September 28, 2020

Under the stars

When the going gets rough...


When the going gets rough, and I need a break, I tend to recharge my spirit by being in nature. This year I decided to go to a dark sky park, but as my husband could not get the time off work, I went alone. I learned that I am more clever and resilient than I ever thought I was. I can pack a van full of "glamping" supplies...because I just turned 42 and air mattresses are murder on the back! I can now start a fire and cook on it too, like pioneer style. It was pretty awesome!

So many stars...

In Jackson, I fight against the security lights at Parkside Middle School to see the stars. I do see a few, and if I'm lucky, I see Venus and Jupiter too. In the week previous to my trip that had been booked for at least a month previous, it was predicted that we would not be able to see the stars because smoke from the west coast fires were headed our way. As luck and fortune would have it, a north wind blew through and took all the smoke with it. Thursday, Sept 17th started out cloudy and warm, but as the day continued, the haze cleared and all clouds moved south. Then came dusk, and some stars were becoming visible already. I got out my camera gear and started setting up.

Roadblocks...

I had to fight against a few things I didn't even think of when I was shooting till I took a look at the back of my camera. My neighbors fire was one of them. Even though it wasn't particularly big, it was just enough to illuminate the trees just under where I was shooting, and it caused less stars to be seen. The next thing took the cake! I brought a safety power cord with a light up end so I didn't trip on it in the middle of the night. It was so dim, I could hardly see it from inside the tent, however that dim little light was enough to illuminate my entire tent when it was caught in the images with a 30 second long expossure.

In the end, it was all worth it...

In the end, I think I was able to produce some really cool images and memories. The first few nights, I shot from my camping area, and kept to myself. It feels strange being alone at night... but not strange at all to be underneath the same stars that have blanketed our earth since the beginning of time. The last night I shot, my friend, Greta came with me, and we went to the beach parking lot area. There was more visual interest (trees and the lake) to bring into the images. The change of locations did not disappoint as we met several other people that came from all over Michigan to join us under the stars.