My wife and I moved to Newport in September of 2023. We purchased a 115-year-old home and spent most of the year on renovations from the roof and HVAC to retaining walls, drainage systems, and more. We are finally wrapping up on those projects and enjoying the peace of our home without constant work happening around us. I founded DSW Galleries, LLC in February 2024 in response to requests for prints and coaching. It was one of many milestones that year, and I am optimistic about the opportunities coming in 2025.
I'll always remember 2024 as the year of first-time once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
2024 Highlights
The plan was for my wife and I to join our daughter and son-in-law to witness our first total solar eclipse. After considering the options, I decided to rent a house in Hot Springs, Arizona. I planned far enough ahead that the prices were still reasonable ($200 for two nights) compared to the $1000+ per night that was being charged closer to the event. I noticed the chances of clear skies increased as I went south. I had no desire to go to Mexico with all my equipment and Texas seemed to be popular, so I chose Hot Springs. As often happens in life, things changed. My wife had to have partial knee replacement surgery and couldn't make it. My son-in-law was deployed. so that left my daughter. It turned out to be a dad/daughter event, and it was fantastic. We had so much fun together, and I recorded the experience in a short video.
This image of the moon sliding away from the sun after totality was awarded the "Top Pick" prize.
I was planning a future trip to Iceland or Norway to see auroral borealis for the first time. 2024 granted my wish without having to book any travel. I didn't just see Northern Lights for the first time in my life. I witnessed several of the most intense geomagnetic storms to strike the earth in the past century and was able to film all of them. These included:
The May storm, possibly the third most intense in recorded history, that I shot from a park north of Lincoln City. See the video.
The August storm that occurred the same night the Perseids meteor shower peaked. I was at a local beach to film the meteor shower and ended up capturing meteors and aurora at the same time. See the video.
The October storm that was the most intense I witnessed. I could see the aurora with my unaided eye. That night I decided to drive to the Yaquina Bay bridge as well as hike to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse to photograph the aurora next to popular local landmarks. The video for that adventured is below.
One of my favorite photos the evening I named "Crossroads" because it depicts a rare Stable Aurora Red band (SARs) crossing the Milky Way as the aurora shimmers next to the lighthouse.
After scouting locations up and down the coast, I discovered that Moolack Beach is an incredibly dark site, with Cape Foulweather blocking light to the north and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area blocking light to the south. The only light pollution came from the lighthouse and the Moolack Shores Inn. It was there I took my most detailed Milky Way photograph ever, "The Moolack Vantage."
2024 was an amazing year for comets. I captured my most detailed, close-up photograph of a comet, "The Devil's Diamond":
I made a behind-the-scenes video:
I also chased another comet around town. I captured it from multiple locations and at different phases of its orbit around the sun.
I also had my first exhibition, The Dynamic Poetry of Nature, and hosted a star party with the city of Newport.
This is my video celebration of 2024.
The Plan for 2025
In 2024, my mindset shifted from "astrophotography is my hobby" to "I am a professional artist who fully embraces my passion to create compelling, engaging art that reveals the hidden beauty around us every day." I use much of my "free time" to explore and experiment. Here are some plans for the upcoming year!
Expeditions
Expedition might be a bit grandiose to describe planned trips, but doesn't it make it sound more fun? I have several destinations I'd like to photograph this year.
Camp Hancock is a dark site that I'll be visiting in late April. It will be my first time visiting a true "dark site" that will give me the ability to photograph some targets that are simply impossible to capture in the city. I am looking forward to seeing what targets I am able to shoot.
Crater Lake is a destination I'd love to visit and shoot the Milky Way.
Dwight Observatory is in the middle of lava fields and a beautiful area for nighttime photography.
I'm positive there will be other destinations and opportunities as I continue to explore different areas.
Print Projects
I just received a set of prints from a new company that a local professional photographer recommended. They are twice as expensive and took about four times longer than the current vendor I work with to deliver my prints, but the results took my breath away. I look forward to engaging them on future projects.
My ultimate goal is to produce art entirely with my own resources. I have a high-end color printer I can use for smaller pieces and am considering the investment in a large format printer. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn the process for printing on metal is relatively straightforward. There are no local printers who can provide the detail and quality of metal prints for fine art, so I am exploring whether investing in those capabilities could double as a service to other local artists as well. But where can I put the equipment?
More on that line of thinking in the "gallery shows" section.
I'm working with partners at Parallax Printing to create a 3D view of Thor's Helmet. I created my first lenticular print last year to capture the Northern Lights in motion, I believe a 3D rendering of this detailed nebula is going to be a stunning visual:
I plan to do a survey of the Orion constellation. This will be a set of overlapping panels that capture the full constellation in high definition. I can then overlay some of the nebulae and stars I've photographed in situ to represent where they are. The result will be a large piece that accurately depicts the constellation in detail. I am exploring options for lighting, such as LED backlight or glow-in-the-dark ink. I'll keep you posted as I continue to work on this project!
I recently captured my highest resolution image of the entire moon (in a gibbous phase) ever and printed it a 40" x 60" tall metal panel with brushed silver (that's 5 feet tall). The resolution is high enough that it should be just as detailed when an observer is standing next to it as when they are admiring the moon from afar. The brushed silver will cause the highlights to shine just like the moon itself. Here are two shots of the same image, one close and one far:
The question is: where would I put such as large piece? The answer is coming...
Gallery Shows
The Yaquina Arts Association is hosting a community show for local artists who currently do not have works on display in a gallery. I chose the Rosette in Bloom because it was the flagship image for my first exhibition and is probably the most clear, detailed nebulae I've photographed to date. I also have the same image in a different palette available in the larger format "The Full Rosette."
There will also be a member show for the photography club I'm a part of, I will be at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center for a spring show that opens March 10th, I am working with a wine shop in the valley who is considering having a show this spring and I hope I am invited to return to Oceanside Flooring in March.
I am happy to announce the opening of a new gallery. For years as my family drove south on the Coast Highway 101, I noticed the signs for the "Fire Rock Gallery" as we entered the town of Seal Rock. My curiosity was piqued every time, but we always were racing time and had to get somewhere else. Had I stopped, I would have learned it was closed and had been abandoned for some time. That's not the case any longer. The Fire Rock Ocean Sky (FROS) Healing Center is set to open on April 12th, 2025. This will be a place for both art and healing, and healing through art and creating arts as part of the healing process and everything in between. We were ecstatic to meet the new owner to learn more about her vision, and as you can see by the amazing group of artists and healers that this will be a major nexus for local artists and practitioners.
The gallery there has huge, high ceilings and a lot of space from the walls to kiosks and partitions on the floor. I'll be able to hang some of my largest pieces there, including the Moolack Vantage and the 5' tall metal high-resolution print of the moon.
I hope you are able to join us for the Great Opening in April. I look forward to meeting and connecting with you if you are able to make it.
Classes and Community Events
I am planning several events this coming year.
A star party at FROS. There is a lovely space behind the building where I can set up my equipment to share. You will be able to see planets, craters on the surface of the moon, galaxies, star clusters, and more.
A workshop at the Visual Arts Center in Newport. This year I'll focus on Milky Way photography and plan to price it along with scholarships to ensure it is accessible to anyone interested.
I will submit a proposal to the Performing Arts Center for a presentation about astrophotography. I will share stories and anecdotes and talk about how my personal journey battling Parkinson's Disease ties into my passion for astrophotography.
Hi, Doreen!
I am excited to share that my wife, Doreen, has decided to take a more active role and volunteer to help DSW Galleries, LLC with marketing and event coordination until I can afford to pay her. Then she'll still do it, it just won't be volunteering anymore.
It was her passion for photography that inspired me to get started, and she has already been instrumental in helping me create connections in the local community. She was a photographer before I knew how to operate a camera and above is one of her images from a New York trip we took several years ago. Here she is photographing jellyfish in Yaquina Bay State Park last year.
Welcome, Doreen!!!!
Some final thoughts:
Find out when and where my art (and I) will be along with the dates of interesting astronomical events using our online calendar.
I keep a real-time inventory of fine art astrophotography prints
Everything I do is bespoke, so if you have a custom request simply use our convenient request form
Follow me on social media (at the bottom of any page on this website) for the latest news, including nights I take my gear to a public location for (no cost) sharing live views of planets, craters, comets, as well as answering your questions and providing tips and feedback
Warmest regards,
Jeremy Likness
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