Creek running over granite slabs in the Big Arroyo beneath a deep blue star-lit sky, Sequoia National Park.

Starlight on the Slabs

Big Arroyo, Sequoia National Park, California

This one took hours and three separate takes — a golden hour version, a blue hour version, and an astro version once it was properly dark. What survived is a time blend: the sky from the astro frame, the foreground and middle ground from blue hour, thirteen seconds at ISO 80 while there was still light enough to hold texture in the granite. Shoot the stars alone and the bottom half of the picture is just black.

Nikon Z 7_2 · NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S · 16mm · f/11 · 13s · ISO 80

July 16, 2026

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