Where There is a Will, There is a Milky Way
This weekend on May 23rd I took a trip late in the evening to the Francis E. Walter Dam in White Haven, PA. I had been researching and scouting this location online for about a month. My original plan was to go the weekend before because of the new moon, however, due to poor weather, that fell through. This weekend was much better though—clear skies, long weekend, low humidity...
It wasn't without some struggle. Temperatures that night dropped to the 30s. A friend of mine met me at the location had car trouble just as he arrived. My camera's battery was completely drained even though it had been fully charged the week before without any usage. The location, as far as a scenic spot, kind of sucked too. It would have been nice to see the lay of the land while there was still some light, but that was no longer an option by the time we arrived.
Our fortunes turned for the better though. My friend just happened to have a power inverter for the car, so I was able to charge my batter for half hour, while I watched him shoot. I got just enough juice in the battery to last the rest of the night. We double checked his car as well, and the oil level was low so when he left, he stopped at the nearest WaWa and took care of his car. Even though the spot we were initially shooting stunk, after he left I went to a couple nearby locations and got some good ones.
All-in-all, not a bad night!
These first two shots are from the initial area we were standing—a two lane road that crosses the dam with a fairly steep drop-off on either side. These were shot between 12:30 a.m. and 1:45 a.m.
After my friend left, I drove down the road, not more than 1/4 mile. This is still part of the dam, but looked much more interesting. Approximate time is 2:15 a.m.
Finally, at around 2:45 a.m., I decided to call it quits. My hands were freezing and it was super dark and a little spooky. All I could hear running through my head was the Jeepers Creepers song. I drove back but just before coming to the main road, there was a turn off into a small park.
I think I'm going to explore this location again, now that I have a better understanding of it. It's easily accessible which is a plus. Only problem is that there is still considerable light pollution (all the yellow that you see towards the horizon).
