I always try to find "other planet views" for my nightphotos: a foreground that can have a "not of this world look" that can match with an incredible sky. Aiming exactly for that, I had the idea for this new project: Moon landing. I wanted to represent an astronaut, landed on a new planet, under a sky full of stars.

To do so I needed 3 things: a costume, a desolate, rocky landscape and a great sky. For the costume, I just bought an Halloween helmet and a white suit, that I painted to resemble an astronaut one. For the foreground, I wanted something unusual: very rocky and very pale (as the moon surface). Obviously I went in Dolomites, and, after some scouting, I was able to find the right framing for my pictures. For the sky, I had to make the shot in the end of May, to have the milkyway low enough to fill correctly the picture. This is my first shot. The view is not completely new but I think I was able to create something original. The final image is a panorama of 4, each one a blend of several. The two for the sky are a staking of 5 at 13” each. The four section of the ground are a merge of: 1 long-expo of 2 minutes, 9 shots for the lightpaining, and a shot for the astronaut. The lightpainting was a bit tricky to make (especially make it right to be joined in the pano) but was a key element. I wanted to represent the “skyman” while exploring. This time I didn’t want a visible light source (like a torch) but I wanted the light coming from the suit in a more soft way.

This was the shoot that I most wanted to achieve. I prepared it a lot. During the scouting, I recreated the frame: making the pano with my phone (to view the complete picture) and painting on it the astronaut (to check if the position worked). I also use the @phoopills preview to know the “milkyway perfect timing”. Then as soon as I finished the first spot, I literally run to this new place eager to make this complicate shot. The final Image is a pano of 5 pictures. The two for the sky are a staking of 5 at 13” each. The five section of the ground are a merge of: 1 long-expo of 2 minutes, 7 shots for the lightpaining, and a shot for the astronaut. The lightpainting was more difficult than ever (several attempt where needed).  The radius to illuminate was huge making difficult to use correctly the light. Also the pano joined very close to the astronaut. So making the lightpainting to join correctly was very important and, to do so, I had to make it exactly the same in each shoot. I liked the position of the rocks especially the shape that creates once lightened up: the big triangle made by the big inclined one (where the astronaut stand on) the boulder in the back, and the vertical wall in the right. I struggled for this framing but I’m really happy with the result: is exactly what I had in mind and what I sketched. Tell exactly what I wanted to describe: a lonely astronaut exploring a desolate new world.

During my scouting, I found several possible framing for my “moon landscape”, each with a “right time” to shoot: a moment when the milkyway was in the perfect position to fit the frame in a good way. Shooting this May was very tricky: was a rainy month, so I had only one night feasible, and I had to make a very hard schedule to fit all my spot in one night, having in mind the “milkyway perfect timing”. The only problem was that once ready to shoot the sky was cloudy. The night append to be rainy for two hours more that the initial forecast. That made my window of shooting of only 3 hours, so I had to review all the schedule and I had to run! For this reason, initially I had programmed two startrail, but in the end I could make just a single one. Also, running around as an idiot all the night, I was able to start my startrial only very late, just one hour and an half before bluehour. As foreground I found a spot that was great: a rocky terrace over a gorge, with a huge rock pillar in the back, perfectly positioned under the polar. Even if is a really short startrail (only 120 shots) this is the best one I ever made. Its several month that I try, and finally, I was able to find the right settings to catch the real colour of the stars. Also I really like the framing and the position of the astronaut (leaning on the boulder) and the lightpainting, that is able to paint perfectly the border of the rocky terrace.

I made this photo while I was waiting for the bluehour. I started the startrail before making the second pano, and once I finished, I decided that was too early to stop the startrail, and I decided to wait. Looking at the sky I discovered that the big dipper was visible, so I decided to try this shot. The final image is a pano of three horizontal photo. The two for the sky are a staking of 5 at 13” each. The three section of the ground are a merge of: 1 long-expo of 2 minutes, 4 shots for the lightpaining, and a shot for the astronaut. The final image is not perfect: I should had made one more section for the sky, to frame in a better way the big and the small dipper, but the result is good anyway. I like the position of the subject: I like the astronaut is looking at the view of the new planet form the top of a hill. When I shoot was almost bluehour, but the sky was still full of stars, so I decided to make a star-map to frame all the constellation present in the shot.

This time I decided to use as lunar landscape the most iconic place in Dolomites: Lavaredo. To do so I decided to hike to the top of Paterno, in front of Tre Cime. The hike was crazy, veeeeery steep and difficult, also because I was with almost 30Kg of backpack: carrying the photographic gear, the tent, the sleeping bag, and my self-made astronaut suit. I was close to give up and go back a couple of times, and I spent the night on top warring to how to hike back…But was absolutely worth it! Once on top I wandered around to find cool spots, and I immediately fall in love with this small balcony over the gorge. I already knew (thanks to photopills) that the milkyway was perfectly over the Tre Cime at 8pm. I started shooting the sky (a staking of 5 shot at 13’’) and then I tilted the camera down for the foreground. The land is a staking of two shoots at 2 minutes 2000 ISO, and once done that, I started trying my astronaut pose. I put on the suit and the helmet and hiked in position (not so easy with the big helmet on). I had to make several attempts before having a good pose and a good lighting effect. As before I didn’t want a visible light source (like a torch) but I wanted the light coming from the suit in a more soft way, and I think It worked. I’m really proud of the result. Everything you see in the picture is 100% real, noting is “photoshopped”: I was really there dressed like that, and the milkyway was exactly there. It was very difficult to achieve (especially hiking with the material), but I’m really glad with the result.

While ascending on the “via ferrata” I had this gorge under me: wide, rocky and bare. During the hike I saw this possible composition, and checking with photopills I discovered that at midnight was possible to shoot Orion. So, once I finished all my shoots on top of Paterno, I decided to try to go down to this rock to frame this scene. I left all my stuff in the ten, and hiked back with just the astronaut costume, the camera and the tripod. Finding the spot in the dark with the front-torch was a bit tricky, but in the end, I was able to do my picture. As always, is a pano of two shoots. I started shooting the sky (a staking of 5 shot at 13’’) and then I tilted the camera down for the foreground. The land is a staking of 3 shoots at 2 minutes 2000 ISO, plus a shoot for me and one for the lightpainting. I had to make several attempts before nailing the pose and the lighting effect. Also was a bit difficult to stay steady on the small thin rock in front of the ravine, but in the end I was able to produce a steady selfie. Wile I was shooting I saw a bright light in the sky. Looking in the camera, I discovered that I was able to catch a meteor: a great off-schedule show.

The idea behind my previews “moonlanding shoots” was to find a flat and desert landscape similar to the moon one, and for this reason I tried to find lunar views in Dolomites without making the mountains recognizable. This time instead, I wanted to make Dolomites more present, and for this reason I choose Tre Cime, the most recognizable peaks. My favourite view is from the Pass, so a shot from there was a must. To do so I had to make my hike back from the Paterno during the night in complete darkness. I tried to be very quick, and I rushed down the via ferrata to catch the milkyway perfectly in the middle of the frame, but in the end I arrived a bit late. The final image is a pano of 4 horizontal shots, each one a blend of several. The one for the sky is a staking of 5 at 13” each. The 3 section of the ground are each one a merge of: 1 long-expo of 2 minutes, 4 shots for the lightpaining, and a shot for the astronaut. The lightpainting was a bit tricky to make, especially make it right to be joined in the pano. This time I wanted to make the astronaut bigger and more present, to balance the huge silhouette of the Tre Cime. I like the foreground with the rocks illuminated, and how this view that is so known in my head is transformed in something new

Here you can find the process behind the creation of every shot: the scheduling of the night, the milkyway preview with Photopills, the framing (made with the phone) with the doodle of the position of the astronaut, and the final picture.