Garrapata Through Sunset
2017.10.21
Day Two Hundred and Eighty Nine. Went down to one of my favourite spots in all of Big Sur: Garrapata State Park — for (what was effectively) the last night of Milky Way season. There's just something magical about Garrapata. I've been here a million times, but it never gets old. It's certainly gotten more crowded over the years, but that problem sorts itself out by the time sunset is over.
I could (and did) sit there and watch the waves crash against the rocks for hours. The sunset was spectacular (as always) ... then the Milky Way came out. With an unobstructed view, and being so far from civilization, it was easily visible with the naked eye and only looked even more spectacular through the camera. I started with the usual wide-angle shot, then, for a reason unbeknownst to me, I decided to try and shoot with the 50mm lens. I didn't think it'd work. I figured the star trails would be too great for it to work. But I tried it and, by George, it worked! I fiddled with the settings a lot (and subsequently couldn't pick just one to publish), so you get a bunch of them. I did also try with the 70-200mm lens, but that was a bridge too far. I will definitely need a star tracker to punch in any closer to the galactic core. All in all, this was an excellent outing and I'm extremely happy with the outcome!
