Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Another image from my week-end with friends camping in the Stanislaus National Forest in North Eastern California. We had great weather, and two nights of gorgeous dark skies.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere the constellation Sagittarius rises in the southern sky bringing with it a very dense part of the Milky Way: a large plume of white milky gas, and dust, and running through it a dark lane called the Great Rift with all its tributaries standing out marvelously in the night sky.

We scouted for locations during the afternoon and found this location off trail. We hiked through a hillside full of mesquite, and low bushes keeping an eye and ear out for Rattlesnakes then we climbed on top of a huge granite slab to get a higher perspective.
It was wonderful to be under such a dark sky and see so many stars, the Milky Way, and a few shooting stars, and it was really great having Marsha for company. It had been a long time since we’d been out shooting the stars together.
We’re making plans to return to this area for more night imaging.
You can see Marsha’s work here.

Nikon D700| AF-S 17-35mm @17mm| f2.8| 20 seconds| ISO 3200| Manual Priority| Tripod