Night Sky at Luther Lake

For a change of pace, I went out with my friend Nigel for another night shoot. It’s been a little while since I enjoyed some night photography. We decided to head over to Luther Marsh – somewhere close by, but still a little ways out of the city.

Luther Lake

Luther Lake

There was a haze along the horizon. It looks like these hazy skies we were seeing could possibly be from the fires out west. As time went by the haze became worse and much more prominent in our photos.

Stars over Luther Lake

Stars over Luther Lake

It got to the point where it was getting harder to see the stars.

Trail at Luther Lake

Trail at Luther Lake

We decided it was time to pack up and head home. Hopefully, we will find another night to head out again soon. One preferably less hazy.

Barns and the Milky Way

Since I had such good luck with the Milky Way last night, I decided to go out with my friend Nigel tonight to photograph more of the evening sky. It’s also the peak of the Perseid Meteor shower this weekend, so I had to try to get some meteors.

Meteor Shower over Barn

Meteor Shower over Barn

Luckily, I caught a few over this barn near Luther Marsh. Nigel mentioned that there was another old barn he found one of his recent outings that we should check out, so we headed over.

Milky Way over old Barn

Milky Way over old Barn

Although the galactic center of the Milky Way was not behind this barn, it was still impressive. We tried lighting up the barn and tree with our headlamps. I think I may need a little more practice with this.

Turning in the opposite direction of this barn, I saw another barn (go figure) with the Milky Way core just above it.

Milky Way and Barn

Milky Way and Barn

I don’t love the light by the barn but the Milky Way looks so large and imposing in this shot. There is a lot more practice and learning required for me to capture the night as I envision it but one day I will figure it out.

The Astronomer

In this week’s post, you’ll notice something a little different – I’m not in my neighbourhood. I’ve gone up to Balsam Lake with my best friend from grade school and my niece. It’s our ‘Aunts and Niece’ annual camping trip. Luckily for me, my friend likes to take photos and it wasn’t too hard to convince her to go out to do some astrophotography. 

Jupiter and Saturn with the Milky Way

Jupiter and Saturn with the Milky Way

The Milky Way was looking particularly nice this evening. We had a bit of a glow from the nearby city of Orilla, but we did our best with what we had, and I have to say it worked out really well.

Milky Way Balsam Lake

Milky Way Balsam Lake

My niece had brought up her telescope so she could check out the stars as we played with our cameras. I convinced my niece to pose for a photo on the nearby dock with her telescope.

Astronomer

Astronomer

This is my favourite shot from the evening. Although we were here only the one night, we had a blast and were able to walk away with some great memories and a couple good photographs to boot.

What Comet?

Its that time of year again – our annual family & friends camping trip. Things are a little different this year with the COVID-19 restrictions. We had to pair down our group to just family. Although we missed our friends, we were happy to be out camping again, especially after being stuck in our homes for so long. 

There are 3 of us who love to take photos and I suggested we head down to the beach to get some night shots. Little did I know that there was a comet in the sky. My brother pointed it out to me as we reached a lookout point over the water. 

Comet Neowise

Comet Neowise

This was my best capture from the night of the comet, Milky Way and a meteor. You can see a galaxy to the right of the Milky Way as well. I also spent some time shooting just the Milky Way.

Meteor Shower & MIlky Way

Meteor Shower & Milky Way

I really missed not getting out to shoot the Milky Way this summer. In the northern hemisphere we start to see the heart of the Milky Way in March, which is when the lockdown in Canada happened. The galactic centre can be seen until September so there are precious few months left.

Meteor

Meteor

My plan is to get out at least once more for Comet Neowise before it fades away completely. Which means I need to get out again before the end of next weekend. So that means more star photos! Yay!

Back on the Bruce

I’m back in Tobermory for my annual fall solo trip. I’m here a little later than usual (Because of my trip to Lisbon) and it looks to be a really nice weekend for some hikes along the Bruce. I’m only here for two nights so I’m limited to only one major hike and that’s today. So off I go to cover a little bit more ground on the Bruce Trail.

Leaves and Trees

Leaves and Trees

Hiking out to the Bruce Trail from the campsite I had a choice to make. Right or Left? I’ve hiked the trail to the left so I today I’m heading to the right to head south toward Stormhaven. Such an ominous name for a backcountry camping area. At least that’s all I think it is. 😉

Which way

Which way

The plan was to hike past Stormhaven and take a break at Halfway Dump Side trail before heading back to the campsite. That would put my hike at just over 11km. 

View From the Bruce Trail Cliffs

View From the Bruce Trail Cliffs

The Bruce Peninsula always has epic views that go on for miles and this section has so many opportunities to appreciate those views, over and over again. Of course we can’t forget the little things that reside here in the forest – the mighty mushroom! 😀

Forest floor

Forest floor

After my hike and filled up on a hearty dinner I started thinking that I needed to get some night shots before I left for the weekend. With my campsite so close to the lake I got my photo gear together and hiked out to a spot that gave me the best view of the Milky Way.

Reflections of the NIght Sky

Reflections of the Night Sky

It was a beautiful clear night and the Milky Way shone with all her glory. It’s so crazy that we have such amazing views from the earth out into the Universe and so many people don’t get a chance to experience it because they live in a light polluting city. I could stay here forever just looking up into the night sky.