Alone Under the Stars

Apologies for not updating/submitting work here for a while. I hope to get involved with DeviantART again.

On a whim, I decided a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to drive to a remote location for the next new Moon.

So, I ended up in Condobolin. The heart of NSW.

500 km later, after failing to find a road heading south-west to north-east to line up the Milky Way, I found myself in a state forest at least 50 km away from the nearest human. Remember, we're in the middle of the state far away from any real light pollution, already.

It was absolutely spectacular out there. The skies were dark even with the 20-25% illuminated Moon.

I found myself in complete and utter silence. Broken only by the music that is the delayed echo of a jumbojet at 36,000 feet, which is way past you by the time you hear the sound.

The trip was a bit of a mixed bag as I was plagued with clouds pretty much the whole time, except for a brief window on Saturday morning where the Pleiades and Orion were rising, and last night, in pockets.

So, not only did I get to go away and come back somewhat refreshed, I also got to make a few pictures.

Oh, and popped into Parkes to see the Dish yesterday, before driving back out bush for another night.

Here's a two image panorama portrait of a beautiful tree, set amongst the stars. The clouds add to the picture, I think.

I can't wait to go even further out next time.

Canon EOS-5D Mark III, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
30s f/4.0 at 26.0mm iso3200