A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Andromeda Galaxy, Local Group, 2.5 Million Light Years
Sony a7RIII
Unknown telescope (sorry)
ISO 8000
20 seconds

I won’t pretend that this picture is a creative achievement of any sort—I captured it at a Sony-organized night shoot during last month’s Sedona media event promoting the Sony a7RIII. All I did was attach my a7RIII to someone else’s telescope (equipped with a computerized tracking mechanism to cancel the earth’s rotation), dial in the recommended exposure settings, focus, and click my shutter. But that does’t change the fact that I think this is one of my coolest images ever. It truly epitomizes the reason I say my favorite thing about photography isn’t the way it reproduces my reality, it’s the way enhances it.

I’ve been interested in astronomy since I was a kid, and one of the first celestial objects to intrigue me was the Andromeda Galaxy. (At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s called Andromeda because we view it in the constellation Andromeda.) Armed with this knowledge and a simple star chart, on camping trips I’d shun the tent to sleep beneath the stars, hoping to get a glimpse of the Andromeda Galaxy but not knowing exactly what I was looking for. I know now that even under in the darkest, clearest sky, I’d have only seen the this massive collection of stars as an unimpressive smudge. But my failure to find my target didn’t dampen my enthusiasm—the search was as much an excuse to take in the entire night sky and ponder its mysteries.

When I wasn’t observing, I was reading. I learned that Andromeda Galaxy is the largest galaxy in the “Local Group” of more than 50 gravitationally connected galaxies that also includes our Milky Way. Both the Milky Way and Andromeda are spiral galaxies, but with a trillion stars, Andromeda is at least twice the size of the Milky Way. Andromeda is also on a collision course with the Milky Way—put on your helmets and mark your calendar for 4.5 billion years.

The light that struck my sensor to render this image traveled more than 2.5 million years, making the Andromeda Galaxy the farthest we can see with the naked eye—that’s about 150,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles, so fill up before you leave. Because everything we know about the Andromeda Galaxy happened 2.5 million years ago, we’ll need to wait another 2.5 million years to know what’s happening there right now. But while Andromeda is indeed far, far away from our earthbound perspective, it’s actually the closest galaxy to us (Magellanic Clouds notwithstanding). There are a couple trillion or so galaxies even farther away.

Knowing all this stuff made my search for the Andromeda Galaxy quite thrilling. In recent years I’ve actually captured it in a few frames targeting something else, clearly visible but not particularly impressive. But the Sedona experience took my thrill to the next level. Leveraging the telescope’s supreme magnification and light gathering capabilities, I let my sensor collect light for 20 seconds at ISO 8000, long enough for the galaxy’s spiral arms start to appear. Also popping into view are two fuzzy objects that I’d only seen in pictures—these are satellite galaxies bound by gravity to the Andromeda Galaxy, much like the Magellanic Clouds that grace our Southern Hemisphere sky. All the pinpoint stars in the image are part of the Milky Way—much closer and unrelated to the Andromeda Galaxy, just in the line of sight (much the way sensor dust or a lens smudge is not part of a scene you photograph).

This image has rekindled my passion for astronomy. It reminds me of my very small place in a universe that’s too large for even the greatest minds to comprehend. Because there’s a lifetime worth of cool stuff to view up there and time’s wasting, I’m seriously considering getting a telescope and letting my camera show me what I’ve been missing. Stay tuned….

Retirement announcement

(No, not me)

Since I just switched to the Sony a7RIII, my a7RII has been relegated to backup status. As excited as I am about my new camera, I’m already a bit nostalgic about my a7RII, the best camera I’ve ever owned, as well as my favorite camera ever to shoot with (not necessarily the same thing).

I made the switch to Sony mirrorless more than three years ago, starting with the a7R. The image quality of the a7R was so much better than what I had been shooting that I was able to forgive its interface and usability shortcomings. The a7RII was a huge improvement over the a7R, both in image quality and usability, so much better that it soon felt more like an extra limb with a direct connection to my brain than an inanimate tool. It’s clear already that I’ll soon love using the a7RIII even more, but right now I just want to give a shout-out to my a7RII as it enters semi-retirement.

Here some scenes my a7RII and I saw

Click an image for a closer look and slide show. Refresh the window to reorder the display.

Sunset Fire, Olmsted Point, Yosemite

Moonlight Magic, El Capitan, Yosemite

Mountain Moonlight, Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine Peak, Alabama Hills, California

Nature’s Garden, Deer Creek Fall, Grand Canyon

Horsetail Fall and Clouds, El Capitan, Yosemite

Sand and Sky, Mesquite Flat Dunes, Death Valley

Half Dome and Tenaya Creek Rapids, Yosemite

Autumn Reflection, Half Dome, Yosemite

Snowcap, El Capitan, Yosemite

Looking Up, Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Dancing Poppy, Sierra Foothills, California

Big Picture, South Tufa, Mono Lake

Sunstar, Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

Here Comes the Sun, Idaho, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way

Yosemite Falls Reflection, Swinging Bridge, Yosemite

Painted Dunes, Mesquite Flat Dunes, Death Valley

Winter Blue Hour Reflection, Half Dome, Yosemite

On the Rocks, El Capitan and the Merced River, Yosemite

Direct Hit, South Rim Lightning Strike, Grand Canyon Lodge

Electric Scribble, Grand Canyon Lodge, North Rim

Autumn Morning, El Capitan Reflected in the Merced River, Yosemite

Sunset Silhouettes, Desert View, Grand Canyon

Yosemite Sky, Tunnel View, Yosemite (2016)

New Day, Mono Lake

Moonstar, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Wildflowers and Mt. Adams, Washington

Nightfall, Half Dome and Sentinel Fall, Yosemite

Autumn Mirror, Half Dome, Yosemite

Under the Rainbow, Colorado River, Grand Canyon

Aspen Abstract, Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra

El Capitan and Three Brothers Reflection, Merced River, Yosemite

Supermoon, Half Dome and El Capitan, Yosemite

Half Dome Reflection, Mirror Lake, Yosemite

Autumn Snow, El Capitan, Yosemite

Winter Moon, Zabriskie Point, Death Valley

Rainbow Reflection, Queen’s Bath, Kauai, Hawaii

Dogwood and Redbood, Merced River, Yosemite

Winter Storm Reflection, El Capitan, Yosemite

Two Bolts, Grand Canyon

Spring Moonrise, Bridalveil Fall and the Merced River Canyon, Yosemite

Rocks and Reflection, El Capitan, Yosemite

Forked Lightning, North Rim, Grand Canyon

Winter Dawn, Mt. Whitney and the Alabama Hills, California

Under the Rainbow, Colorado River, Grand Canyon

Yosemite Falls Sunstar, Yosemite

Grand Canyon Sunset, Hopi Point

Golden Elegance, California Poppy, Sierra Foothills

Electric Dance, Grand Canyon

Spring Sunset, Leidig Meadow, Yosemite

Kilauea Fountain, Hawaii

Moonrise Reflection, Leidig Meadow, Yosemite

Autumn Mirror, Half Dome, Yosemite

Spring Reflection, El Capitan and Three Brothers, Yosemite

Wildflowers and Sunstar, Mt. Adams, Columbia River Gorge

Morning Sun, Half Dome, Yosemite

Moonlight Reflection, El Capitan and the Three Brothers, Yosemite

Lone Tree, Lake Wanaka, New Zealand