Geraint Smith Photography

Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

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Night Photography

VLA, Very Large Array, Mars, Plains Of San Augustine, NM

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VLA, Very Large Array with Mars on the Plains Of San Augustine, New Mexico. I made a quick overnight trip south to meet my friend Larry to photograph the Very Large Array (The National Radio Astronomy Observatory) on the Plains of San Augustine near Magdelena, N.M. We wanted to get some of the antennas lined up with the Milky Way, Mars, the Moon, and Venus. In the image below, Mars appears to be acquired by the antenna. The trail of lights is a steady stream of employee cars arriving at 6 am this morning. They used to arrive by shuttle buses, Covid 19 changed that. More to follow. Thanks for looking. G

VLA, Very Large Array, Mars, Plains Of San Augustine, NM

Mars, Moon, Night And Day, San Cristobal

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Mars, Moon night and day from the deck in San Cristobal New Mexico. This morning I looked out the window, decided I liked what I saw, so I got up and walked across the deck to get this shot of the red planet Mars and our Moon to the west. Below is the scene in the eastern sky yesterday evening. Thanks for looking. G

Mars, Moon night and day San Cristobal

Moon Mars San Cristobal, NM

Jupiter, Jupiter’s Moons, Our Moon

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Jupiter, Jupiter’s Moons, our Moon. Last night, looking up from the deck revealed this beautiful alignment of Saturn, Jupiter and four moons with our moon waxing. Saturn was too small and farther away to include in this photo. This photo comprises one exposure for our moon and another for Jupiter and it’s moons. Thanks for looking. Keep looking up. G

Jupiter, Jupiter's Moons, our Moon.

Red Barn, San Luis Valley, Milky Way

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Red Barn in the San Luis Valley under the Milky Way yesterday evening. Sitting in a chair, tripod set up, a pleasing composition, waiting for it to get dark. It was a beautiful sky after the clouds and fire haze cleared. Half the fun of doing night photography is being out under pristine skies enjoying the peace and tranquility, a pack of coyotes far off in the distance, their chatter echoing across the valley, and a nice cup of tea. If nothing else, landscape photography keeps me in the outdoors, in nature and good company. Thanks for looking. G

Red Barn, San Luis Valley, Milky Way

Starry Night, Satellite, Rio Grande, Pilar, New Mexico

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Starry night in the Rio Grande Gorge, Pilar, New Mexico. I was setting up a composition for the milky way over the gorge and river when I spotted a satellite in one frame, so I quickly kept exposing shots and made a composite of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites cruising across the skies here in NM. Personally, I think there is enough junk in space, plus, Mr. Musk plans to add some 80,000 satellites to the junk already up there. It’s quite a controversy among astronomers. Almost every frame that night had some man made object coursing across the sky. Thanks for looking. G

Starry night in the Rio Grande Gorge, Pilar, New Mexico.

Full Moon, San Cristobal Valley, NM

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Full Moon, San Cristobal Valley, NM last night, waiting for the exact moment the moon is full and the subsequent eclipse. This image was at 10:44pm when the moon was precisely full. I didn’t see any difference at all that indicated an eclipse, but tonight I’m going to watch for the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn around 10:30pm. If you have binoculars you should be able to spot Jupiter’s moons, though Saturn’s rings maybe a little more elusive to see. Thanks for looking. G

Full Moon, San Cristobal Valley, NM

American Creek, Moreno Valley, New Mexico

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American Creek, in the Moreno Valley, northern New Mexico where the stars in the sky reach down below your feet. I created this composition to capture the feeling I get when standing in the vast wide open spaces in New Mexico. That was then. Now the few apps I use on my phone give me a virtual reality view of the sky dome above and below my feet and every which way I care to look. Thanks for looking. G

American Creek, in the Moreno Valley, northern New Mexico

Mars, Crescent Lunar Occultation 02-18-2020

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Mars with Lunar occultation (covered), 02-18-2020. Mars crept out from behind the Moon and appeared through the clouds this morning. Shortly after I made this image at 5:57am the clouds dispersed. Had I stirred from my sleep a couple of hours earlier I would have been able to observe Mars get swallowed up by the bright crescent. Thanks for looking. G

Mars with Lunar occultation, 02-18-2020.

Harvest Moon Rise, Sangre De Cristos, NM

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Harvest moon rise, over the Sangre De Cristos, mountains illuminating the clouds. This is the view from our driveway in San Cristobal on the night of Friday the 13th. I had meant to post it on the day, but…! So here it is. The warm color is from a forest fire controlled burn in the foothills and the smokey haze affected the color of light in this scene. Happy harvesting and thanks for looking. G

Harvest moon rise, Sangre De Cristos, NM.