Light painting during the blue hour (Patreon)

Did you know that it's against park regulations to use "artificial light sources" (even my Low Level Lighting) to light up the landscape in four National Parks in the USA?

The above blue hour blend photo was taken last year, inside Double Arch, in Arches National Park, by Italian photographer, Stefano Pellegrini. Despite the regulation, Stefano doesn't think his action violates park regulations because he did the light painting portion during the blue hour and then blended that exposure with the Milky Way sky exposure he took over an hour later, during the Astronomical Dusk.

Why does he think this does not violate the park policies? Because there are virtually no stars to be seen during the blue hour — the sky, on average, is about 200 times brighter than the Astro Dusk sky. So why does that get Stefano "off the hook"? Because of the spirit of the regulation vs. the letter of the regulation. The regulation is to allow park visitors to see the starry night sky without the glare and intrusion of artificial lights, and Stefano did not use his lights during this period. In other words, "no visitor eyes were hurt during the making of this nightscape."

PDF: Be sure to download (below) and view my latest Version 2.0 eBook update with "Guest Artist" Stefano Pellegrini.

NOTE: My patrons can expect to see many more posts over the next month, as I continue to "serialize" updates to my original, version 1.1 "Milky Way NightScapes" eBook. These advance updates will become available exclusively to my patrons, page-by-page, until my new version 2.0 eBook is completed and published on or about March 31, 2024.

All "Milky Way NightScapes" eBook Version 2.0 updates are protected by copyright: © Royce Bair 2024