Star Dock
Bernard's Landing, Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia - at night, obviously.
This one is tricky. It was difficult to deal with the dock which was overlit by nearby parking lot lights. Those lights also cast my shadow, and the camera shadow on either side of the dock (did you notice?)
This is a three-shot vertorama. See the "settings" for details.
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I vividly remember my first true encounter with dark skies... it was near here returning from a late afternoon of water skiing and swimming. Darkness had fallen and as we traveled back to our "home dock" I saw a sky so full of stars I almost couldn't imagine it. I was raised in a suburb of Washington, DC where the darkest sky I saw would NEVER have revealed the Milky Way.
The rest of that boating story is amusing... We ran aground on a sandy little island and were rescued by other boaters sailing under the beautiful night sky. My father was bestowed with the nickname "Captain Beach'em" as a result. That was an homage to one of the other local skippers who had earned the name "Captain Crunch" after running his boat into pilings.
The surrounding area has blossomed, and there are houses and light pollution nearly every where around the lake... but you can STILL see the Milky Way from a dark spot.
I know the arc of my life would have been quite different if not for the starry skies of Smith Mountain Lake. I wonder with sadness how many childhood dreams go unlaunched because they've never seen the wonder of the night sky.
Some Rights Reserved: 2018 Steven Christenson
Website | FaceBook | Flickr | Instagram | Twitter
[N606579-81st]
Star Dock
Bernard's Landing, Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia - at night, obviously.
This one is tricky. It was difficult to deal with the dock which was overlit by nearby parking lot lights. Those lights also cast my shadow, and the camera shadow on either side of the dock (did you notice?)
This is a three-shot vertorama. See the "settings" for details.
-------
I vividly remember my first true encounter with dark skies... it was near here returning from a late afternoon of water skiing and swimming. Darkness had fallen and as we traveled back to our "home dock" I saw a sky so full of stars I almost couldn't imagine it. I was raised in a suburb of Washington, DC where the darkest sky I saw would NEVER have revealed the Milky Way.
The rest of that boating story is amusing... We ran aground on a sandy little island and were rescued by other boaters sailing under the beautiful night sky. My father was bestowed with the nickname "Captain Beach'em" as a result. That was an homage to one of the other local skippers who had earned the name "Captain Crunch" after running his boat into pilings.
The surrounding area has blossomed, and there are houses and light pollution nearly every where around the lake... but you can STILL see the Milky Way from a dark spot.
I know the arc of my life would have been quite different if not for the starry skies of Smith Mountain Lake. I wonder with sadness how many childhood dreams go unlaunched because they've never seen the wonder of the night sky.
Some Rights Reserved: 2018 Steven Christenson
Website | FaceBook | Flickr | Instagram | Twitter
[N606579-81st]