

We call it our “Tron” shot, and surprisingly, I actually won a contest for this photograph.
#Startrail yosemite how to#
One photographer there taught me how to paint with my flashlight for the above photograph of my son.
#Startrail yosemite iso#
There is nothing quite like it.Ĭamera Settings: ISO 6400, 24mm, f/2.8, 20 sec, White Balance 3,194 temp, +3 tint Light painting is SO much fun for night photography You feel part of something amazing and new. When you are so removed from the busyness of the world, there is an unspoken sacredness and respect. There were astronomy clubs up there and lots of photographers.

I went back again in August 2014 with my husband, Dave, and son, when The Milky Way was supposed to be at its peak. This totally helped alleviate my fears about the unknown. On another trip, I decided to visit Glacier Point during the day to see exactly where I had hiked and what to look out for. It is invaluable if you want to venture out after dark. ( Check out my video on how I edited these photos here!) I got a book by Jennifer Wu, Photography: Night Sky: A Field Guide for Shooting After Dark, and I LOVE it. Since then I’ve learned a lot about the night sky. It was not accepted at Shutterstock, and I was disappointed.Ĭamera Settings: ISO 6400, 24mm, f/2.8, 20 sec, White Balance 3,194 temp, +3 tint Editing the Milky Way can be learned My editing skills were rusty and I think I added too much color to The Milky Way. While I was super pleased and the dance company seemed happy, I’ve learned a lot since then. The light noise to the right came all the way from Fresno, CA, several hours away. My first attempt at taking a photograph of the Milky Way proved to be a challenge (see above photograph). Being the ONLY ONES up there, I was terrified, but that’s part of the adventure, right? I had no idea how far up I was or even where I was.

Tiny lights from the Yosemite village dotted the distance. My son came with me and we walked to the edge of the lookout in the pitch black. I, truthfully, was (and still am) terrified of bears. The roads had been iced over but cleared just enough that we could make the trip. November is NOT the best time to go up to Glacier Pointīecause it was November, we were the only ones up there and totally removed from all civilization.

I have never seen SO MANY stars in my entire life!!! It was breathtakingly beautiful. Then walk up a steep path to get to the lookout. From Wawona Road, turn onto Glacier Point road and drive until you hit a parking lot at the very end. You can come in from the West or the South. Getting up to Glacier Point takes an additional hour from the entrance to Yosemite, so plan accordingly. Patches of ice spotted the sides of the road, but overall it felt safe. I was lucky and it reopened for just a few days in November. Glacier Point Road often closes in the winter due to poor road conditions. Because of that, I decided to drive up to Glacier Point. We lived in the valley and had way too much light noise to take decent shots of the Milky Way. My first attempt at photographing and editing the Milky Way I’ve learned a lot since this first trip on how to capture and edit star photographs🙂Ĭamera Settings: ISO 6400, 24mm, f/2.8, 20 sec, White Balance 3,194 temp, +3 tint While I had been taking photos since I was a little girl, I had never attempted the night sky before. The theme was Dream and they wanted a shot of The Milky Way or night sky for their show. A dance company hired me to take some high resolution photographs for their performance. I had never been to Glacier Point before. It is honestly one of my favorite places on the earth, my happy place. In November 2013 I went up to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, CA for the very fist time.
