Milky Way Rising Over Blanco County, Texas
This past August, under the cloak of a new moon, I ventured to a state park in Blanco County, Texas, about 45 minutes west of Austin, seeking darker skies. The Bortle scale reading here is a respectable 3-4, offering a fantastic canvas for capturing the Milky Way.
The Quest for Dark Skies
Securing special permission to enter the park after its closing time, I arrived around 12:30 AM. The plan was to hike about 25 minutes from the car to a chosen vantage point. However, upon setting up my gear, I realized I had left my star tracker at home! The return journey proved more challenging than expected as I lost the trail and ended up navigating the forest for an hour, a stark contrast to the 25-minute hike in. This experience has definitely highlighted the need for a more robust flashlight for future expeditions.
Technical Details
This breathtaking image is a composite of 12 long-exposure photographs, meticulously processed using Photoshop and Lightroom. The details are as follows:
- Camera: Sony a7iii
- Lens: Samyang 24mm
- Aperture: f/1.8
- ISO: 3200
- Exposure: 15 seconds per frame
This is undoubtedly one of my favorite Milky Way captures from the past year, and it's always rewarding to share these moments of cosmic beauty from the heart of Texas.
