Hey friends! This week I’m kicking off a new series of night images that I’ve collected over the last several months.  The late fall and winter had very few clear nights, unfortunately, so I didn’t get to shoot as much as I was hoping, BUT, I do have some images I’m excited to share.  I’m kicking off the series with this image of Pleiades and the California Nebula setting in Cades Cove.  For this image I used light painting to mimic the constellations, and to illuminate the tree some.  What I particularly love about this image is all the space dust that you can see in the sky.  This is what our night sky is actually made up of – large floating blobs of dust from past stars and who knows what else.  It’s sort of crazy to think about.

Below in the Alternative Perspectives section you’ll find individual images of both Pleiades and the California Nebula.  I really enjoy capturing these scenes, and then also capturing a deeper view of the objects, just so you (and I) can explore them further!

More next week!

–Dan Thompson