A few hours before the war began - Night Sky

Some nights feel different. On February 23–24, 2022, I was photographing the night sky in Grazalema, Spain. The air felt restless. Even small things went wrong — my tripod unexpectedly broke, clouds rolled in within minutes, and the sky that had been clear suddenly vanished.

At the time, it felt like just another difficult astrophotography session. But only a few hours later, the world changed. The war began.

Looking back at this image now, it carries a different weight. What was simply a quiet night under the stars has become a moment suspended in time — the last peaceful sky before global events shifted history.

A few hours before the war began - Night Sky

Location: Grazalema, Cañada Grande-Los Alamillos S/N, 11610, Spain
Date: February 23–24, 2022

Equipment & Technical Details:
Canon EOS Ra
Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
ISO 12800
15 seconds exposure
Composition of three images
Processed in Adobe Photoshop and Topaz DeNoise AI

Astrophotography often captures more than stars. Sometimes it unknowingly records the final calm before a storm — a reminder that while events on Earth may change suddenly, the night sky above remains constant.

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Canon Ra Panorama Milky Way Toronto Reservoir Bethel, NY

This is one of my early large-format panoramas taken with the Canon EOS Ra. Previous posts featured single exposures, but here I captured a classic wide-field Milky Way panorama composed of 10 separate images, stitched together to reveal far more detail and structure in the galactic core.

The photo was taken at Toronto Reservoir in Bethel, New York, a quiet and scenic area located about 7.7 miles from Monticello in Sullivan County. The reservoir sits in a relatively dark region compared to NYC, making it a great location for astrophotography when the sky is clear.

In the photo you can clearly see the calm surface of the Toronto Reservoir, framed by the dark silhouettes of trees along the shoreline. The water reflects the trees and several bright stars, creating a peaceful mirrored foreground. Above it, the Milky Way stretches like a river in the sky, while the reservoir becomes the river on Earth — both flowing in parallel. A portion of the Galactic Center is also visible, adding extra detail and structure to the panorama.

Canon EOS Ra Panorama Milky Way Toronto Reservoir Bethel, NY

Technical details:
Canon EOS Ra • EF16–35mm f/2.8L II USM • f/2.8 • ISO 6400
Panorama of 10 images, each 8 seconds

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Tennessee Astrophotography - Great American Eclipse - Total Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017

"The Sun was eclipsed; it was all gone. 

It was like ink and without light. 

The stars were visible in the daytime."

-- Hyaku Rensho. (Total solar eclipse of August AD 975)

There are photos from our families expedition to T-Lea Farm, Tellico Plains, Tennessee for Great American Total Eclipse August 21, 2017. In the Shadow of the Moon - 2 min 37 sec.

Solar Corona - Tellico Plains, Tennessee - Total Solar Eclipse 2017, New York City Expedition, photo by Igor Kuskovsky

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 August 21 Canon 60D  Tellico Plains, Tennessee, New York City Expedition, photo by Igor Kuskovsky

Diamond Ring Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Celestron Nexstar 4SE Astrophotography

Solar Corona Great USA Eclipse 2017 Celestron Nexstar 4SE Astrophotography

Solar Eclipse 2017 Aug 21 Dimond Ring and Solar Corona

Solar activity was pretty active (compare other days when no sunspots was visible). Three bright solar flares and couple of sunspot areas (Wolf Number about 66).

The Beginning of Total Solar Eclipse 2017, Aug 21 - Coronado SolarMax II 60 Telescope, Celestron Nexstar 4SE Tripod, Canon 60Da Camera, Tennessee Astrophotography

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 - Celestron Nexstar 4SE Telescope, Canon 60Da Camera, Solar Filter Spectrum Telescope ST525G, Tellico Plains, Tennessee Astrophotography

Telescope Nexstar 4SE Camera Canon 60Da Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Tennessee  Astrophotography

Temperature dropped about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (or 5 degrees Celsius) during the Totality. It was cold! Even small clouds disappeared around the sun, probably because of such temperature inside moon shadow.

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 Black and White T-Lea Farm Tellico Plains Tennessee Astrophotography

Tennessee Astrophotography - Great Total Solar Eclipse 2017, T-Lea Farm, Tellico Plains

Great American Eclipse August 21 2017 Celestron 4SE

Tennessee Astrophotography - At night before the Solar Eclipse - Milky Way - T-Lea Farm, Tellico Plains

Lighthouse Astrophotography Puerto Rico

These night photographs were captured at Cabo San Juan Lighthouse in Fajardo, Puerto Rico — one of the most scenic historic lighthouses in the Caribbean. Perched above the Atlantic Ocean, the lighthouse provides a dramatic foreground for wide-field astrophotography, combining human history with the natural night sky.

Under dark coastal skies, I photographed the Milky Way region, the Andromeda Galaxy, and winter constellations such as Orion, using a Canon 60Da and a wide-angle lens. The constant ocean wind, salt air, and rotating lighthouse beam made these exposures both challenging and rewarding.

Cabo San Juan (Fajardo) Lighthouse Astrophotography

Canon 60Da,  Wide Angle EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, ISO 3200, f3.5, 30 sec

Light House and Galactic Andromeda - Puerto Rico Astrophotography

Canon 60Da,  Wide Angle EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, ISO 6400, f4, 20 sec

LightHouse Night Sky Astrophotography Puerto Rico — rotating lighthouse beam visible cutting across the sky during long exposure

Canon 60Da,  Wide Angle EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, ISO 6400, f4, 30 sec

The bright diagonal streak visible across the sky is the rotating lighthouse beam, recorded during a long exposure. Unlike aircraft or satellites, the beam produces a broad, continuous band of light that sweeps across the stars as the lighthouse rotates. This effect is especially prominent in coastal astrophotography and cannot be avoided when working close to active navigation lights.

Orion Constellation over Lighthouse Puerto Rico Astrophotography Canon 60Da

Canon 60Da,  Wide Angle EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, ISO 3200, f5, 30 sec

All images were captured during the same Puerto Rico trip, exploring how different celestial targets — from nearby constellations to deep-sky objects like Andromeda — interact with a fixed terrestrial foreground. Lighthouses offer a unique astrophotography subject, symbolizing navigation and light beneath an ancient sky.

Related Astrophotography Posts:

• Puerto Rico Astrophotography – Night Sky and Landscapes
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