Capturing this image of the Milky Way galaxy rising in Joshua Tree National Park, was a special night for me. The Milky Way Galaxy has captivated me ever since I was a young boy. The mystery of space, stars and the planets and my early dreams of being an astronaut has made me often desire to see the Milky Way on a cloudless, moonless night and in a dark sky location. But getting to a Dark Sky location (a location where there is very little to no light pollution from city lights) is not always easy. When you add the fact that you want the Milky Way Galaxy core in a good position in the sky, and you do not want any clouds or the moon, it quickly narrows down the possible successful time options during any given year. To be successful capturing this shot, a lot of times it boils down to quite simply “luck”.
On a month long trip to Palm Desert, California, I finally ran into some luck. Joshua Tree National Park, only a few miles from Palm Desert, is recognized as being one of the best “Dark Sky” locations in North America. As a result, there was no doubt this is where I will be going. Upon checking all my photo apps, I found that there was going to be about 5 days during the month that would have ideal conditions for seeing the Milky Way Core. The best time was at around 2pm in the morning.
On one of those nights, we got dressed (warmly) and headed out into the dark night of Joshua Tree. Once there in the heart of the huge expanse of National Park, we found a suitable location, pulled off the road and set up the camera on a tripod. Using our headlamps with infra red lights on, I was able to capture the image here. I used my headlamp to “light paint” the bushes red to give them a fiery feel. At the end of the shoot and with frozen hands, we jumped into the car and drove back to Palm Desert to get some sleep, lying there all giddy that we saw the magnificent Milky Way Galaxy Core.
I was delighted that so many elements of getting a Milky Way shot came together perfectly on my trip to Palm Desert. The result is an image that I look at often as a reminder of why I still love space and the stars.
