While many saw COVID-19 as a source of fear and anxiety—with its mandates and masks, vaccines, quarantines, and tests—last year, one Southern California nature and astronomy photographer saw the virus as an opportunity. “With the pandemic in full swing, it was the perfect time to drive to a remote desert and camp away from civilization for a few days,” software engineer Marcin Zając, 33, told The Epoch Times. And he snapped stunning shots of sandstone formations in New Mexico set against a vast celestial Milky Way backdrop. “The landscape here looks otherworldly, especially once the sun sets and the stars appear,” Marcin added, speaking of a unique hoodoo outcropping known as the “Alien Throne,” which he captured in the state’s north-westerly Valley of Dreams. Setting up a wide-angle shot, Marcin photographed the stellar spectacle for his composition using a star tracker, which allows exposures of up to five minutes, increasing detail while …