DEATH VALLEY is the BEST ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY spot in USA! (I'll prove it)

[@RonDeKiller]

Did you get permission to fly your drone in the national park? If so I’d like to know who you talked to since I go there frequently.

[@dave9351]

He hired a helo to follow him and shoot those gorgeous scenes

[@RonDeKiller]

@@thomza mind your own business, hypocrite

[@RonDeKiller]

@@thomza “he can make his own decisions on whether he breaks the [LAW] or not.” You sound like a Trump voter.

[@RonDeKiller]

@@thomza “He can make his own decisions on whether he breaks the [law] or not.” Spoken like a frump voter. If you’re old enough to vote, that is.

[@RonDeKiller]

@ you’re living in your mother’s basement rent free lol

[@andrewscott743]

Hey nice job!! Great video. Really enjoyed it and looking forward to seeing more from you!

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks! Appreciate you watching!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I just found your channel Mike. Love your content and style. You've certainly covered a lot of ground in this video but it makes for a great storytelling experience. I'll look forward to seeing what else you come up with. All the very best from Bortle 1 Australia mate.

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks for watching and for the kind words! I'd love to come to Australia to get some epic souther hemisphere Milky Way shots.

[@Mark_Wierda]

Nice video Mike! I'm going to Death Valley this year. As for blue hour composites, I'm fine with it as long as it's shot on the same night and that the Milky Way is in the exact same position as if you were standing there looking at it

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks for watching and commenting! I agree. People don't nerd out on it don't always realize how complex astrophotography can get!

[@AstroOnBudget]

This looks like an excellent place for Astrophotography! The only problem is that I am in the land down under (Australia)!

[@mikesepicphotos]

It is a perspective altering experience for sure. I hear there are some great dark skies in Australia too!

[@stevethompson8154]

Are drones allowed in Death Valley?

[@mikesepicphotos]

I learned since making this video that they are prohibited.

[@thomassanio8745]

But there are probably places on the outskirts that are not.

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Wow, I truly am surprised that I didn't find this vlog before. You have no idea how much time I've been spending on YT to search for great astro vlogs just like this one. Definately top 3 for this year so far 👌. Love the storytelling, the adventure and the encouraged discussion about blue hour blends. I totally see your point. The best thing is shooting everything in a single shot. Myself though I also often choose to shoot the foreground separate from the tracked & stacked sky shots. As long as the foreground & sky were realistic in relative to eachother and they were shot in roughly the same area and the same night I'm totally fine with that. Beautiful end result of a great adventure (or was it 3 adventures? ;-)).

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment! I appreciate that. I am going to start making much more content for this channel. Comments like this inspire me to get out there!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

@@mikesepicphotos that is fantastic news! Looking forward to that!

[@balintikladi1294]

thats crime that u have only 1K follower , ur content is outstanding !!!

[@Zealor365]

Shrub photo is excellent. Great sky!

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks! And thanks for watching!

[@kfacpa]

Thanks, great vid and I really appreciate the getting there part too

[@LEXPIX]

Nicely done. The final shot of the photographer looking at the back of the raceme under the stars shows a great sense of place. Blue hour composites is a great technique, but many tend to overdue it sometimes.

[@patrickmorgan5210]

Excellent video!! I personally love blue hour composites IF the sky during the evening and the foreground / evening were taken at the same place the same evening. Sure, this may mean waiting hours without moving the camera, but there is a connection to the sky and the foreground / subject that I find gratifying and authentic. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@DLMVegas]

I see your Subaru made it back to the Playa. Last time I went (3 years ago) had a 4-Runner with 10 ply tires. Think I'll take the Subaru of mine back there next time. I have 8ply tires on that.

[@mere_mort4l]

You could use a narrow aperture for a larger depth of field coupled with extra long exposures in bulb mode for highly detailed fore and midground

[@HioriTh3G04T]

Wow what time did the milky way show up? I was there few days ago and was on dante view wait until 12am it couldn’t show up like this….

[@mikesepicphotos]

I don't remember exactly when. It was like 1ish.

[@Luftbubblan]

Now i'm confused. First you say that you don't want to make composition because this and that, then you go on and make an composition anyway? Just because you choose to compose only parts of image doesn't make it less of a composition. (I could ofc miss-interpret what you are saying) I couldn't care less tho, i like the image none the less. What i like to see when ppl make compositions is that all the data is shot in that session. If not, then you could just copy paste an image from google. Actually iv'e seen so many ppl do that and presenting it like they did something haha.

[@barbaradvojatzki2852]

Awesome video!

[@tomlynn1000]

Well done, sir!

[@johnnaughton9729]

Well done! Like the honesty and lack of polish (meant as a compliment 🙂), which makes for a relatable story. Blue hr blends and composites in general are simply a personal choice in my opinion. Like others here I have no issue with blends taken on the same evening, same tripod location (or close). They make the end result so much better.

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks for watching! I agree!

[@Kroller9]

Thats the best Astrophotograph-video i habe seen lately! The end result is amazing! I think thats not cheating…

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thank you for watching! I appreciate that!

[@miclanone]

I Don't see a link to those moving rocks??

[@seantomlinson3320]

Huh. Glad I watched. Neat final shot. But man, I have issues with it too. I hope it's a good lesson for you because the passion's clearly there.

[@mdogmadess9186]

I love shooting blue hour composite’s and look at it as a form of art itself. But i totally agree in the sense that you MUST shoot the stars from the same position as the foreground or its 100% cheating the process.

[@itaialter]

When it comes to art, there is no cheating (as long as you mention it's a composite). Wonderful video.

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Capturingmoents]

Really cool image

[@thomassanio8745]

I don’t see them as cheating if you divulge how the image was obtained and they were both shot at the same spot. To me that is the true magic! I have a Nikon D850 that I need to spend more time with. How much Lightroom post was necessary? Thank you. Tom

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks for watching! Not a ton of Lightroom for this one. Besides blending the images together I stacked at least 15 images of the Milky Way to reduce noise, then just basic Lightroom edits for the core. The skies are so dark in Death Valley, you don't need to do that much in post to get a good image.

[@AdamSpruceFilms]

Did you use a star tracker for the milky way shot?

[@mikesepicphotos]

No, not for that one. I set up a time lapse and stacked several images. I think at least 15.

[@veholic1]

Yes, blue hour blends (same night, same tripod position) is somewhat of a cheat, but I do it. Not as bad as a real composite where you pull a sky out of your library and replace the sky, but I have done that as well but then I feel dirty...

[@ssbhide123]

How can twilight/blue hour blending be cheating? It's basically a same as light painting where you are using the biggest and brightest lamp available to you in the sky to your advantage. In my opinion, if you are not moving the tripod when you are shooting the foreground and background , I will not consider it as a composite. Some people shoot a foreground and then move their tripod beyond some complicated element in the foreground like tree, just to avoid dealing with edges in the post processing but that in my books is a composite.

[@mikesepicphotos]

I agree. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@eliseoiglesias]

saludo amigo desde de Panama😀

[@tleonard7525]

I need this on a postcard. For sale?

[@mikesepicphotos]

U can have it bro. What's your email?

[@KODOPhoto]

Apparently, rules don't apply to you? National Parks Service (NPS) Rules Against Drone Operations on Federal Land. In general, take off and landing of a UAS is prohibited in lands administered by the National Parks Service and in Wilderness areas administered by a variety of federal agencies such as the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

[@mikesepicphotos]

I am aware of these rules now. Was not when I flew the drone in Death Valley over a year ago. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@EleganceUnveiled]

Stop being a asshole who are you leave him alone 😂

[@georgeisenbarg8302]

Like this video, but, drone? Pretty sure that was a violation of NPS rules. As for the composite, like it. As for your reluctance to cheat to get a pic, drone. Come on, this was great content, but you fly a drone in a National Park. Then, you complain about upsetting your values by doing a composite. Will the real content creater please make a stand.

[@mikesepicphotos]

Thanks for watching! And commenting. I've gotten dozens of comments like this about the drone. I had no idea about the regulations. I just never thought about it.

[@jmfoty4280]

I think it is cheating when the truth on how the image was made is hidden and left for the viewer to guess. If you join sky and foreground images without moving the tripod, that is photography. I think moving the tripod to a nearby spot aiming your camera in the same direction as the foreground in order to take a tracked image of the sky, that is good practice too. Making a daytime image look like it was taken at night, adding a Milky Way image, that is art, but photography honesty...no.

[@keyswitches9269]

it all comes down to art. There is no set rules on how to express yourself through art, and that's exactly what he's doing!