Night sky long exposure above a snowy village with two photographers in the foreground — Majichal · Star trails

Portfolio · Story 01

Under the spinning sky in Majichal.

This is how I like to remember winter: quiet mountains, a sleeping village, and the sky slowly painting circles above our heads while the shutter stays open.

Theme · Night sky & friendship

Technique · Long‑exposure star trails

Feeling · Cold air, warm company

We hiked up before midnight with tripods, thermoses, and too many batteries. By the time the exposure finished, the village lights had softened and the sky had turned into a time‑lapse on a single frame. What I try to capture in nights like this is less about the stars and more about the people who decide to stand in the snow and wait for them.

Milky Way core rising above a lone tree near Semnan, Iran — Semnan · Milky Way core

Portfolio · Story 02

The Milky Way over Semnan.

Far from the city glow, the Milky Way finally shows its real texture — dust lanes, nebulae, and a river of stars rising quietly over a single tree.

Theme · Quiet nights & deep sky

Technique · Tracked exposure, careful post‑processing

Feeling · Silence, distance, and perspective

This frame is from Semnan, Iran — a place where the sky still feels heavy with stars. I spent the night letting the tracker follow the core while I watched the silhouette of the tree shift slowly against the galactic center. It’s a reminder that sometimes the best photographs come from staying in one spot long enough for the universe to move around you.

Orion constellation rising above the ancient mudbrick walls of Sar-Yazd Castle in Iran at night — Sar-Yazd Castle · Orion

Portfolio · Story 03

Orion over Sar-Yazd Castle.

The walls of this 1700‑year‑old castle have seen caravans, merchants, and empires — on this night they also watched Orion climb the sky above the desert.

Theme · History under the stars

Technique · Long exposure, careful color balance

Feeling · Time layered in stone and light

Sar‑Yazd Castle in central Iran was designed to protect people and grain from danger. Photographing it at night, with Orion framed between the mudbrick walls, felt like placing a modern moment inside a very old story — one where the sky has always been the silent witness.

Person standing above a sea of clouds at sunset in Filband, Mazandaran, Iran — Filband · Sea of clouds

Portfolio · Story 04

Above the clouds in Filband.

In the mountains of Mazandaran, the clouds gather in the valleys like an ocean — sunset turns them into waves of orange and violet light.

Theme · Scale & gratitude

Technique · Telephoto framing, fast‑changing light

Feeling · Standing on the edge of a sky‑sea

The weather in Filband changes by the minute. On this evening the valley filled completely, leaving only mountain peaks and one small rock above the clouds. I asked a friend to step onto the rock and raise their arms — a tiny human gesture against an enormous, moving canvas.

Star trails spinning above ancient stone columns at Pasargadae, Iran — Pasargadae · Star trails

Portfolio · Story 05

Star circles at Pasargadae.

The remains of Cyrus the Great’s capital stand quietly while the night sky draws slow circles above the ancient columns.

Theme · Empire & eternity

Technique · Stacked star‑trail exposure

Feeling · How small our timelines really are

Shooting star trails at Pasargadae means hours of standing in the dark among ruins that are older than most written stories. Every streak in the sky marks a tiny rotation of the Earth, while the columns barely seem to change at all. It’s a photograph about how quickly we move compared to the things we build.

Sequence of the annular solar eclipse arcing above the pyramid of Chichen Itza in Yucatán, Mexico, October 2023 — Chichen Itza · Annular eclipse 2023

Portfolio · Story 06

Eclipse over Chichen Itza.

In October 2023 an annular solar eclipse traced a perfect arc above the pyramid — a modern alignment over an ancient observatory of stone.

Theme · Celestial mechanics & heritage

Technique · Multiple filtered exposures, precise timing

Feeling · Sharing a moment with people across centuries

The Maya built Chichen Itza with the sky in mind; photographing the annular eclipse from this spot felt like continuing that conversation. Each small sun in the sequence is a separate photograph, carefully aligned later, showing how the Moon slid across the disk while the pyramid stayed perfectly still underneath.

Zenith view of intense aurora above Québec, Canada in May 2024 — Québec · Aurora zenith 2024

Portfolio · Story 07

Aurora overhead in Québec.

During a huge solar eruption in May 2024, the sky above Québec exploded into color — curtains of green and magenta racing straight through the zenith.

Theme · Space weather & surprise

Technique · Wide‑angle, fast shutter, high ISO

Feeling · Standing inside a moving painting

This frame is from one of the strongest auroral storms in recent years. Instead of sitting on the horizon, the aurora climbed directly above, filling the entire sky with structure and color. Pointing the camera straight up was the only way to show how it felt to be surrounded by light.

Diamond ring of the Sun during total solar eclipse in Sherbrooke, Canada, April 2024 — Sherbrooke · Diamond ring 2024

Portfolio · Story 08

Diamond ring in Sherbrooke.

Just before totality, the last sliver of Sun turns into a brilliant diamond on the edge of the Moon.

Theme · Transitions & timing

Technique · Filtered tracking, second‑by‑second shooting

Feeling · A breath held by thousands of people at once

Capturing the diamond ring during the April 2024 total solar eclipse in Sherbrooke meant switching exposure settings in seconds. One moment the Sun was still blinding; the next, the corona took over and the diamond flashed at the limb. It’s a tiny instant that carries all the anticipation of the event.

Solar corona during total solar eclipse in Sherbrooke, Canada, April 2024 — Sherbrooke · Solar corona 2024

Portfolio · Story 09

The quiet light of the corona.

At totality, the sky goes dark and the Sun becomes a crown — delicate streams of plasma stretching out from behind the Moon.

Theme · Geometry & stillness

Technique · Unfiltered long exposures, bracketing

Feeling · A sudden nighttime at noon

This image shows the corona at peak totality over Sherbrooke. The park fell almost silent while people looked up; only the camera shutters kept clicking. Later, stacking and careful processing revealed the faint outer structure that isn’t visible to the eye in the moment.

Milky Way above the Tomb of Cyrus the Great in Pasargad, Fars, Iran — Pasargad · Tomb of Cyrus

Portfolio · Story 10

Cyrus the Great under the Milky Way.

The tomb of the Persian king sits quietly while the Milky Way stretches overhead, connecting thousands of years of history to the present night.

Theme · Heritage & cosmos

Technique · Blended long exposure for sky and foreground

Feeling · Respect, scale, and continuity

This frame comes from Pasargad World Heritage Site in Fars, Iran. Photographing the tomb of Cyrus the Great with the galaxy above it felt like placing a human story inside a much larger one — a reminder that our empires live under the same sky.

Night sky over the dome of Mont Mégantic Observatory in Québec, Canada — Mont Mégantic · Observatory

Portfolio · Story 11

At the Mont Mégantic observatory.

In the middle of Québec’s first dark‑sky reserve, the observatory dome glows softly under a sky dense with stars.

Theme · Science & wonder

Technique · Ultra‑wide perspective, careful foreground lighting

Feeling · Walking into a temple of astronomy

The green lights along the walkway lead visitors quietly to the dome. I wanted this photograph to feel like an invitation — a path from the forest into a place where we systematically study the same sky that appears in my other images.

Milky Way over the cracked salt polygons of Tabas Salt Lake, Iran — Tabas · Salt Lake Milky Way

Portfolio · Story 12

Galactic arch over Tabas salt lake.

The ground looks like a cracked map while the Milky Way rises above it — two different kinds of patterns meeting in one frame.

Theme · Geometry above and below

Technique · Fisheye lens, stitched panorama

Feeling · Standing in the middle of a natural mosaic

Tabas Salt Lake in Iran is already surreal in daylight. At night, the dried salt polygons echo the structure in the Milky Way. Aligning the camera so the galactic core rose from the horizon made the whole scene feel like a single, connected pattern.

Emission nebulae and Milky Way above the Lut Desert in Iran — Lut Desert · Deep sky

Portfolio · Story 13

Emission nebulae above the Lut.

The hottest place on Earth turns into one of the darkest observatories at night — revealing faint hydrogen clouds in the Milky Way.

Theme · Extremes & subtle details

Technique · Tracked deep‑sky exposure, careful color calibration

Feeling · Calm in a harsh landscape

In the Lut Desert, light pollution is almost nonexistent. With a tracker and enough exposure time, emission nebulae start to show their reds and pinks. The contrast between the empty desert and the rich sky is what makes this image special to me.

Portfolio · Story 14

The heart of the Milky Way in Semnan.

A closer look at the galactic core — dust lanes, star clouds, and glowing nebulae all packed into one region of the sky.

Theme · Texture & color

Technique · High‑resolution tracking and stacking

Feeling · Looking into the crowded center of our galaxy

This is Semnan again, but with a tighter field of view than the earlier tree composition. By focusing on the core itself, the image becomes almost abstract — a study of structure and color in the Milky Way’s most detailed region.

Panorama of the Milky Way arching over Haygher Valley in Fars, Iran — Haygher Valley · Milky Way panorama

Portfolio · Story 15

Milky Way over Haygher Valley.

A wide panorama of cliffs, river, and sky — with the Milky Way forming an enormous arch from one side of the valley to the other.

Theme · Landscape as a stage for the sky

Technique · Multi‑row panorama, long exposures

Feeling · Being wrapped inside a natural amphitheater

Haygher Valley in Fars, Iran, is dramatic even in daylight. At night, the valley walls frame the Milky Way like a natural observatory. Stitching many frames together was the only way to show the full sweep of the arc.

Milky Way over the desert landscape of Koreh Gaz, Esfahan, Iran — Koreh Gaz · Esfahan night

Portfolio · Story 16

Desert Milky Way in Koreh Gaz.

In Koreh Gaz near Esfahan, the desert becomes a simple foreground — letting the Milky Way take over the frame.

Theme · Simplicity & silence

Technique · Single‑exposure nightscape

Feeling · Alone with the galaxy

Sometimes there are no ruins, no trees, no lakes — just ground and sky. This image from Koreh Gaz focuses on that simplicity, using the desert floor as a minimal base for the rich structure of the Milky Way above.

Short star trails above the private palace of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae, Iran — Pasargadae · Palace star trails

Portfolio · Story 17

Moonlit trails above the private palace.

Short star trails sweep over the private palace of Cyrus the Great — a brief slice of Earth’s rotation above a 2,500‑year‑old structure.

Theme · Time stacked in layers

Technique · Short trail stack under bright moonlight

Feeling · Watching history and motion in the same frame

Unlike the long trails at Pasargadae in the earlier image, this sequence uses a shorter stack to keep the palace and clouds clearly visible under moonlight. It’s a quieter take on the same site — one that emphasizes how even a small rotation of the sky can feel significant above such an old place.