It all began one afternoon in the art studio as I attempted to explain my inspiration and fascination with the new series of paintings I wrote about in last month’s InSide the Back Mountain. As I described the roadway and surroundings of the old railroad bed up through Game Lands No. 57, Tyler suddenly looked up from his drawing and smiled. “That's where I go to do my astrophotography!”
Tyler Savitski, a 24-year-old Back Mountain resident, is a fascinating young man! He is currently involved in biophysics research at Wilkes University after graduating in biology and physics. He is learning to draw and paint. He writes music and journalism and plans a book he has in mind. He plays the drums. He is expanding his skills in already established interests in wildlife photography (especially owls), astrophotography (starry skies), and action photography (the local punk rock scene.) Tyler is truly a Renaissance man!
His interests in wildlife photography and animal behavior spurred his original educational goals in biology while his interest in astrophotography was ignited by Neil de Grasse Tyson’s book, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. Tyler explained, “Because physics is more fundamental in nature, it has a much more rigorous way of describing the natural world. For that reason, I wanted to understand life from the perspective of physics, in combination with the biological definition.”
I became intrigued when Tyler shared images of some of his starry scenes. He haunts many of my favorite out-of-the-way places, except I explore in the daytime and Tyler, like his friends the owls, travels by night! Sometimes alone and sometimes with others, he enters Game Lands No. 57 from the top of the mountain between Lake Jean and Lopez, where lack of light makes his mission possible. Once he was there alone on a cold winter night when his car became stuck in snow. He sighed to himself, “This may be a long night!” Thankfully, Tyler was able to free his car from its bondage!
When I asked Tyler if he would allow me to reimagine a few oil paintings from his photos, he graciously agreed. Voila! A new art challenge! Stars in the sky and falling snowflakes are usually painted into a scene employing the “spatter” technique: apply paint to a stiff bristle brush or old toothbrush and release paint directly onto the surface with either one’s thumb or an old ruler edge. But since these paintings are portraits of real stars in actual constellations, I realized it was important to paint every single star in its proper position in the sky at that moment Tyler captured. GULP. Confession: confusion reigned more than a few times and I may have missed a few stars…and even a constellation…or more!
Most of my friends enjoy “Sky Lights” because of the color in the sky. That color is not Northern Lights but the result of light pollution from the tiny town of Lopez. Tyler shot the photo with a wide-angle lens and a 5-minute exposure. In an exposure that long, one sees the movement of the stars, which is why I painted them as dashes, not dots.
“Tree with the Planet Jupiter” was reimagined from a photo taken with a 60mm lens with 20-second exposure alongside the Game Land’s roadway on the mountaintop. That white glow beyond the tree isn’t the moon!
“Sones Pond” is probably my favorite but the painting that confuses viewers the most! On a cool autumn night after a warm day, Tyler traveled to the area of Worlds End State Park. High up on Rock Run Road, far away from any light sources, beautiful Sones Pond is located on the Loyalsock Trail. Tyler did a 25-second exposure with a wide-angle lens, making visible the mysterious light floating in the foreground, which is water vapor rising from warm water against cold air.
A Nikon Z7 II camera mounted on a tripod for long exposures was used for all three photos from which I painted. For astrophotography beginners, Tyler advises, “most modern cameras will allow remote photoactivation, effectively avoiding any vibrations that occur from physically pressing the button. For a cell phone camera, there are apps that can connect with wifi or Bluetooth….or simply set the timer!” I think I will stick to my brushes and depend on friends like Tyler for technical reference material!
A person driven to learn, Tyler Savitski believes, “There are a lot of things in this world to be excited about.” Are you and I excited about learning? It’s a fascinating way to be and InSide the Back Mountain is a great place to begin!
This article originally appeared in the October 2024 publication of InSide the Back Mountain.