Milky Way rising over Mt. St. Helens (Guangyan (astrosymmetry))

Milky Way rising over Mt. St. Helens

Link: www.astrosymmetry.com

Milky Way rising over Mt. St. Helens

Link: www.astrosymmetry.com

Without light pollution, our night sky is incredible. This image represents my first attempt with a deeper exposure of the Milky Way, and has been a year in the making. I captured this scene last May, but it took me a long time to learn the skills to finally process this image the way I had envisioned it to be.

A rare, clear, and warm spring day in the Pacific Northwest prompted me to make an impromptu trip down to Mt. St. Helens to photograph the rising milky way over this beautiful volcano. I had a short window of time and managed a total of 32m of integration before moonrise. I used a Canon 35mm f1.4 lens which allowed me to collect a lot of light, but the image did end up with significant star coma at the corners. This was also my first time photographing in a dark sky location (B~2-3), and I was really looking forward to seeing how it would turn out.

When I first processed the image, I was blown away by the milky way detail, but didn't feel like the image was quite right. After almost a year in the hobby and learning much more about different processing techniques, I was finally able to put together an acceptable image which I'm glad to share.

Unfortunately, one day after this photograph was taken, a large landslide swept away a bridge leading to the mountain viewpoint, leaving 12 people and 1 dog stranded (they had to be airlifted out!) Estimates put the completion date for the bridge rebuild all the way in 2026! For me, this photograph is a reminder of the dynamism of mother nature, and how the beauty of the night sky is worth cherishing.

[Update - thank you to everyone for your kind comments and feedback! I appreciate them greatly and will be incorporating them in upcoming revisions.]

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Milky Way rising over Mt. St. Helens

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Milky Way rising over Mt. St. Helens

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