Milky Way from Stokes Forest
This past Sunday, I ventured out to Stokes State Forest with a friend of mine very early in the morning to get to the peak of Sunrise Mountain. Unfortunately, we found the road up was closed due to the snow. So we decided to find another location near by.
The biggest challenge we faced, aside from getting to a proper location was dealing with the light pollution. New Jersey isn't very friendly when it comes to dark skies, so even going northwest to a dark forest area doesn't solve this problem, but as you can see, it can be done.
What amazed me the most was the sheer amount of stars that came out. When we got to this lake, our alternative location, the sky was completely clear. Looking up made you feel like you were in an observatory theater looking up at the screen to see all the stars surrounding you. I can only image how it is out west where there is considerably less light pollution.
The following two shots are my first attempts at capturing the Milky Way's galactic core. My compositions aren't fantastic, but this trip was more of a learning experience.
