Nighttime photography has long been an interest of mine, concentrating on landscapes in moonlight or artificial light. BUT recently I decided to attempt to capture the stars, yes the STARS!!! My mission; photograph the Milky Way. I made my first attempts at Hanging Rock State Park a couple of months ago. You can see in the photos below that I captured of a middle section of the Milky Way, but I needed a location to get a wider swath of the Milky Way Galaxy.
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A few weeks later, I traveled a couple of hours from my home in piedmont North Carolina to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I set up my camera on a tripod and started making photographs about two hours after sunset. I was surprised to discover that I could “see” the Milky Way with my naked eyes. (Previously at Hanging Rock, I had photographed the night sky in the direction of the invisible Milky Way. I could then see the very pale Milky Way in the photograph.)
This night I was surprised to see the Milky Way arch across the sky over my head from one horizon to the other. Having just watched Cosmos, A Spacetime Odyssey, I was mesmerized knowing that I was seeing much more than a lovey photograph. I was looking back into the history of the universe!!!!!!!
This night I was surprised to see the Milky Way arch across the sky over my head from one horizon to the other. Having just watched Cosmos, A Spacetime Odyssey, I was mesmerized knowing that I was seeing much more than a lovey photograph. I was looking back into the history of the universe!!!!!!!
I tried to combine several photographs to show the arch I had seen, but the technology is beyond my level of expertise. The panoramic photograph you see here is flawed in many ways, but maybe you can get just a hint of what I saw and felt viewing this magnificent skyscape. To visualize this photograph properly, imagine you are lying on the ground facing the sky above you parallel with the photograph. Tilt you head backward until you can see the horizon behind you. Now, slowly tilt your head forward in a nodding motion until you see the horizon at your feet. See photo below. Stay tuned; I will share a similar, but better, photograph when I am able.
 | Now finally, here is the best photograph I could produce of the main section of the Milky Way. I am so pleased to share this photograph with you. I wish I had the words to share the feeling I had while capturing these photos, to allow you to truly see the photographs through my eyes and heart. I hope to share star trails in the future. What fun: photography opens my eyes and I love sharing what I see! I would love your input in words or photographs. Just click on “comments” below. |
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