Bill Marson
Trails of Apollo
Series: Grand Canyon: Below the Rim
Image Created: 2021
Medium: Lumachrome Acrylic
Edition: Open
Framed: $1,250
Frame: 16″ x 24″
From the artist
“Trails of Apollo” – Colorful trails of starlight rotate around a moonlit Apollo Temple as captured from the sandy bank of Cardenas Camp (Colorado River Mile 71.5). Because the walls of the Grand Canyon are so towering and the much of the canyon quite narrow, there are very few locations along the Colorado River offering such an expansive view of the northern sky. Cardenas Camp is one exception. On this evening in late-April, 2021, I only had approximately 2 hours of nighttime shooting before an almost full moon was set to rise. Yes, I would have loved to have captured more star images lengthening the star trails. But that moonlight did provide a great opportunity to composite a naturally lit foreground scene. The result was an image with beautiful shadow detail, depth, contrast, and river reflection.
For those interested, here are the image details:
TECHNIQUE & EXIF: Nikon D850 + Sigma 14mm Art; Stars: ISO 800, f/3.5, 25sec x 262 frames • Canyon foreground (same settings as stars x 1 frame) • Lr, Ps, StarStaX used in post