Milky Way Over Shadow Arch

This is my third (and final) post on photographing the Milky Way sky. I posted about my first attempt last week, which was with JL out at Samuelson's Rocks. My second attempt was also with JL, and we went out to the Car Wash. That night was a bust for me. My camera sensor overheated, which resulted in a ton of "noise" in my photos. My third and most recent attempt was out in the far east section of Joshua Tree National Park with MR, a virtual friend from Facebook. MR and I have been trying to align calendars for a while, and so I was really glad we could finally make it happen. This part of Joshua Tree is one of my favorite areas of the Park because it's so remote, there's very little light pollution, and the night sky is dark and beautiful.

MR and I kicked around a few ideas and finally decided on "Shadow Arch" because of it's location and position in relation to the Milky Way. MR is someone at the top of his game photographically. Of all the Milky Way photos I've seen in the Joshua Tree area, I consider Mark's to be among the very best. He uses a star tracker which allows him to take longer exposure shots at lower ISO settings. This gives him richer, more detailed photos with less noise. Without a tracker, you are limited to 20-25 second exposures (longer exposures turn star dots into star trails), so you have to push your ISO settings.

Shadow Arch (my name, not an official name) is an arch I'm proud to say I found. I won't say discovered, because others have likely seen it before me, but I have never seen photos of Shadow Arch posted anywhere. I think it's fair to say it is a mostly unknown arch. The way I found it is perhaps unique. I spend a lot of time (too much time!) looking at Google Earth... looking for interesting rock formations, planing hiking routes, Jeep trips, etc. One day I spotted a perfectly round shadow (see screenshot above) and figured it had to be an arch. Sure enough, when I hiked out to it, bingo- A very nice arch!! A nice bonus: one of the best views of the arch is looking south, which is what is needed for Milky Way photography.

Here's MR attaching a light stick to a pole at the beginning of our hike. Hopefully it will help guide us back to our car when the desert sky is totally dark. See the two bags behind the Road Closed sign? The bag on the left is the star tracker, and the bag on the right has lights, tripods, and related gear. MR carries that in addition to his heavy backpack full of cameras and lenses and water. This is serious photography, and that's a ton of gear to be carrying across the open desert at night! I think I mentioned in my last post... you have to be a little crazy to be a Milky Way photographer!!

When we started our hike, the car thermometer read 106 degrees. We got a late start (the sun was setting already as we were just getting started), but with that kind of heat, it's probably for the best. The crescent moon was setting as we hiked out to the arch, and I found myself wishing I hadn't left my heavy telephoto lens in the car!

Here's Shadow Arch, and aside from photos by MR, this and the following photos may be some of the only shots of this arch under the Milky Way. There is a very small amount of light on the rock face. The Milky Way shows up beautifully and looks nice rising up through the sky vertically next to the arch.

A beautiful arch, wouldn't you agree? A little more light on the arch in the above two photos as compared to photo #1. Also, the two shots above are "two image" photos. One shot with focus and exposure on the arch, and a second shot with focus and exposure set for the Milky Way. Then you combine them.

One thing I learned is it takes very little light for situations like this. A common mistake is to apply too much light and over-expose the foreground. MR placed the lights waaaaaaay back from the arch, and would sometimes even cover the lights with a cloth. To my naked eye, it always seemed like not nearly enough light. But after viewing the 20 - 25 second exposure, it was just the right amount!

It was a great night... very fun and productive, and super-interesting to watch MR work his magic. My last three outings have all been night photography, so I'm very much looking forward to some daytime photo hikes (as soon as the temperatures cool off a little!).

Oh, and just realizing I never posted any daytime shots of Shadow Arch. How did I forget that!!? My last hike out was 6-7 months ago, and I got some great shots. Makes me wonder how many other hikes have slipped through the cracks? Oh well, you will be seeing more photos of Shadow Arch in the future, so stay tuned!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!