The "Milky Way" test of a boondocking site
I know there are many definitions of boondocking, and that is a good thing. But here is one possible test -- if you are not in a campground and you can see the Milky Way under clear skies, you are re...
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We were in Yosemite Valley in early March -- not really boondocking, but the sky was plenty dark! The bad news is that those famous granite walls blocked out a lot of the stars.
Looking to the south from our campsite in Upper Pines Campground, here's Orion rising over Glacier Point -- the three stars of the belt are in the "V" above the edge of the cliff in the center of the shot:
And looking north, here is the upside-down Big Dipper -- there were so many stars that when I was editing the photo in Lightroom, I had to dial back on the clarity of the image so that the constellation could be seen among the clutter of the other stars:
In both shots, it would have been really cool (in the abstract) to "paint" the granite walls and domes with a high-powered spotlight, so that the rock could be seen, rather than appearing as a silhouette. "Landscape astrophotographers" often use that technique to add interest to their star shots: just light up some nearby rocks! But then I don't think that everyone else in Yosemite would have appreciated seeing the walls lit up artificially, so it's probably a good thing I did not get my wish.
By the way, I have discovered that using an LED flashlight to "paint" the terrain features will create an unpleasant blue cast to the photo. I now carry around an old-school incandescent flashlight, which has a much warmer color. You can still find those flashlights at garage sales, and the bulbs can still be found at auto supply stores.
Looking to the south from our campsite in Upper Pines Campground, here's Orion rising over Glacier Point -- the three stars of the belt are in the "V" above the edge of the cliff in the center of the shot:
And looking north, here is the upside-down Big Dipper -- there were so many stars that when I was editing the photo in Lightroom, I had to dial back on the clarity of the image so that the constellation could be seen among the clutter of the other stars:
In both shots, it would have been really cool (in the abstract) to "paint" the granite walls and domes with a high-powered spotlight, so that the rock could be seen, rather than appearing as a silhouette. "Landscape astrophotographers" often use that technique to add interest to their star shots: just light up some nearby rocks! But then I don't think that everyone else in Yosemite would have appreciated seeing the walls lit up artificially, so it's probably a good thing I did not get my wish.
By the way, I have discovered that using an LED flashlight to "paint" the terrain features will create an unpleasant blue cast to the photo. I now carry around an old-school incandescent flashlight, which has a much warmer color. You can still find those flashlights at garage sales, and the bulbs can still be found at auto supply stores.
