A Field of Stars over the Valley of the Moon
The Milky Way rises in an arch over the "Valley of the Moon" in Jucumba California.
The Vally of the Moon is an area that accessible by hiking in or driving in with a very capable OHV in the Jucumba area of San Diego County.
I had been interested in shooting the stars in this area so I did a initial hike to see what the feasibility of it was, other then the initial hill you need to climb the rest of the hike is not to bad. Its a 3-4 mile hike each way into the Valley of the Moon. You can drive into the area as well but you better have a kick as vehicle. I was only comfortable taking my vehicle up the 1st mile of the road.
This area has a few mountains with really interesting rock formations that are reminiscent of the area around Jousha Tree, except you will not see any Joshua Trees, plenty of cholla cactus though, so be careful where you walk.
This image is a composite. I planned on shooting the Milky Way at this location. I hiked in without a cloud in the sky until I got ready to shoot the Milky Way 4 hours after arriving only to have clouds start coming in and bunching up over the area I wanted to shoot the Milky Way arch and no where else. So I combined my Blue Hour Pano of the landscape here with a tracked Milky Way image I took in the same longitude but slightly north in the Borrego Springs area.
Blue Hour Landscape Pano
Sony A7iii astro modified w Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM
ISO 800, 24mm, f/1.4, .05 sec x 8 shots.
Tracked Milky Way Pano
Sony A7iii astro modified w/ Sony FE 14mm f/1.8
ISO 800, 14mm, f/1.8, 1 min x 7 shots.
A Field of Stars over the Valley of the Moon
The Milky Way rises in an arch over the "Valley of the Moon" in Jucumba California.
The Vally of the Moon is an area that accessible by hiking in or driving in with a very capable OHV in the Jucumba area of San Diego County.
I had been interested in shooting the stars in this area so I did a initial hike to see what the feasibility of it was, other then the initial hill you need to climb the rest of the hike is not to bad. Its a 3-4 mile hike each way into the Valley of the Moon. You can drive into the area as well but you better have a kick as vehicle. I was only comfortable taking my vehicle up the 1st mile of the road.
This area has a few mountains with really interesting rock formations that are reminiscent of the area around Jousha Tree, except you will not see any Joshua Trees, plenty of cholla cactus though, so be careful where you walk.
This image is a composite. I planned on shooting the Milky Way at this location. I hiked in without a cloud in the sky until I got ready to shoot the Milky Way 4 hours after arriving only to have clouds start coming in and bunching up over the area I wanted to shoot the Milky Way arch and no where else. So I combined my Blue Hour Pano of the landscape here with a tracked Milky Way image I took in the same longitude but slightly north in the Borrego Springs area.
Blue Hour Landscape Pano
Sony A7iii astro modified w Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM
ISO 800, 24mm, f/1.4, .05 sec x 8 shots.
Tracked Milky Way Pano
Sony A7iii astro modified w/ Sony FE 14mm f/1.8
ISO 800, 14mm, f/1.8, 1 min x 7 shots.