The New Moon is marked every month on my calendar. As it gets closer I start watching the weather service map, looking for where there will be clear skies. Last month was a complete dud, the 5-night window only saw overcast and rain.
But this weekend the sky was clear. I had three people sign up for my Night Sky Photo Tour on Saturday night.
Officially the New Moon is tonight, June 16th, but if you are close, one or two days plus or minus, you will get the lighting you want.
Camped under the Milky Way
This first shot I have been dreaming of for some time. My son is 10 years old and he likes to go camping with his friends, swimming and being goof balls. Of course they always bring their electronic devices. I made sure to tell them to save some battery life for dark.
The strip of the Milky Way appeared directly over the tent. The exposure to capture the stars is 30 seconds long, but that’s way too long for the light from the I-pad. So I had them sit and turn it on for a second or two and then quickly off.
Then I spent some time circumnavigating the tent. I got a shooting star in this one.
Milky Way and Shooting Star
and then as I faced north I captured this image. The pink glow is actually the Aurora Borealis! How cool is that!
Glow of Aurora Borealis
I had three people sign up for my Night Sky Photo Tour on Saturday night. We visited the Washington Pass Overlook to capture images of Liberty Bell. Between instruction advices I snapped a few images. This image is from a north-facing view. To the naked eye there was NO color.
Needless to say we were all excited to see the Northern Lights there on the horizon!
Northern lights at Washington Pass
North Western Images - photos by Andy Porter 
Reblogged this on McKinley Post.
Tents look great in photos.
Absolutely beautiful! compliments
Thank you!
These photos are way beyond ‘cool’! They are even way beyond ‘stellar’ 😉 It’s just astounding to see what you were able to capture in these images! And the sight of your son and his friend camped under the Milky Way is priceless – the light inside the tent in the middle of the scene is fantastic and the Aurora Borealis is awesome!!! So glad I didn’t miss this – thank you for sharing this experience with us in photos.
Thanks Carol…I had a good few nights out there! Its not easy to get that perfect mix of no moon AND no clouds around here!
You nailed it, that’s for sure.
Beautiful 🙂
That last shot… stunning Andy!
I had NO idea the lights were there until it turned up pink on the screen…
What a delightful surprise discover!
“to” 😉
Lovely
Thanks Sherry!
The one with the kids is the real winner! Great shots Andy..
Thanks, Martin! As always shooting the stars is a lot of fun!
The open tent is a tremendous twist on what otherwise would have a ‘normal’ tent picture. A really great addition!
Thanks! It was like herding cats but came out pretty good!
Love your tents!
Yes! That yellow dome tent is more than 30 years old and still going, its is very photogenic!
absolutely gorgeous nighttime photography!!
Thank you!!!
Aurora Borealis has been on my list for a long time. Hope I can see it some day. Lovely inspiring pictures.
Wow!! Where is it?
Baker River, North Cascades