The Star Trail: Photography of Ben Canales

08/27/2015

All summer I've been looking forward to the Perseids Meteor shower to try something unique- video of the meteors! I had the incredible opportunity to join up with Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) Astronomy Camp to teach 23 high schoolers how to shoot nigh photos and then meet up with the Oregon Star Party to do a workshop and just hang out in general with 600 astronomers. ...No big deal ;-)

I had the Sony A7s shooting 100k ISO for this...

Check out the video in the link, and great write up by Bonocore, thanks Michael!

As always friends, cheers and clear skies :-)

Filmmaker Ben Canales of Uncage The Soul Productions is no stranger to producing incredible photos and time-lapse films of the night sky. But this year, during the Perseids Meteor Shower, Canales decided to test out the low light film capabilities of the Sony A7s, all while teaching 23 High School..…

07/14/2015

Alright, here's the "Lights Out" video from Mountainfilm in Telluride, CO.
What happens if we try to turn off the city lights intentionally? Is it even possible?..

You'll see the mixed results in the video, next question is... can we do better? Does anyone care? If this idea means something to you- please, pass the video and lets' try to stir some interest up in this crazy concept.

Big thanks to Mountainfilm for being the catalyst to make this come about.

As always, cheers and clear skies :-)
https://vimeo.com/130883522

On May 24, during Telluride Mountainfilm, roughly 80 people — photographers, astronomy fans and festival attendees among them — gathered in front of the San Miguel…

04/30/2015

Fellow Star-enthusiasts, awesome news- at the end of this month, Telluride CO will be the first city to do a 'lights out' event for the singular effort and goal to see the stars without light pollution! This is something really exciting, full of all sorts of potential. Check out the blog for more info, share if it gets you fired up.
Big thanks to Mountainfilm for pushing this into a reality!

Cheers and clear skies, friends :-)

http://www.mountainfilm.org/news/2015/04/27/we’re-not-afraid-of-the-dark

This year at Mountainfilm, the town of Telluride will be the first in the world to try a crazy little experiment. It’s a small idea, but on the scale of a municipality it becomes kind of a big idea. During the late night hours of the festival weekend, we’re going to turn off as many lights as we can…

02/12/2015

Sweet! Got a nice write up by Fstoppers on our Oregon Coast video. In case you haven't seen the video… you should stop what you're doing and check it out…

From its pulse pounding opening scene of a photographer seemingly cheating death as a massive wave breaks on the rocks in front of him, Ben Canales and his partner, John Waller at Uncage The Soul Productions, have created a film that beautifully shows the unique and rugged Oregon Coast like you have…

02/10/2015

I've got an exciting photography development coming up that has me digging through the archives and putting a new processing polish on older images. So, I'll be posting a bunch of these oldies but goodies here:-)

This is from the shoulders of Mt Hood.
The silence was deafening....

01/28/2015

Check out our latest film project showcasing the Oregon Coast during the winter :-) There's some Milky Way over the ocean goodness in there for you star lovers!

Props to The Roadtripper for killing it in all the timelapse work shot in this!

12/03/2014

We got a nice write up of "Requiem of Ice" on the Mother Nature Network today :-)

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/timelapse-video-creates-a-requiem-for-this-spectacular

Images from inside the ice caves and a powerful narrative highlight the beauty, scale and impermanence of the Sandy Glacier Cave system in Oregon.

12/02/2014

This last weekend I jumped away from the work desk to go adventuring in a cold snap bringing fresh snow and cold winds to our local mountains. It was a mind clearing adventure and soul stirring view up at the Cooper Spur climbing shelter :-)

Cheers and clear skies, friends!

11/18/2014

It's been awhile since the last post- but, I've got a special one :-)
Check out our new timelapse video of the Ice Caves up on Mt Hood- and, don't worry, there's some killer stars at the end...
Big thanks to Fstoppers and Michael Bonocore Photography for covering our video.

https://fstoppers.com/timelapse/requiem-ice-visually-stunning-documentary-disappearing-ice-cave-46175

Being a native of the Pacific Northwest, photographer and filmmaker Ben Canales of Uncage The Soul was deeply concerned about the rapid melting of the Sandy Glacier Ice Cave. Wanting to create widespread awareness for this issue, Ben and his team spent over a year filming in the cave system. The res…

09/22/2014

No stars but here's a short video of cool stuff the new IPhone 6+ can do. This thing is so much fun!
https://fstoppers.com/gear/short-film-shows-powerful-video-features-iphone-6-plus-38142 -thread

Oregon based photographer and filmmaker Ben Canales decided to take his shiny new iPhone 6 Plus to the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains to create a short film to show off the power of the new pop tart sized phablet. The resulting footage is great, but is Ben in fear of losing some business to iPhone…

07/24/2014

"We of the night will know many things of which sleepers will never dream."-Bessie Hyde

t's a strange thing to intentionally go out in the dark- at night- to see the stars. Sleep patterns tug on our sleeve to come back to bed. The deep shadows spark spooky imaginations. Heavy contrasted headlamps and flashlights invite tripping over steps or roots. And all the while there's a small voice nagging, "...we shouldn't be doing this.. this is weird.." BUT. All the voices, doubts and sleepiness disappear when you arrive and step through the doorway to the view of a properly dark night sky. It's a rare moment of inner verbal silence that's filled with a resounding "whoa..."

I like how Bessie Hyde says it in her quote above. Honestly, what is it "we of the night" know? ...hmmm.. I'm not sure I can express that in less than four hours of conversation. Laying out under the stars and looking up into the universe speaks into a depth of us that is difficult to express, but impossible not to feel. This summer- go see some stars. That's what I'm trying to say.

07/16/2014

Bonete, Ilhabela Island, Brazil
Remote fishing village on a coastal island.

Welcome to Bonete Village. A small, isolated community of fishermen and families quietly living on the south side of an island removed from the demands of mainland Brazil. While roads crisscross the mainland facing side of Ilhabela Island, no roads connect to Bonete, with access only given by an hour ride in small, but capable sea dinghy.

90% of the lights go off at night when the village generator is shut down around 11. A few lights of the wealthier homes with battery cells stay on, but for the most part, this sleepy fishing village stays sleepy and quiet in the dark, star studded night. Looking out a bedroom, upstairs window- a child in "downtown" Bonete will see the Milky Way and Magellanic Cloud Galaxy as one of her night lights. And meanwhile, the surf quietly "crrrshawwww"'s on the sandy beach, wave after starlit wave. Tropical, warm breezes make the palms dance with a paper-clicking sound as fronds rub against fronds.