.... For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread ....

Every photo has a story behind it -- and this one is no different.
Like the famous quote from Alexander Pope's 'An essay on criticism'... I went to a place where no one else normally ventures at night -- far away from civilization, far away from any paved roads -- all alone for this shot (and with expectations of getting half a dozen more such shots) -- and I almost ended up as dinner for a pack of wolves / coyotes or one of their cousin species!

I was alone shooting in Mt Shastha area, and remembered a spot I had visited earlier for Sunset with Macneil and Vijay. I headed up there and sure enough there were tons of photos to be taken with the Milky way. I set up for this one first, 2 feet away from my car. To make a long story short, as I was starting my last 2 min exposure, I started hearing howling in the distance. As the shot progressed, the howling not only grew closer and closer, but also started coming in from multiple directions. Just As the camera finished the exposure, there was major movement on the bushes to the right -- not more than 4 feet away followed by something crashing into a metal object. Needless to say I managed to dump my gear in the car seat next to me, get in, lock the doors and move the car in a matter of a few heart pounding seconds! Alas I had to pass the other shots I had scouted for, at that location, but at that moment I was just happy to drive back into civilization - in one piece. Half an hour later, I was back in my elements taking the shot I posted yesterday here - but this time, I was parked right next to a freeway :)

I would certainly love to get there and complete the rest of the shots , if I could find a few brave photographers willing to accompany me the next time (Hint to my friends here looking for a night photography partner :P)

If after reading all this, you are still interested in how this shot came about, the foreground comes from few long exposure shots stacked together, taken with the with my Polarie turned off whereas the sky is from a 50 sec shot with the Polarie on. The lens used was a Nikon 50mm F1.4 AIS on a D800.

Taken on: June 29, 2014

Tags:

Milky Way

Night

Sets appears in: • Milky Way • Night Shots more » • Night « less

Groups appears in: • Artistic Photography • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) more » • astrometry • This Week in Photo • Autumn in California • National Geographic | World Wide • ~ Siskiyou Shasta & Surrounding Scenery ~ • Northern California Photography • Starry Night Astrophotography • Nikon Nature • Amateur Astro-Photography « less

Camera: Nikon D800, 50 sec, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D800
Lens:	0.0 mm f/0.0
Exposure Time:	50
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)
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