On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Before I headed down to the Cholla Cactus Garden for sunrise shots, I stopped at Belle Campground for some Milky Way shots. I chose Belle Campground since it was on the eastern side of the portion of the park with Joshua Trees and interesting rocks and would provide for a darker location than those sites further west in the park. The plan was to shoot a tracked/stacked Milky Way shot and then a full arch panorama.
The campground itself was full of sleeping campers so I setup just off the access road to the camp. I found a couple of Joshua Trees to serve as the subject and due to the wind, decided that tracking wouldn’t work so I went with stacking instead (shorter exposure time for the individual shots). After shooting the first set of shots, I thought the focus was a bit soft(the first shot presented here) and I preceded to shoot the panorama, but time was running short before astronomical twilight so I decided to shoot half a panorama.
I then shot the foreground and as I panned to shoot each set of the panorama, I noticed that they were getting lighter and lighter as the Sun got closer to the horizon. As I finished the foreground panorama, I could see Jupiter and Saturn rising in the east just proceeding the arrival of the Sun and got a shot of the Joshua Tree with each planet on either side of one of its branches.
First Milky Way set with the soft focus. I applied light painting to both the Joshua Tree in the foreground and the one in the background.
Milky Way panorama, 4 panels for the foreground and background with light painting on the foreground Joshua Tree. I’m unsure where the light dome in the center of the photo is originating, maybe Mexicali or the eastern Coachella desert communities.
Joshua Tree with Jupiter below it’s left branch and Saturn above the branch.
SiubhanDuinne
I always love your Milky Way photos, but in this lot my favourite is the Joshua tree with Jupiter and Saturn. Just a gorgeous photograph.
OzarkHillbilly
Pic #1, Pic #2, or Pic #3?
Pic #3, hands down.
JPL
Gorgeous.
Betsy
I open the blog in the morning to wake up a lot. I read “Milky Way shots” before I was alert and I thought this must be some new trend, maybe creme de cacao, Torino caramel and vanilla syrups, and Bailey’s. A bit on the cloying side really
stinger
Oh, Bill.
@OzarkHillbilly: Actually, #3 looks more like “Hands up!” (Thanks!)
Laura Too
Such a peaceful feeling looking at these. Thanks!
cope
Gorgeous pictures as usual, thanks. Is “soft focus” done with software or is it a function of your camera setup?
frosty
We just left there, my first visit ever, and it’s funny to recognize all the places you mentioned. I took a lot of pictures, but none of the night sky like this.
randy khan
Lovely.
p.a.
Wonderful. Thanks!
cope
@cope: OK, I reread your notes and understand about soft focus now.
arrieve
So gorgeous, Bill. Third picture is my favorite also, though I love the eerie feel of the light painting on the Joshua tree in the Milky Way shots.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: I like it too, and I just noticed them in the sky and shot a few shots before finishing packing up and getting to the Chollla Cactus Garden to get there before sunrise.
@OzarkHillbilly: Tend to agree.
@JPL: Thanks.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Betsy: Heh, I quit drinking 10 years ago. Any shots I take these days is with a camera.
@stinger: ‘Hands Up”, true.
@Laura Too: You’re welcome, even with a lot of folk in the campground it was pretty quiet.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@cope:
@cope: Yeah, in camera(aka, photographer error).
@frosty: There’s a lot to see there, this trip was the first time I spent much time there in the daylight. It’s a bit difficult to get there from here(traffic), unless I leave at night(for morning shots) or in the morning for day shots. I headed north last weekend to Fossil Falls off US395 and shot the MW arch, much less traffic.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@randy khan: Thanks.
@p.a.: Glad you like them.
@arrieve: I’m still working out the kinks with panoramas and light painting, my results last weekend were better. I’m planning on heading north to do some non-panorama MW shots with light painting.
J R in WV
As usual, great stuff from Glendale. Thanks Bill.
frosty
@?BillinGlendaleCA: We’ll be heading up 395 in a couple of weeks with stops in a few places. Where is Fossil Falls? Worth a visit?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@J R in WV: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
@frosty: It’s north of Ridgecrest and south of Owens Lake, I’ve really not been there in the daytime, but the night sky is amazing. I shot a Milky Way arch there last weekend and the Red Hill(a volcanic cone) is a great foreground for startrails.