Saturday, 28 June 2025, a unique Night Sky Photography Workshop was held at Oracle State Park, a DarkSky International "International Dark Sky Park". The sky was clear, ensuring that this night would be a fantastic opportunity for the attendees to learn how to take long exposure photographs with a camera while enjoying the incredible star-filled skies the park is known for.

Before the workshop began, I photographed my tripod mounted Nikon D850 DSLR with a Rokinon 14mm UWA lens and Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max that I would use for night sky imaging.

Park Ranger Michael Bain began the workshop with a 30-minute presentation on the Kannally Ranch House middle patio. He covered the fundamentals of night photography, including how to adjust shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, and focus. He answered questions about some specific camera models and showed real examples of night sky images with the settings used to capture them. Michael also discussed the DarkSky International Principles for Responsible Astrophotography.

About 30 minutes after sunset (which was at 1938 MST), everyone went to the main ranch house patio to practice what was covered in the talk. They were excited to experience firsthand how much their camera could capture in low light. There was a thin crescent Moon low in the western sky that providing some illumination. They tried their hand at a variety of shots, from wide-open starry skies to compositions featuring the historic ranch house and surrounding landscape before and after the sky became fully dark at 2117 MST.

I took these photographs to show some examples of what the attendees would be able to capture with their cameras.

2049 MST: Big Dipper high over the Kannally Ranch House
D850 DSLR (f/2.8, 15 seconds, ISO 1600, White Balance 4550K, FL 14mm UWA)

2059 MST: Milky Way in Cygnus, Vega is the bright star at the top
iPhone 15 Pro Max (Camera app in Night Mode, 30 seconds, 1X lens)

2102 MST: Milky Way in Cygnus, Vega is the bright star above center
D850 DSLR (f/2.8, 30 seconds, ISO 1600, White Balance 4550K, FL 14mm UWA)

2059 MST: Milky Way (and a satellite)
iPhone 15 Pro Max (Camera app in Night Mode, 30 seconds, 1X lens)

2123 MST: Milky Way (and a satellite)
D850 DSLR (f/3.5, 30 seconds, ISO 5000, White Balance 4550K, FL 14mm UWA)

The workshop ended at 2130 MST.

The night was definitely an enjoyable, hands-on way to connect with the dark skies at the park for the 17 attendees at this special Night Sky Photography Workshop!

Photos by Mike Weasner.

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