went with it. Regardless, I love the rock in the background and the tree, and used a small aperture to make sure both were in focus.

For those of you who want to see the color versions of this, go to the Extra Page. All photos on this page were taken with my new Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens.

Nearing sunset in Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park. I liked how this photo looked more in color, so there is no black and white version of this. I love the shape of the three trunks, and also love the buttery glow of the setting sun. Everyone I ran into was trying to take photos of the sun setting. I was far more interested in photographing the sun using its warm rays to "paint" the fantastic landscape.

Joshua Tree National Park, California, U.S.A. 15-minute star trails long exposure photo, Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm lens. Unlike the first photo that was shot on the same night in the same location, this is not a stacked shot, but a single exposure.

Single long exposures have a very different feel from the stacked photo, where more stars show prominently, and I shot both ways because I do really appreciate the different feelings they evoke.

The foreground is lighter because I used a flashlight to "light paint" the trees. Long exposure star trail photos can look fantastic either with silhouettes or with "light painted" foregrounds. The "light painting" probably looks a little more unusual. The act of "light painting" is an absolute blast, and makes time go by very fast. Who knew that waving a flashlight around could be so much fun?

Photo: 11-16mm Tokina at 11mm, f/2.8, ISO 200 for slightly over fifteen minutes.

The entire time I was doing night photography this evening, I was facing north to get the circular patterns of the movement of the stars (really, the earth), circling around Polaris. Just before I left, I thought I'd turn the camera around and fire off a "quick" 30-second photo of the moon.

There are more photos on the Extra Page. These are color versions of all the black and white photos as well as an example showing what went into the star trails photo at the top of the page.

I feel bad leading you on like this. I promised rock stars, and I need to deliver. Here. This is a photo of the G3 Guitar Gods, Page, Lee, and White, three of the greatest guitarists of all time.

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Go to Extra Page.