Interesting Photo of the Day: Starry Skies Over the Cascades

Anyone who’s visited the American Pacific Northwest can attest to the beauty of the Cascade Mountains. In a stunning pair of images, photographer Steve Schwindt proves that the majesty and grandeur of the landscape ceases to disappear once the sun sets below the horizon:

three fingered jack mountain moonset

Moonset behind Three Fingered Jack in Oregon (Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

Using a Canon 5D Mark II equipped with a Rokinin 24mm lens, Schwindt seized the beauty of the wilderness outside of his hometown of Portland, Oregon while on a backpacking trip. Using 11 exposures to reduce camera noise and bring out darker details in the meadow that lies at the foot of an inactive volcano known as Three Fingered Jack, he composited the consecutive shots with the help of Lightroom and Photoshop.

Pleased by the final outcome, he replicated the technique to capture one of the highest peaks in North America, Mt. Rainier:

mt rainier milky way

Mt. Rainier (Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

Although the photographs feature similar subject matter beneath equally stunning skies, each evokes a unique mood that’s difficult to turn away from.

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