April 24th - The Milky Way

In the US we've got so much light pollution that most under the age of 40 have never see the Milky Way with the naked eye.  In fact, today,  it's only visible in remote areas like Natural Bridges, UT, which very few of us venture to see.

Things are different in Australia.  Get outside of a city and you can see it.  Many people grew up seeing it.  Whilst we were here we were lucky because there was no moon and we got some clear nights. 

We had scoped out Reid Lookout in the Grampians during the day and decided it was the place to be!  After dinner we put on everything we owned and headed slowly up to the look out.  Slowly, because night time is when most of the animals are really awake and running around.  A wallaby hopped out right next to the car and thanks to Johns quick reflexes, we missed him!

To shoot the Milky Way you need tripods, cameras with really high ISO, patience, and lots of practice!  Fast, wide lens also make a difference!  We both had our Canon 5d Mark iii cameras.  John has a 20mm f1.8 and Cheri has a 24mm f4.  A shutter release cable can be helpful too.

This particular night was spectacular!!  It was the biggest, most spectacular viewing either of us had ever experienced.  It was like looking into God's eye as you peered into light from extinct galaxies!  Spiritual experience for sure and one you didn't tire of seeing! 

We shot for about an hour and a half, trying our best to capture the beauty to share with all of you.  Cheri took multiple shots so she could get a wider view.  It's one of the images below.  She stitched them together in Photoshop.

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

Multiple Frames

April 22nd - Warrnambool to Mt. Gambier

With the skies breaking into blue in patches we elected to back track to the Bay of Islands and the Bay of Martrys. Oh what a good decision!  The sun came out in earnest and we were treated to spectacular views with virtually no tourists in sight!  We got to go down on the beaches in between the spectacular lime stone formations.  It felt like you were in Narnia when they came back the second time.  I swear Asland was in the bush whispering to me!  We hung out in the By of Islands until about 11:45 then shot for Warrnambool for lunch. 

After lunch we headed to Tower Hill to see what typically Australian animals including emu and koala bears.  We walked and were rewarded with emu, little birds, and butterflies.

Traveling from Tower Hill to Mount Gambier is filled with green rolling hills, cows, sheep, wind turbines...it's very peaceful. It like I think Montana is...big skies and long distances.  Oddly, the ocean is just over the ridge. 

The light is beautiful today.  At 4 PM we left the ocean and headed into the hills toward Mount Gambier.  Sad to leave the ocean, but the adventure must continue.  

We've been trying to catch the parrots since we got here.  We've seen many blue and reds as well as green and reds.  Finally scored them!  Then 5 o'clock came...the golden hour and when all the nocturnal animals start coming out.  It's like being on an African safari. Kangaroos on the left, emus on the right!  Spot, spot, spot!

Dinner was divine!!!  Local cows, local farm, local wine - yahoo!

The milky way was bright and we shot it!

Emu

Enjoy! John & Cheri

Utah - Feb 2012 - Day 6 - NIGHT!!!

We finished the yummy dinner at the Blu Pig.  We started with Catfish fingers and then ate BBQ.  Highly recommended!!  We stopped at the grocery store and bought two $1.99 flashlights and filled the gas tank.

By 7:30 the batteries were charged, the 32G cards were downloaded and free, our clothes were laid out, and we were headed for bed!

RING, RING, RING....OMG....it's 3 AM!  OK - up we go....put on everything we own!  Into the car and off to Arches!  Even though we were very sleepy, the excitement was high!  We zoomed up to the park and went to the first location we had scouted out.  We stopped, set up the cameras and shot a few test shots. 

After having our fill, we headed to the Windows.  Oh what a place!  This was it.  This was the place that we would shoot!!  We tried different settings and shot in RAW.  Before we knew it the nautical dawn was here at 5:20 AM.  We would love to hear what you think about these - so feel free to e-mail us!!

Enjoy!
John & Cheri