Sometimes everything comes together after a long journey and many attempts. Tonight was one of those nights and I will tell you why. Lets start with last night, it was a bust. A total waste or time, nothing, nada, zilch. Couldn’t make a single picture, too much damn wind. Even with the camera on the lowest setting on my tripod, the wind was so furious it was impossible to cut a deal. You know what I mean, you make deals all the time. Remember this one? “Please Lord, I promise if you get me home safe, I won’t drink so much on Friday night.” I don’t drink but I make deals like that all the time! This time, no deal. I couldn’t trade a year in the peace core for 20 minutes of calm.
So back to the room I went and started the process of packing, a little disappointed.
Today was a good day, more pretty pictures some of which might even get seen, but the night time was spectacular. It started with a long drive to Rhyolite and a Mexican dinner. Five dollars and eighty five cents later, I had a yummy local meal and a full belly, ready for a cold night in the mountains. It’s 3.500 feet above sea level and it’s COLD. The good news is the wind is Gone!
So to Rhyolite I go. First set up is a test, if I like it, I will be there an hour, catching spinning stars with nothing more than my camera and patience. The test was nice! This is what I saw:
It was a good start. Next would be to set up the timer and make 4 long exposures to create the star circle. But bright headlights spoiled our plans, they belonged to the BLM Ranger who promptly threw us out and scolded us for not having a permit… No Permit? So much for being prepared! A little bummed and hoping there was a next destination, Joe suggested an abandoned concrete factory, awesome. Lets Go!
We get there, it’s a night photographer’s dream! Huge slabs, house size cut outs, strewn about like discarded toys. Now we’re having fun. The temperature is dropping, the sky is dark, it’s just about perfect. And we settled in for a long, cold multi-hour session. I will show you this one image and more later.
Good Night!
