Royce Bair

09/15/2026

Forget "The Wave" !!
White Pocket is only 5 miles to the east. It's usually much less crowded, doesn't require a lottery system permit and has geological features (like "brain rock") that The Wave does not.

I went here last week (for the 3rd time), traveling in my Subaru Outback—not the suggested high-clearance 4WD for driving in deep sand (but it's very doable).

Here's a single exposure using a 14mm on my Canon R6 (astro-mod by Spencer's Camera & Photo). I did blend in another single of the foreground rocks, refocused for greater DOF, so I guess you'd technically have to call this a focus-stacked "blend" 😉

I also used a subtle amount of my signature LLL to add texture and depth to the "sombrero" swirl feature. You'll find more info and supporting photos on White Pocket in my free Patreon post:

https://www.patreon.com/royce.../posts/forget-wave-169598530

08/27/2026

Don’t miss the deep partial lunar eclipse Thursday night/ early Friday Morning!

On August 27, Earth’s shadow will sweep across almost the entire Moon, creating a dramatic partial lunar eclipse visible across Utah and much of North America. At maximum eclipse, Earth’s dark shadow will reach across about 93% of the Moon’s diameter, leaving only a small portion brightly illuminated.

Here in Utah:
🌕 Moonrise: Around 8:00 PM
🌘 Partial eclipse begins: 8:33 PM
🌑 Maximum eclipse: 10:12 PM
🌒 Partial eclipse ends: 11:51 PM

The eclipse begins while the Moon is still very low in the eastern sky, so find somewhere with a clear view toward the east/southeast.
No telescope needed. No special eclipse glasses needed. Just walk outside and look up!

If you’d like monthly photography tips and night sky highlights, comment DIGEST, and I’ll send you the link.

Save this post so you remember to watch Thursday night, and send it to someone who needs to see it with you.

08/16/2026

Well, this is pretty bloody cool! ✨

“Razorback” has won the Nightscapes category of DarkSky International’s Capture the Dark Photo Contest.

I shot this at Razorback Lookout in South Australia back in September 2025, and only recently got around to properly editing it, this is the first time sharing it.

This one means a lot. I’ve spent years chasing dark skies and putting a huge amount of time into astrophotography, so having one of my images recognised by an organisation whose work I genuinely love is pretty special.

Huge thanks to DarkSky International for the recognition.

Swipe through the slides for a closer look at some space junk crossing the zodiacal light, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the Razorback Lookout sign.

Very stoked to finally share this one.

Razorback Lookout, South Australia

Ground
Canon R5 — 24 shots
1/20s / f16 / ISO800

Sky
Canon R6ii H-alpha mod by Spencer's Camera & Photo — 24 tracked shots
30s / f2.8 / ISO3200
All with the Sigma 28mm Art
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i

I should also mention I was over in South Australia with William Godward Photography, and was lucky enough to have him take me to this unreal spot in his own backyard.

06/30/2026

I took this photo last summer in Bryce Canyon with my 15mm IRIX lens. Super sharp, except for this one blurry area near the horizon. Go figure!

However, I fixed that with BlurXTerminator. Deep sky astrophotographers have used this software for years via PixInsight.

ANNOUNCEMENT: As of June 24th, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, and NoiseXTerminator are now no longer dependent on PixInsight or Photoshop. The new stand-alone RC-Astro command-line interface (CLI) tool is now available for beta testing (www.rc-astro.com/stand-alone-rc-astro-tools)!

Easily integrated into any application, or use it from the command line, and already integrated into Siril and Seti Astro Suite Pro (both are free apps).

I’ve been using StarXTerminator and NoiseXTerminator as plug-ins with Photoshop; however, until last week, BlurXTerminator was only available to work with PixInsight, which costs €300 or $342. I’m now using it as a script within the free Siril software app. Check out the results in my reel. BlurXTerminator is solving some problems that have been bugging me for years!

DISCOUNTS: If you’re not currently using BlurXTerminator (or any of the other two), now is a great time to test them out. You can get 10% off any of the apps right now using discount code VIEWINTOSPACE10. The more apps you buy, the better your discount. Existing licenses are still honored (no additional cost). You can also do a 30-day free trial on any of the apps. Discount code is good thru July 31st.

www.rc-astro.com

Full disclosure: I’m not getting anything out of this promo — just the satisfaction of knowing you’ll have another great tool(s) to edit your nightscapes :)

StarXTerminator and NoiseXTetminator are $60 each. BlurXTerminator is $100 (without the discount code or bundling discounts).

06/25/2026

This timelapse was taken earlier this month at a Bortle Class 2 alpine lake location with my Mission 1 Pro. I took 30 sec exposures at ISO 6400 in Timelapse mode. I had the camera shoot for 3 hours and it automatically presented this timelapse video.

I also took still photos earlier that night with the Mission 1 Pro. It’s amazing how well it compares with my astro-modified Canon R6 (by ), using a Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens (although I should have used a 14mm for a similar FOV comparison). That combination cost about $3,400 compared to $699 for the GoPro. Yes, the images from my full frame sensor camera were better, but not significantly, especially factoring in the price!

I discovered that I could stack ISO 6400/30 sec exposures on the Mission 1 Pro, just like I do with my full frame mirrorless cameras, for increased quality and lower noise. I do miss the ability to modify the sensor on the M1 Pro for greater nebulosity, but I guess one can’t have everything! (Who knows, might come up with future a clip-in ;-)

The Mission 1 Pro’s lens is well corrected for coma in the edges and corners (see the comparisons in my reel). The Mission 1 Pro lens is a fixed f/2.8 lens. The f/1.4 Sigma was stopped down to f/2, to reduce coma and still allow for a 10” exposure to stop star movement. The M1 Pro’s exposure was 30”, which produces only slightly elliptical stars with this len’s focal length and FOV.

Check out ’s Mission 1 Pro comparisons with his Sony A7S3.

I plan to shoot much more timelapse footage and star trails in the future with the Mission 1 Pro. It’s a fantastic 2nd camera and BTS camera. The Star Trails & Timelapse mode settings allow for many automated features and easy built-in post processing.

For a limited time, you can still get 10% off the Mission 1 Pro at checkout by using the promo code NIGHTSCAPER10.

06/19/2026

How I use the new ZWO Seestar S30 Pro to easily capture deepsky astronomy objects and combine them with nighttime foregrounds to create unique nightscapes.

This review of the S30 Pro is a little long for an Instagram reel—it has become more of a how-to tutorial! I hope you find it useful. If the beginning images interest you, please bookmark it (“Save”) and come back to watch the full 7 minutes.

The S30 Pro is an amazing smart telescope for less than $700 (USD). I found it much more capable than other smart telescopes, and a great companion for the astro-landscape (nightscape) photographer who also wants to explore and add deepsky objects to his/her portfolio.

For more information, go to .official
or use my affiliate link: https://upf.ai/ku38hc5x (which supports my astro photography habit, at no additional cost to you).

FULL DISCLOSURE: ZWO sent me the Seestar S30 Pro and asked me to give an honest review. The following paragraphs summarize my findings:

The S30 Pro’s two-lens system also allows you to shoot true Milky Way nightscapes and star trails (with foregrounds) much better than any smartphone, although it’s secondary lens doesn’t quite match the results you’ll get from a prosumer mirrorless camera/lens setup (which costs at least 3X more than the S30 Pro).

The detail from the main telescope (4-element apochromatic lens with ED glass) and sensor (4K Sony IMX585 backlit) was quite impressive for such a small investment—and this was without using their 8K DSO Mosaic Stitching feature. To achieve this quality, you would need to invest about $3K in astronomy gear (telescope, equatorial mount, and camera), buy PixInsight software (300 EUR), and learn how to use it. The Seestar handles all the integration (exposure stacking) and stitching for you—no extra software is required. Of course, it also allows you to save the raw files if you want to do additional post-processing on your own.

NOTE: I was also asked to review the Vespera Pro Smart Telescope last year. Although I found it to be slightly more capable than the Seestar S30 Pro, it was also 3X more expensive.

06/08/2026

This is a starry night view of the western end of the Uinta Highline Trail. It’s only 80 miles from my home in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it’s where I often go for solitude and to connect with nature and the universe. That’s the core of the Milky Way Galaxy directly overhead.

I’m currently listening to the podcast by ’s investigative reporter , known for his popular .

The Uinta Triangle is a remote, rugged wilderness area in Utah’s Uinta Mountains known for swallow-whole disappearances. The term gained prominence through a 9-part true-crime podcast of the same name, hosted by Dave Cawley.

Despite meticulous planning, GPS tracking, and safety gear, Eric Robinson, an experienced 64-year-old solo trekker (High Sierra and Himalayas), failed to emerge at his destination, this very spot.

If you listen to the podcast, I strongly recommend using a good set of stereo headphones as the background sounds Dave recorded in the wild are truly immersive. In fact, Episode 1 Bonus, “Sounds of the Wild,” tells how and why he made these recordings for the podcast. Fascinating stuff!

03/27/2026

Have single exposures become old fashioned and out of date?

Do you ever feel that your nightscape images are 2nd class—that they aren't as cool and sophisticated as some of the images you see posted on social media? READ MORE in my free Patreon post:

Get more from Royce Bair on Patreon

02/13/2026

Join me in Sedona, AZ on Monday, Feb 23rd, 6:00 PM at the Sedona Camera Club for my "Going to the Dark Side" program, where I'll teach you how to capture Milky Way nightscapes like these. Go to www.RoyceBair.com for event details.

02/13/2026

Join me in Sedona, AZ on Monday, Feb 23rd, 6:00 PM at the Sedona Camera Club for my "Going to the Dark Side" program, where I'll teach you how to do dozens of Milky Way nightscape techniques. Go to www.RoyceBair.com for more details on this event.

This photo was taken with an inexpensive GoPro Hero13 Black camera, using its built-in TimeLapse / Star Trails function. I just pressed a few buttons to set up the mode and the camera automatically took 360 30-second timelapse exposures over a three-hour period. It then stacked them together (in about 10-seconds) and presented me with both a 12-second 5.3K video timelapse AND this 27MP still image. This vertical ("portrait") image was cropped from a previously posted horizontal ("landscape") image.