Milky Way Over the Sierra del Carmen

On my last morning in Big Bend it was clear and I was up early to start the drive home.  However, I could not pass up the opportunity to try another attempt at night photography.  In mid-February the Milky Way rises just before dawn and I hoped to photograph it as it rose over the Sierra del Carmen and Rio Grande.

I made my way up to the hill overlooking RGV and set up the cameras and tripod.  Plan was to photograph the Milky Way with the 5D2 and use my older (and not so good at long exposures) 50D to do some other images.

I did a variety of long and short images and at sunrise found that the most interesting image was the longest one.  This one is about 18 minutes.  I like the effect of short star trails with the light blur the Milky Way has made.  It gives the entire scene a mystery.

I wrapped up my morning with a clear sunrise and then packed up camp to start the drive home saying goodbye to the good friend that is BBNP and looking forward to my next visit.