Road to Heaven [Explored]

As the Milky Way core returns to the night sky in the early morning hours, I had the privilege of capturing its brilliance in Joshua Tree National Park at the beginning of February.

 

While scouting for compositions in the afternoon, I discovered this elegant S-curve in the road, framed beautifully by a striking Joshua Tree on the right. Using the PlanIt Photo app, I confirmed that the rising Milky Way would align perfectly with the scene - an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

 

To add an extra dynamic element, I timed my shot to capture a passing car, its headlights illuminating the tree and its taillights painting a vivid red trail along the road, creating a leading line towards the star-filled heavens.

 

EXIF

Canon EOS-R, astro-modified by EOS 4Astro

Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART

IDAS NBZ filter

iOptron SkyTracker Pro

Sunwayfoto T2840CK tripod

 

Sky:

Stack of 7x 45s @ ISO800, unfiltered & 3x 105s @ ISO3200, filtered

 

Foreground:

Single exposure of 30s @ ISO320, f/8 during twilight

Done