In the dark of the sky

The eternally peaceful sky has century after century proven its ability to evoke artistic imagination, envelop thoughts and emotions, spark curiosity, conjure up dreams and cruise thoughts across the human mind. Though it looks the same from above all the milestones and symbols of various nations and provinces, demonstrating to the truly unified nature of Earth as a planet rather than an amalgam of human-designated territories, photographer Cyril Lucido Kuhn captures it in its transcendental form. Through a series of night-time photographs of stunning landscape against a backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events, he will present a retrospective display titled “Into the Darkness” set to start from July 1 at IIC.

Growing up in Mussoorie, the photographer did have a lot of stars to look at. Now, however, he spends many nights out in the cold with his camera pointed towards the horizon, capturing the heavens and the land below them. “Earth lies about a third of the way out on one of those vast spiral arms of stars and dust clouds. Being able to take a snapshot of that universe was something new under the sun. Hence, I pursued it,” says the lensman. He reveals that standing under the Milky Way is one of his favourite skywatching hobbies. “I solemnly watch the stars while breathing in fresh air and become consumed by the awe-inspiring beauty of nature. The Milky Way, our own galaxy containing the solar system, is a barred spiral galaxy with roughly 400 billion stars. The stars, along with gas and dust, appear like a band of light in the sky from Earth. And instead of expressing in words about their fascinating beauty, I capture them.”

Explaining about the process that goes into clicking night time shots, he says, “No moon gives you the most clarity in the stars and the brightest Milky Way and all the other stuff. Once you start factoring in the moon, you can use it to illuminate a really big landscape scene. It’s always important to be aware of the moon phase. When is the moon rising or setting and what angle is it coming from You don’t want to be surprised by it. There are some fantastic online programs and apps where you can punch in the location and details about where you’re going to be and the time, etc. and the application takes you to that spot and simulates the star field, the moon phase and the brightness of the location at that exact time. You get a 360-degree view that you can scroll around and look at.”

“I try to make everything completely dark. If I start with complete darkness, then it’s up to me to add light. I can add it at any level I want to. On a moonless night, the stars set a certain light level. Then, I can position in order to light paint onto the scene. I can choose what I want the viewer to see. I’ll take anywhere between five and 25 shots of a certain scene using different motions with the headlamp until it starts to look right. You can go out when there’s no moon — what astronomers call a new moon — up to a half moon phase or less. Once you get more than that, the moon becomes so bright that it can actually make the sky look like daytime. On a full moon shot, you have to peer into the sky to see the stars,” he shares.

He adds, “It has taken me a couple of years to learn something that astronomers know by heart. In the summertime — from about June to October — the Milky Way is particularly vibrant. In the winter months, it lays perpendicular to and never crests the horizon. It also gets more lost in the light pollution. Saddly, today, most city skies are virtually devoid of stars. Light pollution: excessive light that scatters to the sky instead of illuminating the ground is not only a major waste of energy, it also obscures the stars, disrupts ecosystems and has adverse health effects.”

The exhibition will have about 30-35 photographs including three stunning panorama shots, which Cyril says, he is the most excited about.