For the Rocky Mountain Collegian, Christina photographs news, entertainment and sports. To view more photos from her work, please visit her portfolio.
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Feature: Astro Showcase
Chasing the Stars: An Astrophotography Experience
Jupiter rising with the moon in Fort Collins over the east sky | April 2016“Even so close to town at Horsetooth Reservoir, looking up at Jupiter with my bare eye gives me the chills. The simple fact that we can see a planet 588 million kilometers away is simply incredible.”
A view looking north at the Milky Way from Pawnee Grasslands. May | 2016“It’s cold. It’s lonely. It’s spooky. I have no sense of direction and I’ve been walking nearly two miles through the desert in north-eastern Colorado. The wind is brushing up against my chest and I need to eat. Is this photo really worth it?”
Looking north in Wellington, CO | July 2016“Even miles from the Wyoming-Colorado border, light pollution is still evident in the Wellington sky. With a 20 second exposure, which farther west turns out prominent Milky Way shots, the sky is still clouded and stars are light.”
Looking north-west from Glacier Meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park. August | 2016“Hiking in the darkness, an adventure is upon me. With colleagues and friends, silence overcomes us. Looking west into the distant meadows, a pack of elk approach. I can hear them shuffle, but cannot see their bodies.”
Looking north-west at the Milky Way from Red Feather, CO. August | 2016“‘This is the most intense Milky Way exposure I have ever seen,’ I turn to Lawrence and say. There’s nothing better than a warm summer’s night in the Colorado mountains. While we hear echoes of wildlife surrounding Dowdy Lake in Red Feather, my friends and I come closer knowing the simple stars in the night sky are what connect us all in this moment.”
Looking north-west from Long’s Peak at Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. | September 2016“The light pollution is extensive when viewed looking east from Long’s Peak. I turn my tripod and camera, careful not to drop my valuable lens, and expose the eastern sky for nearly 25 seconds.”
Looking north-east from Dowdy Lake at Red Feather National Park. October | 2016“My most prominent shots have been in the north-western Rockies. In Red Feather, I return to Dowdy Lake to shoot one last exposure before the Milky Way’s prominence succumbs to the season.”
Looking at the Pleiades constellation from the Pawnee Grasslands. November | 2016“‘The winter constellations are different than the summer constellations,’ a wise man once told me. Nothing has been more true than this; although the Milky Way is not as prominent during the cold season, my favorite stars come out in the form of Pleiades and Orion.”
Looking south-east at the Milky Way from the Pawnee Grasslands. November | 2016“All of the sudden, walking back through the cold desert, everything in my life had meaning. I was on the path to graduation, I had set myself up for an amazing career, and I had friends who meant the world to me. I knew that as the distant oil rig lights flashed in the background, everything was going to be okay.”
Looking east toward Denver from Lookout Mountain in Colorado. | January 2017“Big city, bright lights. The flashing lights inspire me. They inspire me to work hard and put in effort toward my long-term goals. Standing atop Lookout Mountain, facing the polluted Denver sky, my opportunities are put into perspective in the form of fog. Although I can’t see into the future, the fog means there is more than meets the eye.”
A view of the Big Dipper from West Lake in Red Feather, CO. April | 2017“When I first looked back at the Earth, standing on the Moon, I cried.”
-Alan Shepard talking about his time on the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission in February 1971.