On the night of July 18th, 2020, several intrepid explorers headed up into the lonely hills of West Virginia to photograph the Milky Way and Comet NEOWISE.
Then the steel wool came out, and things got just a little bit hotter….
Elliott’s Photos
A short intro video, with sunset timelapse
Last winter, I had noticed this scenic overlook on Hwy 48/55 while on a different trip (up to Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis, WV), and made a mental note about doing some Milky Way photography there in the summer. This is a panorama shot from the overlook, facing SE, in the direction where the Milky Way would rise.
Here’s the overlook parking lot, showing the ridge behind us, studded with wind turbines (taken last winter on a separate “scouting” trip)
Another view of the ridge from a short way down the highway - the scenic overlook is just outside the frame on the left (also from last winter)
As the time approached when Comet NEOWISE should have been visible (about 21:50), we thought it would be too low in the sky and the ridge would block it. While debating if we should move to another location, I pointed my camera in the general direction of where the comet was supposed to be, and “blindly” fired off a few shots. It was still too light out, and the comet was not visible to the naked eye yet, so I didn’t realize the camera had actually captured anything until I got home and looked at the photos on the computer. To my great and pleasant surprise, I had about 15 frames that - totally accidentally - included the comet, just above the treeline of the ridge (see the far right of the frame). The video above has the full sequence of frames.
I don’t know if that streak on the upper left is the International Space Station (which was supposed to be visible in the sky around this time), or a plane, but it came by just before the comet dropped below the ridge - see the far right just above the treeline. It seems a bit bright to be the ISS (even at a 30-sec exposure, f/8, ISO 400, 55mm), but a plane would likely have shown up as a series of dashes (since plane lights blink) rather than a solid line. Also, a plane would likely have shown up as two streaks (one streak for each set of wing lights), even at a higher altitude. I’m sort of leaning toward it being the ISS, based on other photos I’ve seen. Not sure one way or the other - if anyone has any ideas let me know. For reference sake, this was shot at 21:54.
We ended up moving about a mile up the road to get past that ridge, where we had an unobstructed view of the comet. At that point (about 22:15) it was easily visible to the naked eye, and quite spectacular in the sky. I was thrilled to see - and photograph - this since it was the first comet I’ve ever seen with my own eyes (that I can recall). There’s also a faint streak above and to the left of the comet - not sure what that is. Satellite? Meteorite? Distant plane? Settings: 30 secs, f/8, ISO 400, 31mm).
Taken at 22:20 - 17 secs, f/8, ISO 400, 120mm
Taken at 22:37 - 30 secs, f/10, ISO 800, 38mm (foreground bushes have been light-painted)
Taken at 22:50 - 30 secs, f/8, ISO 800, 24mm - foreground light-painted (another long, barely-visible UFO-streak above the comet)
After trying to get some Milky Way shots - which I flubbed due to poor focusing - we fired up some steel wool for some spinning “Woolie” shots. At least I got the Milky Way “background plates” right on these so I could do some composite shots with the Woolies burning under the stars. (For this shot, I left my red headlamp on while I spun).
Another Woolie-Milky Way composite (headlamp off)
Drew was willing to put his Jeep “in the line of fire”, which made for a very dramatic foreground element for the Milky Way composite background
This is the money shot! I wonder if Jeep would buy this for a July 4th promo or something? : -) I had a second camera positioned low to the ground right near the Jeep, firing remotely (at the same time the shot above was taken) - Drew was on a step ladder at the left-rear corner of his Jeep, spinning horizontally.
Fiery rain! I wanted to try the “rain of fire” effect - I had brought an old umbrella just for that purpose - Drew spun while I stood under the shower of sparks
I had my second camera positioned near the ground a couple of feet away for the “rain of fire” shot - I didn’t aim it quite right, so I missed some of the shot, but the next time will be better now that I know what it looks like. At least I got the effect I was looking for, namely the sparks coming straight at the camera lens.
PS: several of us went back the next weekend (July 25th) to try to catch one final glimpse of NEOWISE from a different overlook, but we were thwarted by a steadily-increasing cloud cover:
PSS (or is it PPS? PS2?) - how about just Perseid Addendum?
On Monday and Tuesday night last week (Aug 10th and 11th), I went up to the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center off Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park to see if I could capture some of the Perseid meteor shower on my retinas - as well as my cameras’ sensors. I spent about 7 hours of viewing time, about 4 hours of driving time, and shot a total of 1748 frames with two cameras. I ended up with a half-dozen frames with some meteor activity, but only 3 worth showing. That’s an ROI (Return on Investment) of about 0.17% - not exactly “stellar”, to coin a phrase. But it was fun trying, a solid learning experience, and good reconnecting with a new friend.
I got lucky with this shot on Tues night, managing to get a meteor center-frame, showing off its myriad colors. Nikon D810, 10 sec, f/4, ISO 2000, 24mm
Also Tues night, not quite as lucky with the framing of this one, but still some nice colors - D810, same settings as above
Tues night - D5300, facing the Milky Way - comet not as bright and colorful as the first two, but just visible in the upper left part of the frame, between (the blown-out) Jupiter and the Milky Way - 15 secs, f2.8, ISO 3200, 18mm
I did run timelapses on both nights with both cameras, but they’re not really that great, so I didn’t bother sprucing them up at all (I’m only posting them because I shot them and figured what the hell). I basically just cut the four timelapses together without any editing or music.
