Every photograph here begins with an experience: a forecast checked, a location found, a night spent waiting for the sky to cooperate. This is a look at how those moments become images.

Planning a Shot

Many of my images begin long before I pick up a camera. Astronomy calendars and websites tell me what’s coming, from eclipses and occultations to the moon passing a bright planet. From there, I use The Photographer’s Ephemeris and SkyGuide to work out exactly where and when the moon, sun, or stars will appear, and how they’ll line up with the landscape. When I can, I scout locations in person to find the right foreground and vantage point.

Then comes the part I can’t control: the weather. I watch sky forecasts like Astrospheric and Clear Outside closely, sometimes changing plans at the last minute to chase a clear sky. Most of my photography happens close to home, but depending on the event or the weather, I’m willing to travel to stand in the right place at the right time.

Gear

I’m often asked what camera I use, and the honest answer is that the gear matters far less than being there. Clear skies, good timing, and patience have shaped my photographs more than any lens. That said, for the curious: I shoot with Sony a7R II and a7R IV cameras, using a Zeiss 16–35mm for wide landscapes and a Sony 200–600mm for lunar detail and close encounters in the sky.

Editing & Processing

I edit in Lightroom and Photoshop, and for me, editing is part of the experience, not just the finishing step. Sitting with an image lets me return to the moment and rediscover details I may have missed while standing in the dark.

My goal is to recreate each scene the way my eyes saw it, not the way my lens recorded it. Our eyes can take in a bright moon and the dim landscape around it at the same time, something no camera can do in a single frame. Editing is how I bring that view back together, restoring the light, color, and detail I remember from being there. The one place I allow myself some artistic interpretation is the moon itself, gently drawing out the texture and subtle tones of its surface that are easy to miss with the naked eye.

My Approach to Composites

Nearly every image here is made from more than one exposure. The moon is one of the brightest objects in the night sky, and no camera can capture its surface detail and a dark landscape in a single frame. So I blend exposures, stack frames to bring out detail and reduce noise, and sometimes build sequences that show an event unfolding over time, like the phases of an eclipse or the slow turn of the stars.

What I don’t do is invent a moment. Every frame in an image comes from the same night and the same location, and the moon and sun always appear at their true size. When I combine frames to show something a single view couldn’t capture, such as an occultation hidden behind trees, I note it beneath the image. If an image ever departs from these standards, it will be clearly labeled.