Anatomy of a Composition - An Eastern View

It has been a few yeast since I’ve had this view. Not the specific view of the Platte gliding silently underneath a starry night, but the early season Milky Way itself. For five springs I was able to hike to a lone spot high in the Mosquito Range and photography the Milky Way as it rose in the east in the early morning hours. Life has its way have shepherding us through new experiences and while we might console ourselves with soothing statements like, “next year,” or “next month.” But then those years and months don’t propagate the way we hope they would and suddenly it is two and three years later before the opportunity arrives again.

While I have fished and hiked along this stretch of river before, I’ve not photographed it like this. My usual spot, up on Pennsylvania Mountain is more challenging to access now. A new parking area is further down the road, making the hike to and from the car about a mile longer. I prefer to shot like that, away from the car, away distractions, but on cold and windy nights it’s good to be able to retreat to its shelter and warm myself. up. With this new hurdle in place I needed to scout different locations and this one popped up quickly on my list of alternatives.

I woke up at 2:00 am, relieved to see the cloudless sky and headed south from town along state and county roads. I’m not sure if this will become my new routine. Better sleep, shorter drives, more time under the night sky. I like to think it will be, but I also know that “next” opportunities don’t always show up.

Eastern View - Sony a7v - ISO 8000 | F/1.8 | 10 sec ~ 16mm 10 stacked images