Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. To recognize its importance to those of us who cherish the natural beauty of this tiny planet we call home, I got out at 4:00 a.m. this morning to capture the Milky Way, including the galactic center which is now visible after its long winter nap below the horizon. This image captures the entire bow of the Milky Way, nearly from horizon to horizon…a sort of “MilkyWay-Bow” (with no rain, a rainbow is not an option this Earth Day). A Happy Earth Day to all!
Photography and Travel, specifically adventure travel and backpacking in remote North America, give me an excuse to stay outside. If kayaks, bikes, backpacks, Jeeps, archeology, geology and wildlife can be included, all the better. Having spent my life working in the fashion and photography industries, I love the unusual, the spectacular, and the beautiful. God has given us a wonderful world in which to live, and I try to open others’ eyes to its wonders. I have shared nearly 50 years of this indescribable wonder with my wife, Jodie, and we go everywhere together. I hope you will share some of our journey with us.
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10 thoughts on “Happy 50th. Earth Day”
What a glorious image! I like the thought of a Milky Way bow. I’d hoped to watch the Lyrid meteor shower, but no go: clouds and more clouds. I’m glad you were luckier.
Clouds early, but all gone by 4:00 a.m. I didn’t go out to see the meteors, but I was treated to a couple of magnificent ones, complete with ion trails. I was hoping to get one streaking through the Milky Way during a time exposure, but no such luck. I have some Milky Way images taken in the Wind River Mountains when that happened. Sorry you didn’t get to see any.
Cool image, Bob. If you have it posted somewhere else I’d love to see it larger. I’ve not tried anything besides the moon at night. Too much ambient light around here. My time of day seems to be during the Belt of Venus/Earth shadow blue hour. If we are able to return to Acadia this Autumn I may try to get something over the ocean either from the shore or the top of Cadillac Mountain. The last couple of nights have been overcast but tonight is a possibility for the Lyrids.
Thanks for viewing. I have an image on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bob.freeman.332 which is in a format where you can enlarge it for a better look (one of my complaints about WordPress blogs is this inability to view enlargements by clicking on the image). It was taken with a 14mm lens on a Canon 5DMkII, at f/2.0 at iso 2500 using a 15 second exposure. Post-processing in Photoshop with Topaz denoise plugin and Luminar 4 plugin. We are in n area recognized as an International Dark Sky Location, so my only limitation for these kind of images is clouds.
I’ve been out the past 2 nights to enjoy the Lyrids, but so far very disappointed in the show, or lack thereof. Also, comet Atlas has been a big disappointment.
Anyway, really enjoy your images of flowing water. I’ve had good luck with ND filters to capture flowing streams on backpack trips to the mountains, but out here in the desert, there aren’t too many opportunities to photograph streams. Your images leave me longing for clear, cool water.
Let me know if you can’t get into the Facebook page. Thanks. Bob.
I was able to follow you but only a few images, including you, were visible. Didn’t see an option for becoming friends. Maybe you have your images that I can’t see tagged for friends only.
I am not sure why you cannot click to enlarge your images in WP. Mine are clickable to view alone on a page and then there is a spot on the lower right that can be clicked to view full size. When you upload an image to share and scroll down that page before sending it to your post, there is a box where you can designate to send it to an attachment page which allows a click. If you have that set to “None” that might be why there is no click to enlarge. Some themes, I guess, allow for a second click on the image, mine requires scrolling down and clicking to see it full size.
I’d have to travel to be in a dark sky neighborhood but I guess there are some areas remote enough here to just have a slight ambient city glow and allow for some astrophotography.
I am glad you are enjoying the water in motion work. I have a nice collection of ND’s (Lees and B&Ws) but since I am out early and in the woods slow exposure is not a problem. They come in handy at the ocean, reservoir, or lakes. I often have to up the ISO to slow down the flow enough to have some texture.
texasflashdude 
What a glorious image! I like the thought of a Milky Way bow. I’d hoped to watch the Lyrid meteor shower, but no go: clouds and more clouds. I’m glad you were luckier.
Clouds early, but all gone by 4:00 a.m. I didn’t go out to see the meteors, but I was treated to a couple of magnificent ones, complete with ion trails. I was hoping to get one streaking through the Milky Way during a time exposure, but no such luck. I have some Milky Way images taken in the Wind River Mountains when that happened. Sorry you didn’t get to see any.
Maybe this weekend. Our skies are predicted to clear today, and stay that way for several days and nights.
I hope you get to see a good one. The last few showers have been disappointing, just in lack of numbers. Good luck.
Love your blog 🧚🏻♀️
Thank you.
Just visited your blog. Love your poetry. Love your attitude. Keep writing. It’s a gift.
Cool image, Bob. If you have it posted somewhere else I’d love to see it larger. I’ve not tried anything besides the moon at night. Too much ambient light around here. My time of day seems to be during the Belt of Venus/Earth shadow blue hour. If we are able to return to Acadia this Autumn I may try to get something over the ocean either from the shore or the top of Cadillac Mountain. The last couple of nights have been overcast but tonight is a possibility for the Lyrids.
Thanks for viewing. I have an image on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bob.freeman.332 which is in a format where you can enlarge it for a better look (one of my complaints about WordPress blogs is this inability to view enlargements by clicking on the image). It was taken with a 14mm lens on a Canon 5DMkII, at f/2.0 at iso 2500 using a 15 second exposure. Post-processing in Photoshop with Topaz denoise plugin and Luminar 4 plugin. We are in n area recognized as an International Dark Sky Location, so my only limitation for these kind of images is clouds.
I’ve been out the past 2 nights to enjoy the Lyrids, but so far very disappointed in the show, or lack thereof. Also, comet Atlas has been a big disappointment.
Anyway, really enjoy your images of flowing water. I’ve had good luck with ND filters to capture flowing streams on backpack trips to the mountains, but out here in the desert, there aren’t too many opportunities to photograph streams. Your images leave me longing for clear, cool water.
Let me know if you can’t get into the Facebook page. Thanks. Bob.
I was able to follow you but only a few images, including you, were visible. Didn’t see an option for becoming friends. Maybe you have your images that I can’t see tagged for friends only.
I am not sure why you cannot click to enlarge your images in WP. Mine are clickable to view alone on a page and then there is a spot on the lower right that can be clicked to view full size. When you upload an image to share and scroll down that page before sending it to your post, there is a box where you can designate to send it to an attachment page which allows a click. If you have that set to “None” that might be why there is no click to enlarge. Some themes, I guess, allow for a second click on the image, mine requires scrolling down and clicking to see it full size.
I’d have to travel to be in a dark sky neighborhood but I guess there are some areas remote enough here to just have a slight ambient city glow and allow for some astrophotography.
I am glad you are enjoying the water in motion work. I have a nice collection of ND’s (Lees and B&Ws) but since I am out early and in the woods slow exposure is not a problem. They come in handy at the ocean, reservoir, or lakes. I often have to up the ISO to slow down the flow enough to have some texture.
Maybe if you ask to be my friend on FB that might allow me to see your images. https://www.facebook.com/stephen.gingold