The Milky Way rises over Half Dome as seen from Glacier Point – Yosemite National Park
One of the many things I love about Yosemite National Park is that it’s equally photogenic at night as it is during the day. During my last visit I focused on astro-landscapes, but Mother Nature had other things in mind with a lot of clouds. Fortunately for me the heaviest clouds cleared just in time for me to take this photo and several others.
My location of choice was Glacier Point as the increased altitude above the valley floor allows you to see the Milky Way rising a little earlier without obstruction. In addition you have an amazing view of Half Dome and Nevada and Vernal Falls. These of course make for amazing foreground subjects.
One interesting note about this photo is that it was taken with out a tripod. I had two other cameras running time-lapses on a tripod when this was taken and I was left with only my ingenuity to stabilize my 3rd camera. To stabilize my camera for this long exposure I lodged the camera on a rock and used the strap with a great deal of tension to lock it into place. If there is interest I’ll go over exactly how I did this.
Photo Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye, ISO 6400, 30sec
Great shot!