Monument Rock Kansas
28 Miles South of Oakley
First Trip
December 4th, 2023
Drive Time From Base: 1 hour 45 minutes
Time of Day: Evening & Night
Mission: Startrails 2nd Attempt
Results: Completed with additional Sunset
As part of my research for finding good foregrounds for startrails in Kansas, I discovered Monument Rock. This feature is one of many in the area south of Oakley. Comprised mostly of sandstone, Monument Rock stands out in the vast plains of Kansas like a skyscraper in a city. I left in the mid-afternoon to attempt my second startrail shoot, having learned some new techniques from my Castle Rock shoot a month earlier. (You can check out that log entry here.)
As I crested the last hill to the west before the small valley, the rock formations appeared on the horizon. They were not as defined from a distance, but as I drove up, I could see them more clearly. Once on the property, I could see the arch of Monument Rock at the end of a string of sandstone formations. There is no vegetation around the rocks due to the frequent traffic, which makes for easy access to many locations to set up a tripod and prepare for night shots.
For this adventure, I brought two cameras: my primary camera was the Canon 60D with an external timer purchased from Amazon. My lens was a dedicated 24mm 2.8 aperture built by Canon. My secondary camera was a Canon EOS M50 Mark II using the kit lens 15mm-50mm. Before the Golden Hour started, I drove around the site to survey the land. I found five locations on the formation that included Monument Rock, and two other formations that I did not have time to survey on this adventure.
I had the opportunity to capture the stunning sunset behind a magnificent rock formation using my EOS M50 Mark II camera. The challenge I faced was that I had to free-hand the camera without any additional light reflector to enhance the details on the rock face. I also took the opportunity to compare the images captured with my M50 and iPhone side-by-side. As expected, the M50 won, allowing me to have greater control over manual settings to bring out the colors I desired.
As the sun continued to set, I spent an hour moving around the rock formation, capturing the beautiful golden light rays as they hit the rocks. I was also fascinated by the shadows cast by the rocks over the prairie land, and made sure to capture those as well. The experience was truly breathtaking, and I am grateful to have captured it through my lens.
As the sun finally set over the horizon, the clouds moved just enough to let the sun flare hit the lens, resulting in what I believe is my favorite photo of 2023. After that, I headed back to my car and drove to my first location to set up the 60D camera. Since I knew I would be there for five hours, I chose locations that I hoped would not have too many clouds passing by. However, I was wrong most of the time during my adventure.
To power the 60D, I used an external battery pack connected through a USB-C Cable Battery inverter to ensure I had enough battery power for all of my exposures. I also used a heavy-duty tripod with partially extended legs to minimize wind shake in the Kansas wind. I set the external timer to take 17-second exposures followed by a one-second delay for data saving, and I repeated this process for 600 images. Depending on the exposure time I wanted, I took more or fewer exposures.
To get an augmented reality view of the star trails and focus my camera on the North Star, I used an app called PhotoPills on my iPhone. Once everything was set up, I drove away from the site and let the camera do its thing.
Finally, I used a single battery-powered light off to the side of the camera to try and create some shadows and highlights on the rocks. Even with the power turned all the way down to 1% and all but 5 LEDs covered on my light, it was still too harsh. However, you will be able to see that later.
As I allowed my Canon 60D to take exposures for the next hour, I set up my Canon M50 camera near Monument Rock. My aim was to capture some still images of the stars. Since the moon was not scheduled to rise for another 7 hours, I knew I could attempt to photograph the back side of the Milky Way. However, I was struggling with clouds in the area, which made it challenging to get clear images. Nonetheless, sometimes clouds can be beneficial, as they add a new layer to the sky and create a break in the stars. As it was already well past sunset, I was able to use a longer exposure time of 20 seconds at 3.5 f-stop and 18mm. Although the stars are not entirely still in the image, if you look closely enough, you can see some very tiny trails. Nevertheless, it still has a different look than the star trail images captured by the other camera.
After finishing with the M50 images, I decided it was time to stay warm in the car. With the temperature now below freezing, I wanted to relax in the warm car. Every hour, I drove back to the 60D to stop the timer, make sure photos were taken, and move to the next location. I repeated this four times that night, and in between, I watched the star-lit sky for shooting stars that never seemed to be where I had the camera pointed. After the clock struck 12:30 am, I packed up the gear and started my nearly two-hour drive back home.
Over the next few days, I spent my time editing the photos that I had taken. I started by selecting the images with little to no clouds that would interfere with the quality of the pictures and then began post-processing the stacks I had taken. In the case of this particular photo, it was taken over a 30-minute time frame as there were clouds in the first half of the photo session. Once I had selected the images without clouds, I had to go through each photo and remove the airplane trails. The number of planes that made it into the image varied depending on the direction. In this particular case, there were only four planes that made it through.
I was able to achieve a similar style as the image attached, by stacking multiple images taken over the course of an hour. Although there were more than four planes in the original photos, I spent three hours editing them out to produce a clean final image. I was particularly proud of this photo, as it was only my fourth attempt at capturing star trails. While I know there is still much to learn and improve upon, I can see a significant improvement from my first attempt at Castle Rock just a month prior.
I can hardly wait to return to this location once again. The Monument Rock, a geological marvel, standing tall and proud, with intricate formations etched into its surface. This location is situated in a Class 2 Light Pollution zone, allowing for stunning views of sunsets, sunrises, and the vast expanse of the night sky, making it an ideal spot for astrophotography.
As I pen this journal entry, I hope that my words inspire you to pick up your camera and capture the beauty of the world around us. You don't need an expensive setup to capture stunning images, all you need is the passion and drive to do so. Even my trusty old Canon 60D, which was released 14 years ago, is still capable of taking breathtaking photographs. So, dust off that old camera and let your creativity soar!
Christopher Schroeder
Written 1/25/24