Let me first make couple clarifications here:
1) These pictures were taken at 2 different trips.
2) I have not done any photography tricks nor I used photoshop ... these are the real pictures
3) In first trip (first pic), yes I was stuck and I think mainly the reason is the tires were not aired down enough. They were around 18-20 psi. In the rest of the pictures, the car was not stuck.
4) In the first trip, I had the taillight guard and in second trip I did not.
5) The camera used in the night pictures was Canon 30d. The night pictures were taken in the middle of the night in desert, no light, no flash was used. The lighting is from the stars.