Cueva De La Olla Star Trails

A photo-composite of multiple exposures. From the photographer: “On a camping trip to Western Chihuahua with a group of friends to celebrate a birthday, I woke up at 3am in my tent. Cueva De La Olla, which means Cave of the Little Pot, is located about 7 hours from Juarez, Mexico and is home to an archeological site and some of the coolest eroded sandstone I have seen. I brought minimal gear, but with a clear North heading and a 16mm lens, I was able to capture the stars over a 40 minute period. There was much moonlight, but the stars were still out. The focal point in the North is much closer to the horizon than my hometown in NY and I felt it helped ground the image, rather than gazing upward.

For this image I wanted to convey the passage of time, and illustrate the age of not only the stars, but the rocks, the trees, and ultimately the people spending the night camping there. I felt a resonance to the archway I found in Amantani in Peru in 2016.”

Technical details:
Sony A7Rii, Viltrox 16mm F1.8, F2.8, ISO2500
146 x 15s exposures blended together in Photoshop
No planes or satellites had to be removed