Show Notes for the Billy Newman Photo Podcast Episode Summary Billy shares reflections on creative workflows in photography, discusses Comet NEOWISE and stargazing in rural Oregon, recounts recent outdoor camping and photo expeditions, and dives into technical thoughts on camera equipment and the creative process. He also touches on issues like light pollution, the evolving nature of digital cameras, and the unique challenges of capturing stunning night sky photography. Chapter Guide Timestamp Chapter Title Segment Highlights 00:00 Opening & Creative Reflections Creative challenge in photography, blending business and creative growth, brief show intro with music. 01:30 Website & Book Plugs Directing listeners to BillyNewmanPhoto.com and his photo books on Amazon; themes — film, desert, surrealism. 02:30 Camping & Comet NEOWISE Recounts July camping in Eastern Oregon seeking views and photographs of NEOWISE; context of earlier “great comets.” 06:30 Childhood Astronomy Memories Reminiscing about viewing comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in the 1990s; missing Halley’s comet and thoughts on astronomical cycles. 08:30 NEOWISE Observing Details Discusses best locations, challenges of light pollution and haze near sea level, and the difference clear mountain skies make. 10:30 Field Photography and Stargazing Describes equipment and techniques: using binoculars, manual focus, and camera settings, plus tips for night sky shots in the John Day River valley. 15:00 Outdoor Adventure Recap Details on the travel route, dispersed camping, Oregon terrain, rivers, geology, and solitude near the John Day River. 19:00 More on NEOWISE and Night Shots Observing NEOWISE in prime conditions, handling photography challenges, recording images till late night, astronomical observation techniques. 22:30 Tech Talk: Cameras & Workflow Reflections on camera gear — Sony a7R, its quirks, “chimping,” differences with older cameras, and latest high-speed image technology. 27:00 Outro & Calls to Action Directs to BillyNewmanPhoto.com and Patreon, thanks listeners, previews new content, and encourages support. Support the Podcast If you enjoyed this episode, visit billynewmanphoto.com/support or patreon.com/billynewmanphoto to participate in the value-for-value model and find ways to help keep the podcast going. Check out new blog posts, photo books, and more behind-the-scenes content. View links at wnp.app Explore outdoor photography, technical media projects, stories from backcountry expeditions, and insights from the creative process with Billy Newman—photographer, author, and podcast producer. Connect, learn, and follow along. Quick Links:Portfolio: billynewmanphoto.com/photographsStudio: wphoto.coPosts: billynewmanphoto.com/postsPhoto Books: billynewmanphoto.com/booksAmazon Author: amazon.com/author/billynewman Podcast Episodes:Billy Newman Photo Podcast: Listen hereRelax with Rain: Listen hereNight Sky Podcast: Listen here Connect With Billy Newman:Email: billy@billynewmanphoto.comInstagram: @billynewmanLinkedIn: billynewmanphotoX (Twitter): @billynewman Recommended Books:Landscape Portfolio (PDF): DownloadBlack and White Photography (PDF): DownloadWorking With Film (PDF): DownloadWestern Overland Excursion (PDF): Download Support the Podcast & Photography Projects:Make a sustaining financial donation: Visit Support Page Podcast Forward:The Billy Newman Photo Podcast blends real-world outdoor adventure, technical insight, and practical photography tips. [MUSIC] Hello and thank you very much for listening to this episode of the Billy Newman photo podcast. I hear different industries kind of talk about what a good day of work is or how that is to kind of get out and get what you need done. And just as like a creative system, it's sort of tough in photography. There's a lot of the entrepreneurial and sort of business related stuff of how do you get paid and how do you operate in a business, how do you function as a photographer sort of a thing. But still outside of that you need to do something nourishing in the system of creativity where you're kind of gaining new ideas and putting new materials together and sort of figuring out a way to make a union of something new with media and with something visual, especially as fast as technology is moving forward. It's definitely an interesting vector kind of using the progression of technology and artistic creativity to try and make new pieces of media to put out. And that's what I really like about new media as it goes. So it's kind of interesting. I'm kind of thinking about the way of making pieces of media and new media elements and working with photographs and stuff. But it's something that I've been really interested for a long time. [MUSIC] You can see more of my work at BillyNewmanPhoto.com. You can check out some of my photo books on Amazon. I think you can look up Billy Newman under the authors section there and see some of the photo books on film, on the desert, on surrealism, on camping. Some cool stuff over there. And I wanted to jump into a couple of the things I've been doing through the month of July and some of the outdoor camping and travel stuff I've been up to. I was going to run down some of that in this podcast today. I wanted to talk about a trip I did out toward Eastern Oregon, I think like last, or what was a week before last is when I was out in this area. And I was trying to get some good observations in for Comet NeoWise. I'm not sure if any of you guys got to check that out while it was in its prime viewing section there. I think that was why we had the new moon before it switched over to being a gibbous moon or a nearly full moon like it's been the last week or so. But I think, what was it, around the 15th through the 25th or so of July, there were some pretty good observations to be made of Comet NeoWise. I guess after reading about it a little bit, it's not considered a great comet, like HaleBopp was, or I think it was Hayataki in 1996. We haven't had a great comet in a long time. I've ever seen those when I was a kid though, and that was pretty cool. Watching HaleBopp come through for, it seemed like three months or something. You were just looking at that in the low corners of the Northwestern and Western skies. It was cruising across the skyline there. I remember that still from third, fourth grade when it was coming through. And I also remember the year before that, when straight up in the sky at night, for it was only a week or so. I was a kid, but I remember for that week, you could see a real bright two-tailed comet that was going through. I think, I can't remember how to pronounce it, I think it's Hayataki or, I think it's some Japanese name, I'm pretty sure. But that was a really cool one. That one I still remember really clearly. I was only like, I don't know, seven or something when that, when that comet came through, but I really appreciate getting to make some observations. So that one, when I was a kid, I missed Haley's comet though, back in what, '87, I think was the last one it came through. And I probably will be the few years or that, that decade or two of age range that doesn't get to see Haley's comet in their lifetime. So I think I was born in '88, of course. So if I make it past a hundred, maybe I'll see it. What is it? Maybe like 80 something years. So it's probably not going to come back around until, I think it's like the 2070s or 2080s that I'd have to make it to, for to see Haley's comet again. It'd be fun, but I don't know, maybe we'll see how future, how the, you know, the future is at that time. But it was really cool to get to see comet Neowise. It was just a little below what would be the legs and feet of Ursa Major, the Big Dipper or like the Big Bear as it would kind of be observed. But if you kind of look at the Dipper part that we're all mostly familiar with, if you kind of consider Ursa Major, the larger bear constellation that it's structured on, if you kind of look down below the Dipper is where I was able to make my observations, the comet Neowise. And over here in the elevation area that I'm at in Western Oregon, it's about 200 or 300 feet above sea level. And there's kind of a constant problem with haze and with light pollution in this area. And I think it has to do something with, well, like, I mean, of course, you know, the amount of population that's around, but also there's something about the air quality or about how the air kind of flows out around here that just doesn't ever seem to be as crisp or as dark as you can get up in the mountains. And really, it's just like a stunning difference when you're able to get out further and make some some more clear observations. You know, the level of magnitude of stars that you're able to reveal just in a dark night is so much more crisp and clear. It's just like a it's a total difference. So it was cool to I think I first was able to spot just a little fuzzy bit of a second magnitude version of comet Neowise while I was here in town. But I tried to make a special trip out toward eastern Oregon out into the desert just to do some camping stuff. But what I wanted to do at the same time was make some good observations and also try and get some good photographs of common Neowise as it was coming through during its period where you could you could make some some good sightings. But it was cool. So going out to eastern Oregon, as it got dark a little past 1030 or so, as you look to the northwest, you could really see the comet and its tail spread for a couple inches in the sky. And I was really surprised to notice how little of it you could really make out or see when you're in an area of almost any light pollution once you're back in town or once you're in a lower elevation area with some light pollution and haze around. It was really difficult to make out in the same way that I could out in th
