The Milky Way core over two backpacking tents at a wilderness camp above Rainbow Falls at night.

Above the Falls

Rainbow Falls, Ansel Adams Wilderness, California

An off-trail camp above Rainbow Falls, no moon, and the galactic core standing straight up out of the trees. Fifteen seconds at f/3.2, ISO 1000 — the 440-gram tripod and the f/2.8 lens splitting the night shift between them. Three weeks of cloudless skies were a curse for sunsets and a gift for this: I could plan an astro camp days ahead with total confidence the stars would show up for work.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 19mm · f/3.2 · 15s · ISO 1000

July 14, 2025

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