It was perfect timing that took me to north central Kansas a few weeks ago. A very good friend of mine and fellow pilot was receiving his Master Pilot Award, an award presented by the FAA to pilots that have flown accident free for 50 years.
His ranch has been in the family for 5 generations and the hill, far left, is the highest point on the ranch. His ancestors’ ashes have been scattered from that hilltop and his too will be someday. A marble monument stands atop the hill commemorating the heritage of the ranch. It was perfect timing because the sky was clear, it was a new moon, and the milky Way would be visible over the hill…perfect. With the aid of Photopills, Google Earth, and countless times I’ve been to his ranch I knew about where I would set up my gear. A trip to the location during the day confirmed my location. I was ready.

After the awards dinner I went to bed with my alarm set for 2am. I awoke excited and ready and drove up to the location I’d picked. It was time to put into practice all the tips and techniques I learned from reading and watching videos on U tube channels.

Post processing is not my forte and I’ve struggled to get it right. I feel I’m getting close but any comments to improve it would be appreciated. Personally, I’d like to reduce the glow along the horizon but I’m not sure how to go about that. That glow comes from some cities over 90 miles away. Problem is, without the glow it would be hard to make out the horizon and the hill. The foreground is lit only by starlight…amazing. I plan to have the image printed on metal and presented to him as a gift.

Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm 2.8. This is a four-image stack, manual mode, exposure at f/2.8, for 20 seconds, ISO 2500.

It was perfect timing that took me to north central Kansas a few weeks ago. A very good friend of mine and fellow pilot was receiving his Master Pilot Award, an award presented by the FAA to pilots that have flown accident free for 50 years.
His ranch has been in the family for 5 generations and the hill, far left, is the highest point on the ranch. His ancestors’ ashes have been scattered from that hilltop and his too will be someday. A marble monument stands atop the hill commemorating the heritage of the ranch. It was perfect timing because the sky was clear, it was a new moon, and the milky Way would be visible over the hill…perfect. With the aid of Photopills, Google Earth, and countless times I’ve been to his ranch I knew about where I would set up my gear. A trip to the location during the day confirmed my location. I was ready.

After the awards dinner I went to bed with my alarm set for 2am. I awoke excited and ready and drove up to the location I’d picked. It was time to put into practice all the tips and techniques I learned from reading and watching videos on U tube channels.

Post processing is not my forte and I’ve struggled to get it right. I feel I’m getting close but any comments to improve it would be appreciated. Personally, I’d like to reduce the glow along the horizon but I’m not sure how to go about that. That glow comes from some cities over 90 miles away. Problem is, without the glow it would be hard to make out the horizon and the hill. The foreground is lit only by starlight…amazing. I plan to have the image printed on metal and presented to him as a gift.

Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm 2.8. This is a four-image stack, manual mode, exposure at f/2.8, for 20 seconds, ISO 2500.