This
week's photo features an amazing starry sky and . . . well . . . me. Yes! I
usually don't include me in the photos of the week, but this photo is amazing,
at least in my humble opinion.
The
back story; the photo was taken by my youngest (youngest being relative, it
would take me a whole page or more to list his life, travel and photo
experiences) former brother-in-law. I've known Don Stephanian since he was 10
years old. He's now - well, under 50. That means a lot of years have passed.
Don
and his pretty as a picture (and Don takes pretty pictures) wife, Michelle, and
my niece, Sydney, and nephew, Garrett, hosted me at their home for a few days a
week or so ago. I had a wonderful time with them all.
One
night, Don said, let's go out and shoot some night photography. Wow! What a
neat invitation. I've admired Don's photos from around the world for years. I'd
rank Don's photo's with the best National Geographic photos. Don is probably
blushing right now, but it's true and I've been in the media business for a lot
of years.
So,
off we went to an abandoned excavation site in a section of Issaquah,
Washington where there was both some extremely dark sky and some light in one
direction from an area that had been developed. Very little of the light
influenced the dark sky we were focusing on.
This
was a great chance for me to experiment with my simple (by today's standards)
Samsung point and shoot camera. Don gave me some hints on how to capture some
interesting time exposures with my little camera using the manual settings.
Now, I wouldn't compare my photos with anything Don shot and I certainly
wouldn't begin to compare them to anything even approaching professional.
While
I was experimenting, learning and playing, Don selected me as a subject with
the Starry, Starry Sky behind me as a backdrop. Now, I'll be honest, I couldn't
see even 1% of the stars in this photo with my naked eye. Don's expertise and
knowledge of his camera was able to capture this photo and when I saw that
backdrop I was blown away. There was no lighting used for this photo. It was shot
strictly with existing light and the correct lens aperture and time exposure.
Yes! I knew he was taking the photo because I had to stand perfectly still
during the several seconds of the time exposure. Don passed the photos by me on
the LCD screen on the back of his camera. I couldn't see the starry blanket
even on his camera.
But,
when he sent me this, it blew me away. So, you're getting the first exposure
(no pun intended) of what is going to become my new profile picture on my
various sites. Your comments are solicited.
What a great photo! As with you, I got behind in writing for awhile, and it may happen again as we get closer to our departure date. Besides blogs, I still have the illustrations for the updated version of my ebook, plus I have at least four other book projects started...most of which will have to wait until we get out of here! But when that time comes, I also have music projects, digitizing projects, and many other tasks. I just hope we have time for the traveling part of it all!
ReplyDeleteOther than our first major push to get out to Yuma before the snow flies this winter, we aren't going to be in any major rush to be on the go every day. We will likely settle down to a move every couple of weeks, just so we can have time to get some projects completed. As many people find out, this isn't a "permanent vacation". It will be our lifestyle and way of living every day, complete with many of the same chores and projects we would find at any other home. The scenery change at every couple of weeks will be often enough for us!
Thanks for the comment about the photo, John! There is something about it that stirs my soul, just me, and not because it's me in the foreground, it just makes me think how small we are in the scheme of things.
DeleteTime is our challenge, John. There are people like us who want to live life to its fullest and accomplish as much as we can during this limited time we have on our little piece of space dust. I have a difficult time watching people whose primary goal appears to be to do nothing. It's nice to take a short break once in a while, but, even though I occasionally joke about moving to some tiny island and doing nothing, reality is, I'd go crazy without projects to stimulate me. You are the same. At this point, you appear to be even more driven than me - but you do have a huge goal and transition to achieve.
I made it through Yellowstone yesterday (not all of it) and spent last night and I'm still in Cody, WY as I reply to you. By this evening I'll be in Sheridan, WY meeting up with an old buddy from VA whose is on a formal national park tour. Tomorrow back on the road.
Ed
An inspiring photo Ed. Reminded me I haven't seen the real night sky for years. In due time I expect I'll be in such a place to see with my own eyes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Richard. Indeed! This sky is there for all of us to enjoy, though we may have to get away from the city lights to see them. There are, as Carl Sagan would say, "Billions and Billions . . . "
DeleteEd
WOW! Ed, this is an incredible photo. Thank you (and your friend) for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat was exactly my reaction, Sharon. I knew Don was taking the picture since I had to stand absolutely motionless for several seconds. But, I had no idea what I would see until he sent me the photo. Some people have said it's very inspiring - I guess that's what I'm getting from it.
DeleteEd