the dailypic 5387 yr15 274 Mathematical Whim

I got back from a trip to California yesterday. Five days in Joshua Tree (the town) with numerous visits to Joshua Tree (National Park). The trip was planned around getting the photo above, the Milky Way. As with all my trips, I start with, “Should I go to Iceland?’ The answer is always “yes,” and then a moment later, it goes, But… “if I could do X instead. What would it be?” I am constantly trying to get better at different photo methods; I love learning, trying, and experimenting with new things in photography. The Milky Way has been on that list for years. I have done it several times; my first attempt was by chance back in 2020. Though I never got photos I would be proud to hang out at a show.

You need ingredients and math to get good photos of the Milky Way, and I wanted a fantastic location. I tracked the new moon to be this week. Joshua Tree National Park is a perfect location, with plenty of things to put in the foreground and certified dark (that’s a real thing). I had a slow week scheduled, had never been there, found a class that would assist with the goal and booked the trip.

I love taking photo classes as much as I love teaching them (I need to do more classes). One, I find it is always rewarding, even if it is to meet other photographers. This class was no exception. I met Casey, who runs his photography classes and adventure business in Joshua Tree National Park and Iceland. It was meant to be. It was supposed to be a class with a few students, we meet at the entrance of the park at 7, head in and find our spots, go over some settings, etc, then wait for the Milky Way to rise – all went to plan, but the other students did not arrive. They bailed at the last minute. So it was just me and Casey. This lets us be a little flexible with the location. He asked if I wanted to photograph the Milky Way over the Arch Rock – as far as I was concerned the best possible location we could use – I was there the day before with my wife during he day, perfect. It was all about timing, and it all lined up for our shoot. Just hanging out and getting to know Casey was enough for a successful night. We talked about cameras, the photography business, Iceland, documentary films – which he also makes, and Joshua trees – the subject of his film. He is a walking encyclopedia on Joshua Trees and the National Park, and of course, I would be challenged to find someone who knows more about photographing the sky, especially in that park. I learned so much and was inspired to be better all at the same time.

Then the Milky Way rose, and it was incredible. I have all the apps that tell me where to see it; I know the calculations for the length of shutter speed, which lens to use, and all the settings, but to be in a dark location, and I mean dark, and see it is very different. You feel minuscule in the most exciting way possible while looking at the core of the galaxy. That spot in the sky brought thoughts of nothing being of a chance for me. The galaxy would be in that spot at that time. It is known, factual, whether I would be there or not. Yet it was a whim of wanting to experience it that led me to search to find the location, that found the class, that led to the flight, the Airbnb, to Casey, to the others not showing up to the class, to the Arch Rock, to our conversations about the familiar things we shared, to the photo above. The marriage of whim and math produced this photo; I appreciate both. I believe they are usually driving me anyway it is nice to see the obvious proof now and then. I could challenge we are here by mathematical whim anyway.

Now, to answer the question I will get, “Did it look like that with the naked eye?” No, but you could see it; if you know where to look, I will always know where to look because of Casey and the class. The camera sensor is not our eye, it is also very different from film. These photos benefit from technology. The data is collected and not produced, meaning it is not photoshopped but edited. I use Lightroom and considered myself pretty damn good at it until I met Casey. I learned more about Lightroom than I did about photography in this class. That is for sure. But yes, you can see the Milky Way in the sky in the right conditions. It is like a dust cloud in the sky. Processing the image brings the most out of the image. If you are interested, I recommend Casey’s classes or look at his work. You can find his page here: Joshua Tree Workshops. He also advocates for Joshua Trees. He filmed a documentary on them that just played at the Palm Springs Film Festival. It was fascinating to learn about these incredible trees and how they are in danger: you can learn that stuff here, too.

I went out the next night and got more shots before we left. The trip was worth it in many ways. I took photos, spent time with my wife, and met great people. As always, my camera takes me to the coolest places. Thanks for reading.

tr/trp