The region surrounding the brilliant California nebula taken in very dark skies. The red nebulosity is glowing hydrogen and the dark areas correspond to dust obscuring stars behind, a common feature of the Milky Way galaxy.
02/13/2015 03:53:03 UTC at Deer Oaks Ranch near Sunsites Az.
Canon 6D (modified to allow the Ha to get to the sensor. 50 mm Sigma f1.4 lens and iOptron skytracker mount.
Exposure was 5x240s at f2.8 and ISO 640 frames plus 2 more taken with a diffusion filter for blending to highlight the brighter stars.
Processing in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop.