Do you ever step outside at night, look up to the stars, and just stare in wonder and awe?
There is something about the dark vastness that opens up your mind to the possibilities. What else, or who, is out there? When I was younger, I used to drive and find a spot to just sit and stare at the stars. Sometimes I’d even make up my own constellations. I love watching for falling stars, comets, and whatever else the night sends our way.
Living in the city means not getting to see the stars at their full potential. Sometimes it feels like you see a lot of stars but you are just getting a fraction of them. When you head outside the city or to a dark sky park, the night sky blows your mind.
The stars are bright and numerous. There appears to be no end to the galaxy. And you remember we are just a tiny part of that.
Life long learning is something we should all be challenging ourselves to do. One area of photography I want to get into is night sky photography. I’ve watched a few classes and read up on it but haven’t gotten much practice.
Of course, you can watch all the classes and read all the articles but the only way to learn and grow is to practice. It’s hard in the city and I don’t have the time (or energy) to be traveling to capture photos overnight. You know, that darn full time job gets in the way.
This summer though I have made a commitment to practice while we are on vacation! We will be in areas that I should not have an issue seeing all the stars.
Unless of course, it’s cloudy.
I have made a few attempts on previous vacations but nothing worth writing home about. See below image for example. Before we leave I plan to spend some time re-watching some classes and reviewing articles. I will make lots of notes to make sure I don’t forget anything while out there!
May has both the 4th of May (get it?) and National Space Day (May 7th) so it feels like the right time to talk about stars, space, and night photography.
