April 2024 Milky Way

 I'm still on my quest to capture a "Milky Way a month". Really just getting started, having only posted March Milky Way Madness so far, and the April Milky Way today. The Milky Way season goes through August or September, so I have a ways to go!

For April, I tried a different approach. I normally have my foreground all carefully planned out. This time, I really couldn't think of anything to use as a foreground, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and just go out in the desert and wander around and see what I might stumble across. You are probably thinking the same thing I was thinking: Not a sound strategy.🤣

 

First stop: Scorpius Arch (see photo above). That's a pretty little Desert Chia in bloom, with the arch in the background. Scorpius Arch is a challenge to use as a foreground in a Milky Way photo. You need to get the arch with open sky behind it, which requires that you get close to the arch and practically on your hands and knees, shooting up. That being said, I've seen some really good MW photos with Scorpius Arch in the foreground, but I decided to pass and continue looking.

Close up of Scorpius Arch, shooting up from a low position (I think I was sitting).

 

Here's a beautiful little arch not far from Scorpius Arch, but unfortunately, the arch opening gets lost in the rocks and wouldn't make a good foreground. It looks much better shooting from the other direction (NE... see photo below), but you need to be shooting south for the Milky Way.

 

Let me introduce you to "Chuck". Chuck is the biggest chuckwalla lizard I've ever seen, and the only one I've ever seen out in this part of Joshua Tree National park. I had to get in close for this photo (my only lens on this day is a wide angle 16-35mm). Chuck surprised me: As I moved in closer, he didn't scurry into his burrow. Instead, he came out towards me! I decided: You don't mess with Chuck!

Which reminds me: As I was starting my hike today, I found a rattlesnake. Actually, he found me. I never would have seen him if he didn't rattle, as he blended in perfectly with his surroundings. So a rattlesnake and a giant lizard on the first part of my hike. Glad I packed the tent this time. It will (hopefully) keep the critters out of my sleeping bag!

Not a candidate, since the view is not to the south.

 

Also not a candidate, since the view is not to the south, but an interesting formation. I forgot to mention all the plants in bloom during this hike. It was really impressive! And look at that cloudy sky. As you may recall, clouds are the enemy of Milky Way photographers! Let's hope they dissipate.
 

About 6:30PM, I came across this rock formation, and figured this might be the best I can do. I'm looking S/SE, so the direction of view is good. It's a huge formation, so there's no way I would be able to light up all the rocks using my headlamp. My plan was to take some late day/underesposed shots that I could blend with Milky Way sky shots. I would leave my camera on the tripod without moving it, which would make the blend easier to do. But you know what they say about best laid plans!
 

7:40PM. This might work for my foreground shot. I have my spare headlamp shining up towards the eye-like alcoves. Pretty cool!
 

Setting up the tent, I found myself getting totally distracted by this beautiful sunset!

 
The sky was so pretty, I couldn't resist taking the camera off the tripod and taking a few photos. The problem was, when I put the camera back on the tripod, the focal length was now a little different that when I took my foreground shots (I didn't realize this until I was back home, trying to blend my Milky Way and foreground images, and scratching my head about why things weren't lining up!!).

 

Now it's time to climb into my tent, set my alarm for 3AM, and try to get some sleep. But as per my usual camping experiences, sleep wouldn't come, and I tossed and turned until finally getting up arount 2:30AM.🥱

 

Here's my Milky Way photo (3:24AM). This might make it easier to understand why there is a need to blend foreground and sky photos. With just this single image, the foregound is a silhouette and overall kind of a boring photo. As mentioned, I forgot to double-ckeck my focal lenth after remounting my camera to the tripod. The focal length for my Milky Way photos were 22mm while my foreground photos were 16mm. That's going to make it really difficult to blend the images!

 

Blending foreground and Milky Way images, here's what I came up with:

Not my best work, but given the circumstances, I'm happy with it and feel lucky to have gotten these photos. After taking my Milky Way photos, I'm feeling exhausted and decide to crawl back into my sleeping bag and wait for first light. I have quite a few more photos to share from this adventure, so stay tuned. I'll be heading out this weekend for May Milky Way photos, so wish me luck!

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday.