I’ve been thinking about this a lot since February, when we had the opportunity to visit Utah… After shooting spectacular night skies with minimal light pollution, how do you go back to shooting “normal New England” night skies? I mean look at those stars. LOOK AT THEM.
Nirvana :: RI
“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” – Sarah Williams, Twilight Hours
The Milky Way season is winding down. 3/4 of a year has flown by. Does anyone else wonder where the time goes? I blinked and it’s officially the first day of fall.
On the plus side, that means apple cider donuts…
Echoes :: VT
“Stars, too, were time travelers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries—but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.” -Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Last weekend was a new moon, and the close of what is generally considered to be milky way season for the year so I decided to go out with a bang. A long drive, a night hike through the woods with the dog, being serenaded by a chorus of wild animals, singing loudly to scare off any bears, telling the dog that, no, we were not chasing that Fisher cat…. You know, just another beautiful night under the stars. ♥️
The Watcher :: ME
This is throwback to summer 2017 when I took a last minute road trip to Nubble light with some friends. If I recall correctly, I think there was a chance of northern lights…. but in the time it took to get there, the kp died down and we were “stuck” with just the Milky Way. ❤️
This is 8 frames stitched together into a pano, with a little magic dust sprinkled on top.
Starlight Sonata :: CO
I frequently wonder if I’m doing enough to make this world better. Am I recycling and conserving water? Am I speaking up about serious topics like conservation and equality? Am I leading by example?
The answers to those questions are both yes and no. I am doing those things, but I feel like I can do more.
The world is a spectacular place and for some people, a photograph is the closest they will get to seeing some of the beauty our world has to offer. There is something gratifying about knowing I’m able to give that gift to people through my images.
That being said, I think there is opportunity for photos to be more than just a passing like or comment or wallpaper. Sometimes I see shots that make my heart flutter (currently obsessed with @nlwirth ‘s tree work for example). I think that connection is the start of something magical. If you can make people love something, then they’ll work to protect it. Yeah, yeah, logically we KNOW we are harming our planet (our ONLY place to live, I might add) but it’s easy to shrug it off as our children’s problem. Or to rationalize current wants despite the consequences. But when you LOVE something you’ll be driven to protect it.
That is what I think a landscape photographer can be. They can be part of something bigger than a “pretty” or “gramable” shot. Photography can be a vehicle for change. So when I ask myself if I’m doing enough, I need to also think about the current political climate and policies, the attitudes towards keeping our planet healthy enough to sustain life, the voiceless who need help to retain their basic human rights and dignities…
Without question, I can do more. We all can do more.
This is Independence Pass in CO. And that is what night skies without much light pollution look like.😍
In most areas of the East Coast of the US, light pollution is so prevalent that many people have gone their entire lives without every having seen the Milky Way. They don’t realize what they’re missing because to them, that’s just normal. Because it’s normal, they also don’t realize all of the problems that come along with light pollution- disrupted circadian rhythms and the health problems associated with that, disruption in migration patterns and growth cycles for flora and fauna, behavioral changes in animals, etc.
In a discussion I had with another photographer recently, another tragic consequence of light pollution is that people don’t get to experience the feeling of connection and perspective that comes from looking up at the night sky and realizing we are just a small part of a massive universe. We are beautiful specks of Star dust who have been given a precious gift – the opportunity to live our life on a rare habitable planet – and we shouldn’t take that for granted. Rather, through the stars, we should be reminded to live our lives as fully and beautifully as we are able.
This particular shot was taken last week in a little swath of dark-ish sky in CT. I had the joy of teaching night sky photography, and watching my student’s love for photographing the night sky grow in front of my eyes. It was a lovely experience. ❤️
This year, I chose my “best of” based on the memories I was lucky enough to have made. It was a year of great trips (courtesy of some flight credits I had to use up before they expired) and I am beyond thankful I was able to see England, Northern Ireland and Ireland, Chincoteague ponies, Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, the many nights I spent under the stars with friends, the eclipse, the Adirondacks and Iceland (northern light, heeellllooo). I am grateful for these opportunities and for having good friends to make these memories with. ❤
2017 had its difficult parts, and I am definitely hoping 2018 shows improvement in some areas…but I am thankful. Cheers to a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!
Guide Us Home :: RI
In Connecticut, dark sky areas are almost non-existent, due to our dense population and the light pollution that comes with it. That makes capturing the Milky Way very difficult. To truly have a sky that is dark enough to see detail in the Milky Way core, I need to either drive to Rhode Island (where the is a tiny oasis of dark sky along our shared border) or north and/or northwest towards Massachusetts, Vermont or upstate New York.
So besides the inconvenience of needing to travel, why is light pollution a problem? Because it isn’t just light. It’s light that affects everything.
There is evidence that too much night-light will effect trees’ seasonal clocks. It’s shown that the bright lights of human cities can disrupt migration patterns of birds, the ability of newly hatched sea turtles to find the safety of the water, the hunting and territory patterns of opportunistic animals…. and researchers are beginning to think that the disruption to our – humans – natural circadian cycles is a risk factor for higher incidences of cancer.
“The health effects of light pollution have not been as well defined for humans as for wildlife, although a compelling amount of epidemiologic evidence points to a consistent association between exposure to indoor artificial nighttime light and health problems such as breast cancer, says George Brainard, a professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.” (here)
So about those pockets of darkness near Connecticut? Well, Beavertail Light in Rhode Island is along the edge of one. When my friend Tony Curado, who is working on a Galactic 50 project (capturing the Milky Way in all 50 states!), suggested he wanted to chase stars in my neighborhood, I knew exactly what location to try.
The night finally arrived, and as I sat there under the stars with Tony and Kyle (another local photographer), I felt grateful. There I was, watching the universe do its thing, the sounds of the waves kissing the land, and good friends to share it with.
Night Lights :: RI
“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” -Og Mandino
I’ve recently been spending a lot of time under the stars with my camera. There is a peacefulness that comes from just watching the Milky Way move across the sky, reminding us we are just a small part of something infinitely larger than our daily schedules and obligations. If you find a spare moment on any given evening, I urge to look up and find some perspective. ❤️
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting up with an awesome group of photographers from CT and RI. It’s cheesy, but it was exactly the reason I love photography so much…we started as strangers and before the night was done, we were joking as if we were old friends. Old, under caffeinated, sleep deprived friends. 😋
Nerdy Stuff: This is a focus stack of two frames, one for the monocular and one for the Milky Way. Want to know more about shooting the stars or focus stacks? Just ask!
Looking for other bloggers, book reviewers (if you can read, you're in!) and photographers who want to join forces to save the world! (Or something like that.)
SeeingSpotsPhoto.com 