Category Archives: Milky Way

June 25, 2022 Hot Spring Conversations

“Everyone needs to find what brings them joy, and do that.”

“I’m not that into making a lot money, the most I ever made was when I was an engineering intern.” 

“Everyone has their issues.”

“Think about a grain of sand, divide that by a trillion, that’s how significant we are, so just be a good person because that’s all you can do.”

“All thats left is memories.”

September 11, 2021

Star Party. September 2021

After a whole month of staying home, I feel completely stagnant; losing motivation to do work but can’t find enough motivation to change my routine.

The smoke finally cleared this weekend for a chance of Milky Way. With the coast too risky due to the lingering fog bank, we headed south to Pinnacles National Park.

Driving on the highway and looking at distant subjects and framing compositions, I felt a sense of calmness. Hiking through the chaparral, hearing the crickets chirp, feeling the warm breeze, and seeing sunset colors made me appreciate again what the great outdoors has to offer. 

As we were waiting the moon to set, we met other star gazers in the parking lot. A special thank you to Jim and Alex for letting us peer into their telescope setups. I saw the rings of Saturn, Jupiter and its orbiting moons, M22, and other star clusters. I felt like I was five years old again, peering through a telescope in my backyard at the moon and realizing how much I love astronomy.

I’m reminded again that inspiration is out there if you just go. 

July 18, 2021 The Universe

I made it to Old Ski Bowl at 11pm, the end of Everitt Memorial Highway that climbs Mt Shasta. It was much more devoid of campers compared to last year as I was the lone car on the side of the road. No company for tonight but I’ll take it. Again, I had to process that I was here almost exactly one year ago, chasing the moon light. 

The moon was still glaring but I could see the galactic dust of the Milky Way. I knew my window of opportunity was going to be moonset to the crack of dawn, about 1am to 4:50am. I decided to try and nap just to pass some time and avoid the pesky mosquitoes, but also so I wouldn’t feel languid on the drive back home. 

My alarm sounded at 12:45am. I noticed the moon about to set and the Milky Way core getting brighter; I jumped out of my car in excitement and started setting up the camera. I stood in the dark and cold for the next several hours, treated to a spectacular display of the celestial sky: the moon, the planets and stars. The waxing moon turned deep orange as it set over the horizon, reminiscent of a sunset due to wildfire smoke. I witnessed airglow and several meteors, one with a fiery tail that left me breathless. It felt serene to gaze up at the stars above and the flickering lights from human activity below.

Looking down on the world makes me realize how small and insignificant humanity’s problems have become in comparison. Even I find myself sucked into the affairs of society and caught up in degenerate matters from time to time; I’m still human. Why should we spend so much of our limited attention involving ourselves in things that do not matter in the grand scheme of the universe? After all, I’m only on this planet for several decades at most compared to the celestial bodies that are billions of years old. 

I’m reminded by the infinite amount of stars that there is always something greater than us.  

600 miles
3 hours of sleep
I belong here.

July 4, 2021

Tioga Nights. July 2021

I was indecisive as usual this weekend. I had four different potential locations in mind but couldn’t commit to any of them right away. After contemplating at forecasts again, I closed my eyes for a moment and used my intuition: Yosemite High Sierra. I was lucky enough to snag a day use reservation at the last minute. 

I somehow ended up at the same exact location as last year, Doda Dome. It was deja vu to be there again, eating a cold sandwich for dinner and waiting for the sun to set. It took me a moment to process that I was standing here, exactly one year ago. Where did time go? The sky was almost free of clouds this time which allowed the alpenglow to project over Tuolumne Meadows and the surrounding peaks. I ran around the dome, switching lenses several times, framing foreground subjects but also the distant landscapes. The mosquitoes started to swarm me right at sun down even though I came prepared this time with layers, gloves, and 2 kinds of insect repellent. They were ruthless. I had to quickly get my photos and hike back to the car. 

As the sky darkened, I had to look for a spot that was not obstructing the Milky Way but also not where car headlights could ruin my long exposures as it did last year. I stopped at a pull out looking south at Tioga Lake and knew this was going to be it. The highway was to the west, which I thought was annoying if people’s high beams would cause unnecessary localized light pollution, but it seemed to be the best bet of the night. At 10pm, the Milky Way had risen to the south but partially blocked by Mt Dana. This gave me some time to check my alignment with Polaris and also my settings. Starting at 11pm, it was prime time, pure darkness.

It felt amazing to stare up at the night sky. I never saw so many shooting stars before. All my problems and stress from the week disappeared for that evening and was overridden by sense of exuberance. There was no cell service, just me and Mother Nature, I love it.

I brought my winter gear knowing the overnight low was in the mid 40s. I did well up until 1:30am, when my body started to get chilly. It wasn’t long after until I noticed that my lens was fogging up. By then I was near shivering. I finished the last exposure around 2:30am and jumped into the car with both blankets over me. I was ready to get some shut eye but noticed several gnats and mosquitoes attracted to the car door light. I did not want a repeat of last year, where my left leg was swollen due to some bites, so I spent the next 15 minutes smashing the buggers with my hand. 

Cathedral Glow. July 2021

May 14, 2021 Wake Up and Go

Airglow Arch. May 2021

Again with the uncertainty! The forecast kept changing every few hours for Inyo county. Cloudy? Mostly clear? Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms? 

Risk it. 

After about seven and a half hours of driving, I made it to Alabama Hills. It was crowded but most of the clouds seem to have dissipated. Every pullout was occupied, including the one I planned on staying at. After driving around in circles looking for a spot, I decided to just stay at a pullout next to the Arch Loop parking lot.

At 11pm, I saw the Milky Way rise but cars kept coming intermittently into the night. The high beams kept ruining my exposures, along with campfires and lanterns adding localized light pollution. I was almost about to give up and just go to sleep. 

Finally, around 1:30am, tranquility ensued. The cars stopped coming. The music stopped. The partygoers went to bed. Stillness, at last. I managed to track for about another hour and a half, before a fast moving cumulus cloud came in from the north ending my session a bit early.

850 miles
No expectations.

March 22, 2021 Hello, Old Friend

I managed to squeezed in a good 4 hours of sleep despite trying to discern the decibels of the wind gusts and determine if it was going to die down. Around 1:30am, the wind finally stopped. The moon was setting, excitement ensued. I tried sleeping for another 2 hours, but was wide awake by 3 am.

I swiftly got out of my sleeping bag and slipped on my winter jacket. There it was, the arc of the Milky Way. Hello, old friend. I’ve missed you. It was amazing stillness again, nothing but a dove’s call and not a hint of wind. I set up my camera and stared above at the vast expanse of stars, again proving my insignificance in this universe.

The forecast showed a low of 37F, which I didn’t think was too bad. It was actually 32F. My star tracker kept showing the low battery icon despite a full charge. My external battery had probably less than 10% so it was a miracle it lasted right up until the crack of dawn. By then my body was at the point of uncontrolled shivers. I finished the last exposures, quickly jumped back into the car and tossed both blankets over myself. I awoke at 6:53am, a minute after sunrise, to the first light on the Sierra and Mt Whitney through my windshield. What a feeling.

This trip embodied my philosophies to photography and life: no expectations, in search of novelty, it’s all about the shot, its all about the shot, and convenience isn’t free. It felt amazing to disconnect and just observe the world in front of you. Driving on new roads again shows how much of my own state I haven’t even explored yet. Now the only thing I can think about is when to go back.

The same feeling of excitement from the week before was still going strong in me. 1200 miles later, I’m still holding on to that feeling.

March 20, 2021 Wake Up and Go

With the weekend fast approaching, I had to pick a destination since I took Monday off. This time, instead of opening 50 tabs and stressing myself out over where is best, I listened to my inner self and committed to a new location down south. The goal was Milky Way Sunday night at Alabama Hills and everything else will be a bonus. Usually Milky Way is best starting in May, I knew I had to get up really early. My only concern was giving up sleep, and sleeping in the car means tossing and turning all night. I have been scoping this location on google maps last year, but with the Sierra passes still closed for the season, it was going to be a lengthy eight hour drive. But then I asked myself, if not now, then when? It was time to wake up and go. I decided to split it up over 3 days, as the most I have driven is 6 hours in a day. I also wanted to go to Death Valley for years but never made it there. As this was the last month of pleasant temperatures there, my goal was to to just use my annual pass and enter the park, that was it. 

The 7 hour drive today felt like nothing. The contrast between sitting stationary all week and speeding down an open highway was invigorating. I didn’t get much sleep the past week, but for some reason my mind was racing with excitement, adventure. An open mind, open heart. I spent the late afternoon exploring Red Rock Canyon State Park and taking my ‘foreground’ shots. With the desert wind howling I couldn’t stay long. I headed early into the small town of Inyokern and stayed the night at a very nice motel.