therealrueckert

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Long Point Rubitage

Tasting Date: 2/2/2025 Red Blend Long Point Winery United States New York Finger Lakes Cayuga Wine Trail Notes: Begins with a mild, fruit flavor. The bright notes quickly transition to the depth of a full bodied wine. Ends with a mild tannin flavor that plays with the finish, but doesn’t overwhelm. Pairings: I paired this with an Argentinian Steakhouse experience. Jamon crudo con melon,…

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The Sky Between the Shores

I captured this star trail from Indiana Dunes national park, which sits on the southern shores of Lake Michigan. Polaris is nicely framed above the waters of Lake Michigan. To the left or west is the city of Chicago and to the right or east are the vacation town shores of Michigan state. Chicago’s bright lights illuminate the western skies, eroding much of the dark sky. Editing this photo was a…

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Killer Cosplay This composite shot is a Darth Revan cosplay image captured at Star Wars Celebration in April of 2019 in Chicago juxtaposed with a 2 hour star trail taken under the dark New Mexican skies at Chaco Conyon in May of 2019.

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A Quick Trip To Missouri

A Quick Trip To Missouri

I drove out to Missouri for a quick star trail trip. After my initial campsite was washed out due to heavy rains, I ended up in Mark Twain’s hometown shooting from a city park that overlooked the Mississippi.

In the little town of Hannibal, MO the spirit of Mark Twain is very much present. I camped above the very caves that inspired some of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. There’s a museum in…

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The Dance Above The Mississippi

The Dance Above The Mississippi

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – stars f2.8 foreground f22 – stars ISO 1000 foreground ISO 200 – 115 Minutes – 30 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 07/01/2019 09:59:00 PM CDT – from Lover’s Leap in Hannibal, MO

This was taken in Hannibal, MO in a city park called “Lover’s Leap”. The park is a top a hill with a lovely view of the Mississippi River, the town of Hannibal, the I-70 bridge, and the distant…

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The Land of Fireflies

The Land of Fireflies

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – f2.8 – ISO 1600 – 182 Minutes – 30 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 07/02/2019 01:13:00 AM CDT – on Top of the Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, MO

My July Star Trail journey took me to Missouri. I had planned on shooting at Apple River in Illinois, but the weather worked out better for me to shoot a bit further south in order to get around some scattered thunderstorms in…

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Homeward Skies

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – f4.0 – ISO 400 – 135 Minutes – 30 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 06/10/2019 12:17:00 AM MDT – Avondale in Chicago, IL

Taken on a clear June night after I got kicked out of my primary shooting location by the police (apparently the harbor I was shooting at closes at 11pm – so early). I let my camera capture two hours of Chicago stars.

As always, editing these is a…

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Of Planes, Boats, And City Lights

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Mesa Verde: Dark Skies and Archaeology

Mesa Verde: Dark Skies and Archaeology

Situated near the four corners region of southwest Colorado, Mesa Verde boasts deep mountain top views, dark skies, and the archaeology of an ancestral Pueblo civilization. Accessing the park was relatively easy. The park is located near several ski resorts so it is relatively accessible by road and air. I flew into Durango, CO and was able to reach Mesa Verde within 90 minutes of landing.…

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A Far View

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – f2.8 – ISO 800 – 270 Minutes – 30 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 05/04/2019 01:52:00 AM MDT – Far View Observatory in Mesa Verde National Park, CO

My last night at Mesa Verde culminated with this night time photo shoot at the Far View Observatory. After 3 days at altitude and long days of hiking, I was starting to get tired and was nervous that I wouldn’t have the…

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The Great American Eclipse: Re-Edit

The Great American Eclipse: Re-Edit

This August 2017 shoot was one of the most challenging but rewarding of my life. The eclipse was entirely weather dependent. I shot this in a very rural part of IL – near the Ohio River – among throngs of other spectators and onlookers. There were some many people around that it almost broke southern Illinois’ infrastructure. Places were running out of food, rest stops and bathrooms were…

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Shawnee National Forest

Photo blog from Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois

Southern Illinois, also known as ‘little Egypt’ locally, held a few surprises for me on my first real visit to this location. I had previously stopped in Shawnee National Forest in August of 2017 for a day to shoot the solar eclipse but I was, shall way say, distracted by other factors on that day and particularly soaking up the area.

At elevation in Illinois

Unfortunately, the weather did…

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Blue at Altitude

Title: Blue at Altitude Info: Far View Lodge at Mesa Verda, CO Read more: http://www.therealrueckert.com/?p=1553

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – f2.8 – ISO 1600 – 360 Minutes – 30 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 05/03/2019 02:02:00 AM MDT – Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – f2.8 – ISO 1600-6400 – 4 Minutes – 30 HDR Merged Photos, Different ISO Values – 05/03/2019 02:01:00 AM MDT – Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde National Park, CO

Sometimes you don’t have to go far for…

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Cortez's Gold

Cortez’s Gold

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – f2.58 – ISO 1600 – 90 Minutes – 15 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 05/02/2019 11:16:00 PM MDT – Park Point in Mesa Verde National Park, CO

8500 feet – my highest altitude star trail to date! The road up to the mountain top was gated off, so I had to hike it to the top. It was only half-a-mile and 600 feet up from where I started walking. Let me tell you, first day at…

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The Making of a Dream

The Making of a Dream

Nikon d7200 – 10mm – f3.5 – ISO 1600 Stars / 6400 Foreground – 90 Minutes – 15 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 05/01/2019 08:43:17 PM MDT – Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Taken from the high desert Chaco Canyon ancestral pueblo people site in northwest New Mexico. May, 2019.

I don’t take a lot of selfies in my work, but I bucked the norm with this piece. I wanted to capture something…

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Pixie Dust

Nikon d7200 – 10mm – f3.5 – ISO 400 – 180 Minutes – 30 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 04/04/2019 4:59:00 AM CST – Near The Garden Of The Gods, IL

I left a background shot at a higher ISO in the mix in order to create a ‘pixie dust sky” effect with some single stars shinning through into the final exposure. Cloud cover was a major challenge in this shoot. Also, I was running up against…

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The Four Flames

Nikon d7200 – 10.5mm – f2.8 – ISO 1600 – 360 Minutes – 15 Second Multiple Stacked Takes – 04/03/2019 9:36:00 PM CST – Near The Garden Of The Gods, IL

Polaris is nicely framed above the tree tops in my first stacked 4 hour long shoot. While I am proud of this photo, the cloud cover did not always play well with me during this shoot, leaving me to heavily edit many shots in this stack in order…