Aurora tram lines over arctic lodge, as featured on BBC's 'Stargazing Live' Jan 4th 2011. This is one of my favourite aurora images. The curly waves had been replaced with tram lines and at this moment in time they were immediately above us. Our location was perfect and I recall running around the camp site looking for the best composition. Not easy when it -10C, knee deep in snow and carrying all the camera gear. I eventually framed our cabin and it was a perfect catch. I was especially pleased with the clarity given that it was a 2 min long exposure. Olympus E3, 7-14mm - F4, 120s
Stunning tornado strikes a farm building Harper, Kansas, USA. Damage to farm buildings evident. Olympus E1, 50-200mm, 1/200s, F5.0
Stunning lightning striking buildings in downtown Tucson, Arizona. One of my objectives in Arizona was to capture quality lightning exploding over a city landscape. Mission accomplished. I recall leaping in the air screaming with joy after catching this beauty. Olympus E3, 50-200mm SWD - F5.6, 40s
Rainbow caught in passing storm Leics UK. This is one of my reserved hotspots I visit all the time. Olympus E1, 14-54mm, 1/100s. F7.1
The stunning Severn Bore from above in a microlite. In 2007 I experienced the Severn Bore from a vantage point like no other, the sky. I persuaded a microlight pilot to take me up in the air to follow the tidal bore. I had never been in a microlight before. When I arrived at the airfield in Gloucester the microlight reminded me of 'Little Nellie' from the James Bond film 'You Only Live Twice'. We accelerated over a bumpy field and then all of a sudden we swept upwards, turning at the same time. All too quickly houses turned into tiny boxes and roads turned into lines. The view was amazing. The Severn river became the dominant feature from the sky, snaking around the numerous towns before disappearing into the horizon towards the Severn Bridge. It may have been a pleasant 14C on the ground but 500ft in the air it was near freezing! A few minutes later I had a sighting of the bore. It barely appeared as a ripple at this height but I immediately sprung the camera into action. Over the course of the next hour and a half I got some spectacular footage. I was amazed at how much the bore changes in appearance through the differing sections of the river. At times we were struggling to see the leading edge, no more than a ripple. Then out of nowhere a huge breaking wave would appear and rip all in its path. My hands were frozen solid after about 15 mins into the flight. There were also a few 'white knuckle' moments as we twisted, turned and dived in one manoeuvre. I was close to chucking on more than one occasion. I eventually landed and I was visibly shaking such was the adrenalin running through me. It was an unbelievable shoot, the toughest I have ever undertaken in very testing conditions for a camera (Olympus E1, 90-250mm lens). The aerial images over the next few pages made most of the National newspapers the next day.
Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Iceland A spectacular waterfall and one you can walk behind.
Captured in South Carolina, USA on 21st August 2017. The entire solar eclipse phases in a single photo.
Red eye frogs mating in Costa Rica rainforest.
Magnificent whale shark diving underwater in Maldives.
Incredible Quad Space Station pass
This image is truly amazing. To actually get the conditions and timing right to capture 4 (yes 4) International Space Station (ISS) passes in one single image is unbelievable! Firstly, to see 4 multiple passes in the UK in both evening and morning only happens a few times in the year. Secondly, to get clear skies at the same time, thirdly to get ISS path crossing symmetry and finally combined with a plane free sky (due to Lockdown) is really smashing the odds. This quadruple ISS flyby was captured overnight on 15th to early morning on 16th May 2020 from my home in South Leicestershire. The image captures the 2250hrs, 0026hrs, 0203hrs & 0340hrs ISS passes combined in a single image. I cannot believe how well the symmetry works on the ISS passes as they cross over during the composite. The ISS is currently delivering multiple flybys over UK skies (evening & early morning) allowing good opportunities to capture some or all, depending on cloud cover. How did I capture this? See below Camera - Olympus OM-D, E-M5 (mk1) Lens - Olympus 8mm fisheye Tripod, mounted in field (same position). Firstly, using the Heavens Above website - https://www.heavens-above.com (or app) I was able to predict the times and directions for all of the ISS passes. All passes are pretty much west to east so I set my camera on a tripod pointing due south. Using a wide angle lens (8mm fisheye) I set camera in manual mode on a wide aperture (F4) and long exposure time of 15s. I then left the camera on tripod and captured continuous exposures from the first pass at 2250hrs on the evening of 15th until the final pass at 0340hrs in the morning. I threw a bit of light onto the field using a torch during the exposures (walking around switching a torch on/off) to achieve the ghostly figures. The following morning I hauled all the gear back indoors and downloaded. Using StarStax (Mac) software I imported each flyby exposure batch (approx 15 in each batch) and stacked the batches to generate a composite image. To prevent dew forming on camera I used a dew heater and power using a remote battery - Both of these are included in my How to guides - https://www.markhumpage.com/How-to-guides I am so proud and delighted with this image. Stay safe.
Another version of my lockdown lunar montage which has captured every phase of the waxing moon during lockdown months, including the multiple exposure feature in centre. Images range from May through till Dec 2020 and include the following phases:- 5% - 23 June 9% - 25 May 11% - 24 June 18% - 25 June 28% - 26 June 36% - 20 December 39% - 27 June 50% - 22 November 59% - 30 May 61% - 23 November 64% - 31 May 72% - 01 June 80% - 26 October 82% - 25 November 89% - 26 November 94% - 27 November All moon images were captured with:- Olympus OMD EM1 (mk3) 300mm & 100-400mm lenses A mix of tripod and hand held. Some using Star Adventurer tracking mount. Some captured in High Res mode. Final montage of all images put together using Pixelmator software. A fantastic project during lockdown. Stay safe.
Photo captured overnight 14th/15th May from my home in South Leicestershire, East Midlands. Very fortunate with clear skies during this lockdown period! This is ghostly star trail and includes the 0118hrs pass of the International Space Station (ISS) - far right. The shorter days are reducing all night long exposures to 5 hours now. This image captures 5 hours of exposures showing Earth's spin as shown through the stars, spinning around the North Pole star 'Polaris' . It comprises 1200 exposures captured on the evening of 14th to the early hours of 15th May. Once again, to add a bit of foreground fun to the composition I added some artificial light and created shadowy figures, which I think complement the night sky perfectly! How I did this described below. BEHIND THE LENS Camera:- Olympus OM-D EM-5 Lens: Olympus 7-14mm Tripod - sitting in garden overlooking field. 15s exposure time x 1200 images (stacked) F4 ISO 500 I mounted the camera on a tripod and set up the composition using a 7-14mm lens framing the horse chestnut tree (in full flower, which is nice!) and the North Star (Polaris). Finding Polaris is easy - Follow the last two stars from the blade of The Plough. Camera set to manual focus and using the remote cable (set to lock - which forces the camera to shoot continuous exposures - Also making sure the camera (menu) is set to shoot continuous not single exposures). I then let the camera shoot continuously all night. For power I simply plugged camera into power socket, via an extension lead! To create the shadows of myself I used a torch. By walking around the field (whilst the camera is taking continuous exposures) and turning the torch on and off at certain positions, making sure torch was in front of body, this creates shadows and light. A fun way to add something different to the composition! Post processing I transferred all images to MAC and imported in stacking software (Star Stax - free) to produce a single composite image. The resulting image reveals 5 hrs of Earth spinning, including the ISS, with a ghostly spin.
Manta Ray, captured at a feeding station diving in Maldives
Robin sitting in tree partial colour
Robin sitting on branch in tree, partial colour, captured on 7th March 2021 during local walk, Leicestershire.
The International Space Station (ISS) captured flying over UK skies 2009hrs on 26th March 2021. The pass flew over the moon before disappearing into Earth's shadow. Used a local field for some tree landscape and lit using torch during the multiple 10s exposures (approx 20). Olympus EM1 (mk3), 8mm, mounted on tripod. Live composite mode 10s (approx 20 exposures), f3.5, ISO 320
Captured on 24th March 2021. Lovely moon halo (360) shining down on the motorway traffic. Olympus EM1 (mk3), 8mm, mounted on tripod. 10s, f3.5, ISO 250
Close up of Buzzard flying in air, captured on local walk 24th March 2021, Leicestershire.
Red Kite flying in clear blue sky with wings open. Captured on local walk 17th April 2021
Captured at home on evening 15th & 16th April 2021. Camera: Olympus OM-D EM-1 mk3 Lens: 12-40mm This star trail was captured by using the Olympus in-camera function called Live Composite (Setting B on top dial). I chose 15s exposures and set the camera shoot for a period of 6 hours, which is the maximum time setting on the in-camera live composite mode. The final image you see is a 6hrs composite captured in camera or 6hrs x15s in a single image. The streak of light above the tree is a satellite flare. BEHIND THE LENS Camera:- Olympus OM-D EM-1 mk3 Lens: Olympus 12-40mm Tripod - Mounted in garden 15s exposure time using Live Composite mode in camera. F2.8 ISO 400 I mounted the camera on a tripod in the garden and set up the composition using a 12mm focal length composing the camera with horse chestnut tree in frame. The conker tree has started to flower. There was no moonlight to provide natural light so I light painted behind the tree for a few seconds with a torch. Using the Live Composite mode on the Olympus camera the star trail is all generated in-camera, a very cool feature which reduces post processing. The resulting shot reveals 6 hrs of Earth spinning above the conker tree :-) Stay safe.
Earthshine 19% 16th April 2021
Earthshine - 19% crescent moon captured on 16th April 2021. Single shot, no telescope nor stack. Earthshine effect captured by using slow/long exposure (6s) which increases detail on the dark shadow side and at same time blows out and overexposes the crescent. Quite a challenging technical shot to master. This shot was captured at 2133hrs. Gear:- Star Adventurer Sky Watcher tracking mount. This is essential when shooting long exposures of a moving object, especially with high focal length/good zoom lens. It essentially rotates at the same speed as the moon ensuring a sharper image. Olympus EM1, (mk3), 100-400mm lens. Settings - f6.3, 6s, ISO 250
This amazing image captures every moon phase (from crescent to full) over a 2 week period in April. Amazing because I have never achieved this before due to cloud/weather. The first waxing crescent was captured on 14th April and the final full Supermoon (Pink moon) captured on 26th April. This is the monochrome version. Gear: Olympus EM1 mk3 100-400mm lens x2 tele-converter (few of crescent shots) Star Adventurer Sky Watcher tracking mount Tripod with ball head & Move Shoot Move head Remote cable shutter release. All the individual images were put together in this final composite.
