Aaron Stevens Photography

Astrophotography

My favorite images this year have been of deep space objects (DSOs). Due to life getting in the way I wasn't able to get out very frequently for terrestrial photography, but I was able to get my telescope out for most of the clear nights.

The images with (UT) in their titles are from when I was able to take my telescope to an incredibly dark sky site in southern Utah, where my spouse and I explored the national parks for our anniversary. The rest were all taken from my backyard "observatory" in a heavily light polluted suburb.

Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Pro (color)

Mount: SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro

Controller: ASIAir

Telescopes: Askar 103APO (700mm) and Askar V (260-500mm)

Leo Triplet

Whirlpool Galaxy

Hairpin Galaxy

Whale Galaxy

The Core of Andromeda

Andromeda

Triangulum Galaxy

Dumbbell Nebula

Elephant Trunk Nebula

Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster

Monkey Head Nebula

Eastern Veil Nebula

Sadr Region Nebulosity

Pacman Nebula

Crescent Nebula

The Pleiades

Heart Nebula

Rosette Nebula

Flaming Star Nebula

Jellyfish Nebula

California Nebula

Western Veil Nebula (bi-colors)

Great Nebula in Orion

Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae (UT)

Eagle Nebula (UT)

Omega Nebula (UT)

Iris Nebula (UT)

Lobster Claw and Bubble Nebulae (UT)

Wizard Nebula (UT)

Cocoon Nebula (UT)

Around Arkansas

While I wish I could have gotten my DSLR out more often, I think I managed to get a few good shots in 2025. I also started dipping my toes into film photography, and have started experimenting more with older, weirder optics. It may take me some time, but I think this will become part of my style as a photographer as I continue to improve.

Petite Jean State Park

Doe in the Mist

Nature's Aperture

A Warbler Inspecting a Spider's Web

Mushrooms by the Arkansas River

Utah

Finally, my big trip in 2025 was to southern Utah, where I spent an awesome week with my spouse as we celebrated our anniversary. We love a good road trip, and spending hours in the car together sounded perfect. We enjoyed some hiking, sight seeing, and got some cute pics under the Milky Way. This represents a small subset of the large number of photos I took on that trip, including some on film

Favorites

These ended up being my absolute favorite photos I took in 2025, ones that came from unexpectedly good conditions.

One morning I went out to the Big Dam Bridge across the Arkansas River, and I was rewarded with the most gorgeous sunrise I've ever seen. This image is edited, but the colors are as close to reality as I could get them. It's hard to believe this was taken in the middle of a metro area.

On November 11th, 2025 the Earth was hit with a particularly powerful solar storm, allowing the entire country to see the aurora. This was the best I've ever seen it, and it was an amazing experience. I had to rush out to find a good place for a photo, and this was the best I could get to in a short period of time. Every minute of driving was a minute that I wasn't capturing this unique event. This isn't the best aurora photo of all time, of course, but it was certainly a memorable experience.

IC63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia

This nebula is a challenging target for many astronomers. It is very faint and requires long integration times, particularly under light polluted skies. This image took over 20 hours of exposure time captured across two weeks in October. I am very happy with this edit, the colors and detail are perfectly my style.

IC434 - The Horsehead Nebula

This famous nebula is a popular beginner target for many astronomers, as it is easy to spot visually and shows up well to cameras. Here I decided to use my longest telescope to really zoom in on the horsehead itself, saving the nearby Flame Nebula for another night. With a total of about 12 hours of exposures this one was also one of my bigger astrophotography projects of last year.

NGC2024 - The Flame Nebula

Sitting just next to the Horsehead Nebula, the Flame is a dynamic region of active star formation, with many complex and interesting formations scattered around it. As with the Horsehead Nebula I got around 11 hours of total exposure time to create this image with such detail.