After a restful weekend, Monday night was the first, and ended up being my only truly clear night sky with little to no cloud cover. Voyageurs National Park has is a certified Dark Sky location. There is a dedicated overlook point with no artificial light.
It was time to take advantage, so I got some beautiful night sky photos from an overlook point with Voyageurs near the Ash River Visitor Center. I wish I had a better (more appropriate) lens for my DSLR camera to capture those starry photos, but I was able to adjust my iPhone camera to take those shots you see in the gallery.
I did freak myself out a couple of times thinking I was hearing animals in the distance. It was truly so dark, and I couldn’t see more than 5 feet in front of my face.
Recommendations:
- Watch the forecast and the skies prior to sunset. It will give you a good idea of how clear the skies will be for you.
- Nap. Take a quick nap earlier in the day. It will be easier to stay up to get the photos you want if you are there between midnight and 2am.
- Extend the iPhone’s version of shutter speed, or your camera shutter speed. In the darkness of the night, I was able to extend it to 10 seconds. I could have done longer, but it didn’t improve the quality of the photos.
- Use a tripod. Regardless of how steady you think your hands are, you will not be able to hold your phone or camera perfectly still for the required time.
- Turn off any and all light you bring with you into the park. Turn your car off. Make sure all the lights from your watch, phone, headlights, and interior car lights are off. I even dimmed my camera screen.
- Have a flashlight on hand. As you move around in the dark, you will need something you can turn on and off quickly. It will also quell your fears when you think you hear noises in the woods that freak you out, not that it happened or anything like that.
DarkSky:
Dark Sky is a a movement that seeks to preserve places without light pollution, so we can see the night sky as it was meant to be. If you want to find a certified dark sky place near you, you can find a list at their website: DarkSky.org.
Reflections:
I had to work the next day, so I didn’t stay out as long as I would have liked. It was just the most beautiful night sky I’ve seen in person. And, I was hoping to see the northern lights, but I didn’t have that kind of luck. Hopefully, I will be able to continue these types of photos in other national parks as I travel.
