Arizona, 2023 | A long-exposure image of Monument Valley in moonlight, with the light of dawn breaking on the right. The hour-long image, made from a timelapse sequence, reveals the Earth rotation with the rising stars trailing above the picturesque massive rock formations. Known as buttes, they are composed of hard rock left behind after water has eroded away the surrounding soft rock. Monument Valley at the break of dawn. 

Monument Valley has been the backdrop for many American western movies, but more important it is an iconic ancestral land of Navajo Nation, sacred to the local tribes. The area is now a tribal park, open to visitors, and managed by Navajo Nation.

Babak Tafreshi is a photojournalist, explorer, and speaker that uses the context of night sky photography to bridge Earth and sky, art and science, and cultures and time. A National Geographic photographer and cinematographer, he lives in Boston with his wife and child.

Follow Babak on Instagram @babaktafreshi.