Copper Breaks
The Star Party
I am not going to lie, when I started seeing everyone rolling into the star party that I didn’t know was about to happen, I wasn’t super excited. My plan was to get a wide panorama of the Milky Way bow. All the deep sky equipment was just going to get in the way, right? I could have been more wrong. I think it only added to the shot.
One of the party goers was Brad. Brad was pretty much my man crush that night. It started off with him having my back with a couple passive aggressive hoodlums that were complaining about not being able to park where we were setting up (heaven forbid they hike to their primitive campsite). Then, throughout the night he and his family let me hang out and then nerd out with all of his astro gear. Oddly enough, he lives 30min down the street and is considering moving to the Lebanon, TN area. Lebanon. Who seriously knows about Lebanon outside of middle Tennessee?
Everyone I met at Copper Breaks reminded me of the same type of people that pulled me into trail running for a few years (and I miss it to this day). Laid back, helpful, and out there for the experience. I am sure the few of you reading this blog will get tired of reading and looking at Milky Way images over the next few months, but deal.
The Storm In the Distance
Between hanging out at the top of the hill and going down to the pier, we spent a few minutes watching a storm off in the distance. This was super cool at the time but I found out later that lightening strikes were happening every 10sec or so…just short of my 15sec exposure times. This meant I was praying to all the gods to just let a few frames not get washed out by lightening (oddly my safety never came to mind).
The Start of Milky Way Season
I am getting a late start, but I officially have the bug. The shot below is my version of one I saw on Instagram. I won’t win in originality but it still took planning and execution. I think mine came out better :)
Below you see the core of the Milky Way. Hidden inside are a few nebula (Lagoon, Eagle) and a star cluster (Butterfly) that I plan to bring to you sooner than later. Can you find The Dark Horse below?
