Whew!
Hello all! Can't believe it has been 3 months since my last post to the blog. It has been a crazy time. The bulk of the time was spent in Florida at art shows. I did get to mix in some landscape and astronomical photography as well.
I did pick the right winter to be in Florida, huh? It was certainly a rough one in my home state of West Virginia. While some Floridians were complaining about some cool temps early in the winter, the weather was really spectacular during my stay.
My fine art photography was on display at a total of 8 shows over that time period and we met many new collectors and admirers of our beautiful landscapes and astronomical wonders. The art show locations were mostly on the Atlantic coast line in the Miami region with one show on the Gulf coast in Sarasota.
The amount of work involved in putting on a display at the country's finest art shows is really quite overwhelming at times. I admire those who can do this by themselves on a regular basis. Most artists have either a spouse or paid help to assist with the logistics of the show. For me it was a lone endeavor and at times was quite overwhelming. I hope to do a few select shows over the coming months, but will not be doing a huge schedule of shows. In spite of the very hard work, the shows provide many great benefits. Thousands of eyes catch my interpretation of the beauty of earth and sky. What is most important is that they see the prints as intended and not on a computer monitor that may or may not be calibrated and producting accurate colors and brightness/contrast. That is one of the most rewarding parts of the display for me is knowing that the viewer is taking in the image as intended.
Image capture Brent Mayard, enhanced by Jeff BallIt is always a great time under the stars with friends taking astrophotographs. The last week of February I joined fellow astrophotographers Brent Maynard and Byron Bergert for some astrophotography from Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys. We had 3 wonderful nights of imaging under the dark southern skies. I am currently preparing all of the deep sky images for presentation and hope to be presenting them over the next few months. The above image was captured by Brent and I enhanced it in LightRoom. We are looking in the direction of Cuba over the open water where skies are very dark. At this lattitude we gain access to numerous deep sky objects that we simply cannot see from West Virginia.
Sunset over Florida Bay from Flamingo. Copyright Jeff Ball 2011
While in Florida I had an opportunity to image in the Everglades. I fell in love with sunsets over Florida Bay from Flamingo. I will have a 3 image series from my evenings at Flamingo in the next few weeks.
So "hello" again and stay tuned for many new images coming from both earth and sky. Take care.
Two New Images Join the "Designer Series"
Light Path
Vertical SwirlsMary Johnson has worked her magic again to produce two new designer presentations featuring the amazing light from Antelope Canyon. Please click on the thumbnail to view the image and gorgeous framing presentation in the black portfolio presentation window at full resolution. These new prints make a wonderful companion presentation on any home or office wall. The prints were designed as a pair to complement each other in a stunning presentation of slot canyon light. More information on the prints and framing may be found here.
A New Portfolio: Slot Canyon Light
Light Path
Vertical SwirlsThe light in the American southwest slot canyons is amazing. The blend of colors as the light is reflected on the canyon walls creates a unique palette that is hard to find anywhere else.
Today we announce a portfolio dedicated to this special light.
Please take a moment to journey to Lower Antelope Canyon and experience the unique palette of color and light today.
Please click on either image to enter the gallery or HERE. Please don't forget to click on each thumbnail to enter the black portfolio mode for best viewing.
December Print of the Month: Scorpius
ScorpiusI just love revisiting images, especially those from the film days. This particular image has always been special to me. It was taken while on an astronomy photography safari at New Mexico Skies near Cloudcroft, NM.
We had a large group of astrophotographers and it was a highlight of my photography life. The trip was in May 2003 and film was still a major player in photographic capture. I particularly loved, and still do, the results with my Pentax 6x7 and medium format Provia transparency film. This image was taken with a 55mm lens and presents the entire constellation of Scorpius. It is simply the most colorful region of our Milky Way galaxy.
The field of view is just barely clear of our horizon, but we had excellent transparency on this night that permitted the capture of nearly the entire Scorpius region. There are some areas of this image that contain data from other imaging instruments at higher focal lengths to provide a bit more definition to the area. All of the blending data is film with the exception of one very small area which is an early digital capture with a Canon 350D.
The image is the December Print of the Month. It is printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper and matted on black mat with black and silver framing. All glass is museum glass. I hope you enjoy the image and next time you are out under a dark sky in the summer look up and see Scorpius with a different perspective.
Please don't forget to click on the image (or here December Print of the Month) and then on the next thumbnail to see the image in the best presentation and full size in the black portfolio window.
The Designer Series is Now Available!
Autumn's Brilliance Designer PresentationWorking with designer Mary Johnson, I am extremely pleased to present to you the Designer Series Collection. The image and presentation are simply the finest in fine art photography today. The most popular prints from my collection are now accented with stunning matting and framing combinations that will look fantastic in any home or office decor.
There are currently 3 images in the collection. Each image has custom framing and matting which accentuates the color vibrancy and adds to the emotional impact of each composition.
For much more on the presentation please click on the image or on this link. Once you are at the Designer Portfolio page, please click on the thumbnail to enter and see the images and presentation. Don't forget to click on each image to see the best presentation of the Designer Series image. These are simply the finest presentation available in fine art photography today. I hope you find a place for one in your home or office.
The Herschel 400 Astronomical League Project is underway
It’s not too late to join. We are about 30 objects into the Herschel 400. Hope to get another session in soon. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel so you get notifications on LIVE STREAMS.
Angels in Monoceros: The Monoceros M2 Complex
The Monoceros R2 molecular complex (often shortened to Mon R2) is a massive giant molecular cloud and one of the nearest active star-forming regions to Earth. It's a dynamic stellar nursery embedded in dense gas and dust, where new stars—particularly massive ones—are actively being born.
Key Facts
Location: Southwestern part of the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn), near the border with Orion. It's part of the larger Orion-Monoceros cloud complex.
Distance: Approximately 2,400–2,700 light-years (around 830 parsecs).
Size and Structure: The main dense core is relatively compact (a few light-years across), but the overall molecular cloud and associated nebulae span a wide area—reflection nebulae alone stretch up to about 2° in the sky. It's situated well below the galactic plane, which makes it stand out in certain observations.
Age and Activity: Star formation here began roughly 6–10 million years ago. It hosts an OB association (young, hot, massive B- and A-type stars) that illuminates surrounding dust, creating prominent reflection nebulae with bluish hues. There's also significant emission from ionized gas (red glows) and dark nebulae that appear as shadowy silhouettes blocking background light.
Notable Features:
A central hub of massive star formation with embedded clusters, molecular outflows, and HII regions.
Infrared observations (like those from VISTA or 2MASS) penetrate the dust to reveal hidden young stars and protoplanetary disks.
It's a key site for studying early stellar evolution, variability in young stellar objects (YSOs), and the interplay between massive stars and their natal clouds.
The most famous and photogenic part of Mon R2 is the region around NGC 2170 (the Angel Nebula), a striking reflection nebula with wing-like dust structures, glowing blue from scattered starlight, mixed with red emission and dark lanes. Wider views of the complex reveal a richer tapestry of colorful gas, dust filaments, and star clusters.
Credit: GROK 2/28/26
Click on image for larger view.
New Astro Camera: OM-3
Join me for a LIVE conversation about this new astro camera coming to the market. Is this the best option for you? How does it compare to other options? https://www.earthandskyphoto.com Correction: when discussing Bulb mode with Canon, I incorrectly said it had a limit of 30”. I meant to say manual exposure has a max of 30”. In bulb, you need to use a remote control or app for exposure time control. The problem is you can’t set exposure time for stills in the camera menu. I was made aware that Olympus no longer owns the OM system. It is owned by Japanese industrial Partners, a private equity firm. For content on the OM-3 for astrophotography, please see Ben Chapell’s Narrow Band channel. https://youtube.com/@TheNarrowbandChannel?si=GcWY-BM9skG9LPhY
Jeff's Blog
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