stacking

The Cap on Concepcion

It was a long and weary day. Just 12 hours prior, I was scrambling on all fours up the slippery steep scree of the Concepcion Volcano, wondering if I could even make it down alive. But I did. And stayed up awake long enough to capture the night as it came alive under moonlight and starlight.

Even as my eyes were refusing to stay open after the tiring hike, I pursued with the objective of capturing the night sky. The cool breeze and the clear skies were encouraging, and the rise of the waning moon turned the night sky into day. Perhaps what captivated me most was the sombrero that formed atop the volcano, adding a unique dimension to the scene.

It certainly was a test of perseverence, doing hard work after getting tired of doing the hard work I already did. But it was worth it.

Ometepe
Nicaragua

 

Heading: North

It was a bright moonlit night high up in the mountains of the Olympic National Park. The silence of the still night was only broken by the sounds of hooves treading the ground as stealthy deer grazed in the grassy meadow all around me. But under the…

It was a bright moonlit night high up in the mountains of the Olympic National Park. The silence of the still night was only broken by the sounds of hooves treading the ground as stealthy deer grazed in the grassy meadow all around me. But under the full moon, even the deer could not stay hidden for long. And I was keeping a close watch on them, for the last thing I wanted was one of them wandering into the tripod and knocking the camera that was shooting this image.

The bright moonlight had made it challenging to find a suitable composition for shooting the night sky. The horizon was bright, not from moonlight, but from the setting sun, while high above, all but the brightest stars laid hidden from both me and my camera. Wandering around, I finally spotted a grove of trees pointing up towards the Pole star; it was as though nature herself had stretched out her arms to point me to the north. And the near full moon had ensured that these still denizens of the forest would not stay invisible.

I shot a total of 17 exposures, each5 min long at F8, ISO 800 to capture this moonlit star-trails.

Olympic National Park
WA USA