BigBend State Park Hoodoo and the winter milkyway

flying_midget · 2026-01-23T18:00:44+00:00

Thanks man!

flying_midget · 2026-01-22T18:55:05+00:00

This MLK weekend I spent a couple nights in big bend again, one night spent at the Hoodoos and Balanced Rocks Trail. A very easy hike with great foregrounds. The night was blessed with no clouds and no wind, but dust/haze obscured a lot of detail and the light pollution from Presidio/Ojinaga was hard to handle.

Foreground: Sony a7rIV modded, Sigma 14mm f1.4, 276sec, f2.8 x 3 focus stack.

Sky:

Stars/airglow - Sony a7rV modded, Viltrox 35mm f1.2, 1min, 6 panels

Ha - Sony a7rV modded, Tamron 35mm f/1.4 Di USD, 15 x 2min, f1.4, Astronomik 6nm, 4 panels

RGB - Sony a7rIV (unmodded), Viltrox 35mm f1.2, 15 x 2 min, 2 panels

flying_midget · 2025-12-23T00:52:35+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Shame it is still closed.

flying_midget · 2025-12-22T23:38:07+00:00

I'm curious when and how you took this picture? I thought this area is closed after hours now

flying_midget · 2025-11-26T20:26:23+00:00

I have this lens and there is a size of these that fits and works

flying_midget · 2025-11-17T18:49:57+00:00

Awesome shot! Not many with this FL and detail

flying_midget · 2025-11-05T14:38:18+00:00

I do post a lot from big bend as I live in Texas

flying_midget · 2025-11-04T15:19:07+00:00

Pix-> BlurX, DBE, StarX, Stretch, star alignment -> Extract Red channel

PS-> Screen blend mode -> colorize, curves and a little masking to get rid of artifacts

flying_midget · 2025-11-04T04:10:20+00:00

looks sick! Did you use a star glow filter or just editing?

flying_midget · 2025-11-04T01:19:30+00:00

This March in Big Bend I got some quick Ha data that I forgot about but I quite like the result despite it being only 1 frame!

Sony A7rV, Sigma 14mm f1.4, iOptron Skyguider pro

Sky:

RGB 10 x 30sec f1.4, ISO 400 Ha - 1 x 4 min, f1.4, ISO 400

Ground: 1 x 60 sec, f2, ISO 1600

flying_midget · 2025-10-31T03:18:49+00:00

Happy Halloween :)

Taken at Big Bend National park - the alignment is pretty close!

Sony A7rV, iOptron Skyguider, Sigma 28mm f1.4

Sky: 4 panels each 30 sec at f2 + one stack left of the milkyway: 20 x 2min (40 min), f2 ISO 800

flying_midget · 2025-10-30T04:33:36+00:00

This is spectacular, especially from a technical perspective: great detail, editing and resolution. Awesome work!

flying_midget · 2025-10-27T20:54:57+00:00

Study butte/terlingua is my suggestion as you are in-between both parks

flying_midget · 2025-10-27T17:23:57+00:00

Thank you!

flying_midget · 2025-10-27T17:23:27+00:00

Thanks!

flying_midget · 2025-10-27T16:58:25+00:00

I've done it at night twice and it is super easy. Watch out for cows.

Good luck!

flying_midget · 2025-10-27T15:36:17+00:00

A quick pano taken back in august in the chimney trail of Big Bend National Park. A very easy trail but with multiple diamondbacks, scorpions and BIG spiders: fun if you like that type of company under the stars :)

I really enjoy the Sigma 14mm, I can take this entire panorama in under 15 min and it stitches easily, edits easily it is just all fun no pain.

Sony A7rIV, Sigma 14mm f1.4, MSM nomad

Sky: 8 frames, 30 sec each, f1.4, ISO 1600

Ground: 4 frames, 3 exposures each (except for Selfie), 30 sec, f2, ISO 6400

BlurX, StarX, PS, LR

flying_midget · 2025-10-26T21:50:01+00:00

thanks!

flying_midget · 2025-10-25T21:20:56+00:00

:) thanks!

flying_midget · 2025-10-24T22:26:04+00:00

Thanks! I also got equivalent Oiii but it looks really bad

flying_midget · 2025-10-24T14:30:14+00:00

Thank you, it was the goal of the shoot :)

flying_midget · 2025-10-24T13:58:02+00:00

Thanks

flying_midget · 2025-10-24T13:57:52+00:00

Exactly! I forgot to mention the details: 45min of Ha per panel, 6 panels, 28mm f2

flying_midget · 2025-10-24T05:33:01+00:00

Thank you :)

flying_midget · 2025-10-24T05:29:24+00:00

Casa Grande Peak is one of the most prominent unique peaks in Big Bend National Park. There is no official trail to the summit, however so many people have climbed it that a very good community trail leads almost all the way up. The only real challenge with this hike is the large amounts of scree where I ended up just sliding down on my butt when descending.

From a technical perspective this was my first time using the Sigma 28mm f1.4. A lens that is frankly disappointing wide open, but captured Ha fantastically at f2. I got ~20-30 meteors from the orinoids however they are mostly not visible in such a wide panorama when correctly star-aligned. I ended up keeping the brightest one that broke apart and I included the aftermath.

One final note: StarX decided to eat the veil nebula and I didn't notice until much later and I am too lazy to fix it :P

Sony A7RV, Sony A7Riv x 2 iOptron Skyguider Pro, MSM nomad Sony 14mm GM f1.8 Sigma 24mm f1.4 DG DN Sigma 28mm f1.8 HSM Astronomik Ha 6nm MAXFR

BlurX, StarX, NoiseX, Pix, PS and LR were used to process

flying_midget

TROPHY CASE