The final image after post-processing. This is actually a composite of six images stacked on top of one another to reduce noise.
Well, here it is! Welcome to my first ever blog post. I'm very excited to be able to share with the world my adventures and the photos I take on them.
This first entry is regarding my latest photographic endeavor and my first attempt at shooting the Milky Way. I was home in Oregon this past weekend and it just so happened that I was going to be in town during the first clear day in weeks. I wanted to take advantage of the clear skies, and made sure to shove my tripod in my small suitcase and grab my camera before leaving Orange County on Thursday evening.
Friday night, my father and I began the trek up to Lost Lake on Mount Hood. Having never been to this lake before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect about the road up. Little did I know, the road was hardly maintained, windy, narrow, and completely isolated. We even saw a bear cross the road in front of our car! Eventually, when we were about 20 minutes away from the lake, the road became packed snow and we were forced to turn back, not wanting to risk getting stuck, especially with no cell service and bears potentially lurking in the darkness.
Undeterred, we decided to make the 25 minute drive to Trillium Lake, which, based on Google Maps, looked to be a far more easily accessible lake. And it was; or, it would've been, had the gate to the road in not been closed. Though I was a bit annoyed that I wouldn't be able to get the shot I originally planned with a lake in the foreground and Mount Hood in the background against a starry night, I still wanted to take photos. After all, we had driven two hours to get here and I wasn't going to let it go completely to waste. So, I took out my tripod and set up in the middle of the parking lot at the entrance of Trillium Lake.
To my surprise, I was still able to take a few fantastic photos that I am very satisfied with. Part of the reason for our trip to Mount Hood was so I could test myself and my camera's capabilities of shooting the Milky Way before a trip to Joshua Tree later this week, and I definitely accomplished that goal. I had no idea that I or my camera were capable of taking such detailed and vivid star photos.
All in all, it was a successful night of shooting and definitely worth staying up until 3 a.m. I can't wait to explore Joshua Tree and take more Milky Way photos later this week.