Stan Honda captures the stars
Photographer Stan Honda has gone from photographing stars on the red carpet to stars in the sky around the world. Honda traded in a fast-paced news career where exposures are captured in 1/500th of a second for the pursuit of night sky landscape photography, where exposures are often over an hour long.
An award-winning photojournalist for 34 years, Honda covered some of the biggest stories of the last 25 years while based in New York City for French news agency Agence France-Presse.
He covered the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the aftermath; the Iraqi war in 2003 and 2004; Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005; the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns and inauguration of Barack Obama; the Haiti earthquake and World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa in 2010; and 11 space shuttle launches in Florida.
“Night sky photography combines my longtime interests in astronomy and photography” Honda told Yahoo News Photo Editor David Handschuh recently. “Shooting mainly with wide-angle lenses and digital cameras, I bring a human perspective to the universe as I photograph the night sky and the earth below.”
Honda has worked as an artist in residence at four national parks, producing photographs that underscore the importance of preserving our view of the night sky. His images of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico were used in a report that led to Chaco being designated an International Dark Sky Park.
Honda frequently brings his knowledge and passion for the skies and photography to lectures and night sky photography workshops, where he talks about his work. An exhibition of his stunning night sky landscapes will be held at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff, Ariz., in 2015.
A board member of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, Honda helps organize public skywatching in various locations around New York City, including Central Park. While Honda travels throughout the world to photograph astronomical events, he has even managed to capture celestial moments just blocks from his apartment in Manhattan.
You can see more of Honda’s stunning night sky photography on his website.
See more of Stan Honda's photography and our other slideshows on Yahoo News!
