Celebrating the
Night Skies
Interview with Award Winning Astro-Photographer Wally Pacholka by Lisa D. Smith
Audio/visual production by Nancy J. Reid

Wally Pacholka is an unusual and talented man. He stalks the night with his camera and records the night skies and celestial events. He is quick to say that he uses very simple equipment, and that anyone could do the same--but when you look at his photos, you will see he has an uncanny eye for composition, lighting, and color. His specialty is including a focal point, like an unusual tree or rock formation in a national park, while recording the stars as a back drop.

Wally has won several awards, including Time Magazine Picture of the Year Award 2003; Life Magazine Picture of the Year Award 2003; Encyclopedia Britannia Book of the Year Image 1998, National Geographic Image for Hale-Bopp Comet 1998, Time Magazine Picture of the Year 1997, and Time Annual Picture of the Year 1997. He has also been published in several publications including Time Life, Encyclopedia Britannica Science Book, Time Life Encyclopedia, National Geographic, and over 100 newspapers worldwide. He has been featured on NASA's Hale-Bopp Site and just recently again with his photo of Old Faithful Below a Yellowstone Sky, (check out Resources Guide at the end of the article for a link to this amazing photo).

Being a student of the sky Wally is extremely knowledgeable about celestial events. In our audio/visual presentation he speaks of the Perseids, a meteor shower that is visible from mid-July each year, with the peak activity falling between August 8-12th. During this time, if you can position yourself in a dark sky area away from city lights, between 2 am and dawn you can watch these meteors, small fragments of cosmic debris, enter the Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speed and vaporize, leaving a streak of light we commonly call Shooting or Falling Stars. The famous Perseid meteor shower has been observed for about 2000 years, and gets its name from the constellation Perseus as the meteors appear to emanate from a point within that constellation.

Please click below to enjoy a four minute audio/visual presentation featuring the astro-photography of Wally Pacholka. Download time will vary depending on your internet connection, but it is well worth the short wait to embark on a night time journey of some of our most beautiful national parks and get a glimpse into the world of night sky photography.

The Award Winning Night Photography of Wally Pacholka