Nightscapes

A Strike on the Galaxy

As part of the work to create my annual photography calendar, whose proceeds this year will go to National Park Foundation, I look through the archive of over 5000 photos I shoot every year. I don't ever get time to comb through every single one; it is a task which I have been failing miserably at. However, occasionally I chance upon gems that I often missed at first glance.

This is one such catch from a trip to the eastern half of the North Cascades in a remote wilderness region, far away from any light pollution. I visted this place early in the summer, far before devastating wildfires impacted visibility in these areas. As I was shooting a timelapse of the Milky Way, a bright meteor streaked the southern half of the sky. I had no idea if the camera had captured it, at least not until I came back and reviewed it on the big screen. I was lucky to catch this bright streak arcing across the band formed by the central disc of the galaxy.

Paseytan Wilderness

WA USA

Skyfall

From the time of childhood, I had been exposed to the wonders of the night sky, starting with the lullaby Twinkle twinkle little star. And that fascination with the night sky continues to endure to this day, where with every backcountry trip I take, I look forward to staring at awe at the starscape that forms every night.

This trip to the Sawtooth wilderness was no different. Apart from being a fascinating place to explore a new environment, the lack of any light pollution provided a prime opportunity to indulge in this passion. And the Sawtooths delivered like no other. Tracking the band of light that stretched across the sky, I tried to capture the swirling masses of spectral clouds at the heart of the Milky way that seemed to illuminate the light of a thousand suns. Right at that moment, a bright (possibly) Perseid meteor scintillated just above the jagged outline of the Sawtooth range.

Sawtooth Wilderness
ID USA

Staring at the Stars

After a long day of hiking, I wanted nothing more than to cook up a hot meal and settle down for a night of well-deserved rest. I was going to do that until I saw the night sky above. It took a while for my eyes to adjust, but eventually the night sky became bright with stars, and the faint line of the Milky Way traced a line across the sky. Faint satellites moved against the collage of stars that frequently played hosts to the scintillating flashes of meteors.

At that moment, I felt blessed to be living in a region where I could head out to experience the darkness of the night sky as it truly was.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness
WA USA

Stretching the Stars

The pandemic does strange things to ones mind. I have spent many a dull moment cooped up indoors thinking what my past self was up to a year ago.
And this time, last year, I was up in the mountains of the French Alps, hiking a portion of the Tour du Mont Blanc, a famous hiking circuit that circumnavigates Mont Blanc on the border of France and Italy. Hiking up and down rugged mountain passes through glacial valleys and lush green meadows, and never far away from the jingle of a rustic cowbell, the trip will take a special place in my heart.

On this one rain-free night, I snuck out of the Rifugio to catch a catch a glimpse of a moonlit valley, with mellow clouds streaking above a windswept landscape of the Valley of Glaciers

Bourg St Mourice

France

Fairy Silhouettes

As I turned away from the last light of the day setting behind the profile of the North Cascades peak, I saw the crescent moon, high in the cloudless sky slowly making its way to its own twilight. A trio of conifers rose up towards the heavens, framing the graceful gradation from orange hues to the dusky twilight sky.

I tried to imagine what it would look like on camera, but I didn't have to. A quick snap with my phone revealed that this composition would work, and that eventually led to this fairy silhouette against the moon-lit night sky.

Paseytan Wilderness
WA USA

Stranger from a Strange Planet

Neowise was perhaps one of the few comets that appeared in the right place at the right time: visible fairly clearly from where I was living, and at a time when technology had advanced sufficiently to capture its feathery elegance with my camera. My previous comet sighting was the Hale-Bopp in 1995, which while bright, was not amenable to capturing with a digital camera.

So when this two week window opened up to see this stranger from a strange land, I didn't say no to it.

Here is one such visual of Neowise from Edmonds Harbor, with its NW-facing shoreline providing the perfect viewpoint to shoot the comet framed by the distant peaks of the Olympic range.

Edmonds
WA USA

,

Last of 2019

,

As the last light sets in some parts of the planet, there are others celebrating the turn of the decade. And it has been a tumultuous decade with rapid changes in economy, politics, science, technology and art. Parts of the planet which were previously politically and economically unstable are now new frontiers to explore, while others have turned the opposite way. Travel and exploration, which used to be an fulfilling activity of discovering new places, immersing in new cultures, and getting inspired by new art, have now transformed to a social-media fueled hunt for the next glamorizing place to broadcast to the world.

The broadening of the mind and the sense of respect that used to be the essence of travel, has now been thrown to the wayside, replaced by a fleeting five-second window of the predictive highlights of a location. Perhaps it is time to slow down, and travel for the sake of travel. Will the new decade bring a reversal of these trends. I would hope so, but I fear not.

My 2 cents as the decade winds to a close

Haleakala National Park
HI USA

, ,

For Nature

, ,

One of the many things that photography teaches me is a sense of love and respect for nature. And I strive to avail myself of the opportunities that allow me indulge in this love, as well as my passion for photography. This has taken me to diverse parts of the country, and explore the inner pockets of the Pacific Northwest. And wherever I go, I adhere to low-impact hiking by following Leave No Trace principles, and try to leave the place cleaner than when I arrived.

But one can only do so much. And that is why I believe in the work the various non-profit organizations around the country perform to preserve the present for the future. Join me in supporting the National Park Foundation and WildAid, two such non-profits whose missions I care about deeply.

Purchase my 2020 Photography Calendar here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sathish-jothikumar/2020-photography-calendar/calendar/product-24355024.html. Order now to receive by the New Year.

All proceeds go to the National Park Foundation and WildAid.

Seattle

WA

,

Swirls of the night

,

After a long rainy day, it was a pleasant surprise to see moonlight glazing over the glaciated peaks of the French Alps. And at this remote refugio deep in the heart of the alps, I thought I had found the perfect location to capture the swirls of foggy peaks. But what I didn't expect, and grew tired of, was the incessant barking of a guard dog from a nearby farm. And for the next hour, nary did a minute pass without interruption, leaving me wondering when I was going to get bitten by a guard dog in the middle of the Alps.

Tour du Mont Blanc
France