Astro Mammoth Studio

03/09/2026

I really appreciate the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau for sharing my winter photo of Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct from the Zane Grey Public Access Boat Launch along the Delaware River. Mornings like this are part of what makes the Poconos so beautiful.

A stunning photo from Zane Grey Public Access Boat Launch 🥰

🗒️ Note from the photographer:
"[This] image was captured just as the sun began to rise above the hillside, facing toward the Roebling Bridge. As the light crested the ridge, a soft yellow glow spread across the treetops and along the top edge of the mountain, with subtle rays reaching through the cold morning air. Below, the landscape still held onto deep blue pre-dawn tones. In the foreground, thick snow had piled over frozen chunks of ice along the river’s edge, with a few sets of footsteps pressed into the deep snow. It was one of those quiet winter mornings where everything feels still and the light changes by the second."

📷 Astro Mammoth Studio

03/01/2026

I didn’t get a chance to head out with the camera this weekend, so I figured I’d share a couple of landscapes from about a month ago, taken the morning after a snowstorm at the Zane Grey Public Access Boat Launch.

The first image was captured just as the sun began to rise above the hillside, facing toward the Roebling Bridge. As the light crested the ridge, a soft yellow glow spread across the treetops and along the top edge of the mountain, with subtle rays reaching through the cold morning air. Below, the landscape still held onto deep blue pre-dawn tones. In the foreground, thick snow had piled over frozen chunks of ice along the river’s edge, with a few sets of footsteps pressed into the deep snow. It was one of those quiet winter mornings where everything feels still and the light changes by the second.

The second image was taken in the opposite direction, looking toward the confluence of the Delaware River and the Lackawaxen River. This scene featured a few larger ice chunks resting along the shoreline and one small tree standing at the edge where the two rivers meet. Without the direct sunrise glow in the frame, the landscape leaned heavily into cool blue tones reflecting off the snow and ice. There was only a tiny hint of yellow along the sky and brushing the very tops of the tree-covered hills, just enough warmth to break up the icy blues.

02/27/2026

Last Saturday we made another trip to the Hudson River, stopping at several locations throughout the day. All of the images here were taken in Croton-on-Hudson, which always seems to have something interesting happening.

The first image is of a Red-tailed Hawk that I believe may be the same one I photographed the week before. It was actively hunting the entire time we were there. At one point it landed on a branch right in front of us, moving its head back and forth, completely locked in. I couldn’t resist posting this particular frame because it was staring straight at me with its eyes wide open. For a moment, it almost looked surprised at the very large lens pointed in its direction. If it was bothered, it didn’t show it. Just moments later it flew across the area and attempted to grab something, likely a mouse, and later landed again to stomp through a pile of leaves in another attempt. I don’t think it caught anything while we watched, but the effort and focus were incredible to witness.

The second image features a female Mallard along the edge of the river. I wanted to get down to true water level to capture a stronger reflection, but there is a raised wall along the edge of the river there, so I worked with the angle I had. Even without being fully at water level, I tried to position myself as low as possible to enhance the reflection and create a bit more separation in the frame.

The third image was a squirrel darting around searching for nuts. It was moving quickly, but I figured I would take a few quick shots anyway. Sometimes those unplanned moments end up being just as fun as the main subjects.

We keep going back to the Hudson because it usually feels active. There is often something moving through the area, and that steady activity makes it a worthwhile place to spend the day.

02/20/2026

More from my first trip to the Hudson with my Canon RF 600!

I had a Canon RF 1.4x teleconverter on the lens, so these shots might be even sharper without it. While waiting for some eagle action, a Ring-billed Gull and a male Mallard duck came really close, giving me the perfect opportunity to test the lens. I did a little sharpening in post like I normally do, but even straight out of the camera, this lens feels incredibly sharp.

I wanted to take as many test shots as possible on this first outing, so these two ended up being my “test shots,” and I’m really happy with how they turned out. It’s always exciting when the wildlife cooperates and lets you put new gear through its paces.

02/19/2026

Three moments from the ice at Steamboat Waterfront Park along the Hudson River.

The first frame shows a bald eagle just before touching down on a nearby sheet of floating ice, a small fish secured in its talons. Wings fully extended and one leg reaching down, it hangs in that brief instant between flight and landing against the snowy, icy surface.

The second image shows an immature bald eagle crossing the soft, icy-blue sky, the sun shining off its wings and the top of its head. Its beautiful spotted white-and-brown plumage is on full display.

In the third frame, the bald eagle is just before impact, slightly facing away, with talons and wings fully outstretched as it strikes.

This was my first photo trip to the Hudson, and it did not disappoint.

02/16/2026

Yesterday morning, I headed out early to Croton Point Park on the Hudson River with my friend Stephen. We were scouting the area to see if it might be a good spot to photograph eagles. We haven’t been seeing many eagles around here lately, so we wanted to explore some new areas.

When we first arrived in the parking lot, a jogger mentioned they had seen a coyote out on the hill in the open grasslands area. We hadn’t planned on looking for one, but once we heard that, we figured it was worth a walk to see if we could find it.

We spent a while walking down below a bluff, further and further down the snowy hill, scanning the landscape to see if we could spot it. As I scanned my surroundings, I noticed it: high on the hill behind us, the coyote sat quietly, watching. It only stayed for a little while before turning and walking over the hillside, and we never saw it again.

Coyotes were new to me in the wild. I’d only ever seen them in zoos or along the roadside while in a car. Yet here it was, perched above us, calm and watchful.

What made it even more special is that this was my first trip out with my new Canon RF 600mm prime lens. I ordered it around Christmas and it finally arrived this week. It almost feels like it was meant to be, my first outing with the lens, and my first time ever seeing and photographing a coyote.

About two hours later, we met up with our friend Tom, and later another photographer named Tim, who was photographing eagles nearby, and we ended up shooting together for several hours before finally heading home.

We did end up finding plenty of eagles as well. All in all, it was a fantastic trip. I’ll have more to share from this adventure, so stay tuned!

02/08/2026

This is a red-tailed hawk that the locals at the Shawangunk Grasslands called Millie. She was an incredible hunter, and nearly every time I was there, she seemed to be catching voles. As far as I know, she hasn’t been seen this year, and I miss the amazing opportunities to photograph her.

I recently came across two flight shots of her from last year that I somehow never edited, and I still can’t believe I let them sit that long. One was taken during golden hour as she flew to her right, with the sky fading smoothly from warm yellows and oranges into blue.

The second image captures her just after takeoff, looking off to her left. The funny part, and something I never noticed until now, is that if you look closely, there’s what looks like a bee flying right where she’s looking. Totally unplanned, and a perfect little detail to discover a year later.

Seeing these shots again makes me hope she’s out there somewhere, hunting and soaring. I’ll always treasure the time I had photographing her and the little surprises she left in each frame.

02/04/2026

Two photos from different days over the past few months.

The first is a wide scene of a short-eared owl perched on a snow-covered boulder in a grassy field, kept small in the frame on purpose. The owl started out about the size of a dot, and cropping it to this scene felt like the best way to show the space around it and tell more of the story. Sitting up there on the snow with the wind blowing, the owl looked really cold. I’m not sure who was colder, me or the owl.

The second is a female cardinal I photographed while waiting in the eagle blind at Mongaup Falls. She was close enough that I could capture a lot of the feather detail.

02/01/2026

A few more moments from yesterday morning at the Roebling Bridge in Lackawaxen, PA. A bald eagle landed in a tree just off the bridge, sitting quietly on a branch as the rising sun backlit the scene. Later, it flew overhead, giving a clear sense of just how massive their wingspan is compared to their body.

02/01/2026

Spent some time today at the Roebling Bridge in Lackawaxen, PA with friends, watching this bald eagle from one of its favorite roosting spots. When it finally took off, it flew right past me and circled overhead for a while before heading up river. Not long after, it returned to the same spot.

01/25/2026

The Andromeda Galaxy has quietly become one of my favorite objects in the night sky. With a huge snowstorm keeping me stuck inside, I figured it was the perfect time to share this image, which I just finished editing last night.

I previously captured Andromeda with my ASI533MC Pro one-shot color camera, which has a smaller, square sensor. This image, however, combines many more hours of data and was captured with my ASI6200MM Pro monochrome camera, featuring a superior full-frame imaging sensor that provides higher resolution, greater sensitivity, and more control over each color channel. The data was collected over several nights, starting in the fall of ’25 and finishing with the green channel on January 20, 2026. All imaging was done with my Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED, and the frames were carefully combined into the final image.

This is an LRGB + Ha integration
Red: 2h 15m
Green: 3h 30m
Blue: 2h
Hydrogen alpha: 2h 35m
Luminance: 1h

Total exposure: 11h 20m

A few fun things about Andromeda: it is the closest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way at about 2.5 million light-years away, contains roughly one trillion stars, and is on a slow collision course with our galaxy, expected to merge with the Milky Way in about 4.5 billion years. Its sweeping spiral arms and dark dust lanes make it one of the most spectacular objects in the night sky.

Something about Andromeda keeps pulling me back, and I’m sure I’ll revisit it again soon.