Kirk D. Keyes Photography

I had great luck catching the on March 23rd. Despite heavy clouds in Portland, I determined there was a chance of clear skies in . As I hoped, the clouds broke a few miles west of this historic schoolhouse, revealing an awesome display!

In case you're curious about the unnaturally colored lights inside this historic schoolhouse, I'm not saying it was aliens... but it was aliens!

I also had the luck to run into Heather Tianen and Roux Roamer, both outstanding photographers from the PDX area.
, FE 20mm F1.8 G, ISO 1600, f/2.0, 13 sec. CT-3442, GD , 2.0, Viola2
Single Shot

I'm honored to be featured alongside a talented group of photographers in the Black and White photography show "Tonality" at the 301 Gallery in Hood River, OR. The show opening is tonight from 5 to 7 PM, Friday, October 7th.
If you're in the Hood River area tonight, swing by and say "Hi!" It's a beautiful drive from Portland, and there's a wide range of dining options In town, so you can make a fun evening of it.
The 301 Gallery is located at 301 Oak St, Hood River, OR 97031.

Thank you to all people that have followed me, despite having zero posts. I promised everyone that after reaching 100 followers, I would make a post. Today I hit that number.
I'll start with a photo of Comet NEOWISE I took in July 2020. Big and bright comets like NEOWISE are fairly rare. I've seen two others in my life, both in the 1990s.
Since I didn't know when the next one would arrive, I wanted to capture a unique image of it.
I wanted the comet to appear large in the photo, so I rented a Sigma 105mm Art lens from . Mt. Hood has been a favorite subject of mine for over 30 years, so it seemed like a great opportunity to pair the two into one photo.
After spending many hours looking over Google Earth, Google Maps, and using I found a location 30 miles away from the summit of Hood.
I arrived with and around sunset and we setup. I had four cameras, three for time-lapse and my Sony a7iii to take stills.
Around 3am, the comet approached its closest to Mt. Hood; I took a series of shots as it swept by the top. Everything worked as planned, and we got our shots before the comet disappeared into dawn's impending glow.
I knew this image was special, so I asked my friend MaryBeth Kiczenski if she could do the processing for me. I've been a fan of her photography and I knew she would do an amazing job with it. I'm throughly pleased with it, it's just what I hoped to get. Thanks, MaryBeth!

Camera settings:
Taken 7/11/20
Sony a7iii
Sigma Art 105mm f/1.4
3200 ISO, f/2.5, 3.2 sec
Stack of 15 photos
Sky processed separately from foreground. 

The Perseid Meteor shower is here this week. Take a listen to the latest Photog Adventures podcast where Aaron King, Rhonda Pierce, and I discuss how best to photograph it.
https://soundcloud.com/user-407436417/tips-info-about-the-upcoming-perseid-meteor-shower-ep-168
From Photog Adventures description -
Perseids are going to be great this year! The timing with the moon is working out really tremendous for us this year and so the annual Perseid Meteor Shower is going to be the best we have had in several years! So let's get ready for it!
Know the best mornings to go out and tips on how to take advantage of it as best as possible!
Kirk Keyes and Rhonda Pierce joins me on the podcast to talk the Perseid Meteor Shower and Rhonda's transition to a mirrorless Canon camera.
Read Kirk's Perseid Meteor Shower article over on MilkyWayPhotographers.com: bit.ly/3CbbS9P

Tips & Info about the upcoming Perseid Meteor Shower! | Ep 168 Perseids are going to be great this year! The timing with the moon is working out really tremendous for us this year and so the annual Perseid Meteor Shower is going to be the best we have had in seve

I (Kirk Keyes) was on the Latitude Photography Podcast discussing several of my recent astro-landscape photography adventures. Host Brent Bergherm and I discuss six of my photos, all taken in the last couple of months in Oregon and Southern Utah.
We talk about photographing the Milky Way with people, the recent total lunar eclipse, using super-telephoto lenses with the Moon, and a whimsical environmental portrait with the Moon.
You can listen to the podcast on your favorite podcatcher, or through the link here, along with all the photos:

120 Recent Astro-Photography Adventures with Kirk Keyes – Latitude Photography Podcast 120 Recent Astro-Photography Adventures with Kirk Keyes June 27, 2021 by admin There’s just something about photographing the night sky that causes me to stop and contemplate our existence. In this discussion Kirk and I don’t get too philosophical, but we do take a dive into photographing the ni...