Beneath the Milky Way: A Personal Exploration

The beauty of our Milky Way and feeling in awe while capturing it.

Stargazing and night photography offer a unique opportunity to connect with the universe, to find solace in the quietude of the night, and to experience the healing power of nature.

I have always been obsessed with stars, I remember long drives in the car at night and I would lean my head against the backseat window gazing at the diamonds in the sky. I would be in such awe and peace. I’d be deep in wonder of other worlds among us, possible life, the unknown discoveries, history of our ancestors, and the absolute mind blowing confusion learning we are looking at light years away.

My obsession with the stars has grown over the years, when I was in college dabbling with photography my best friend introduced me to night photography. We loved the thrill of adventure in finding unique compositions and places to explore for our unique photography styles. Neither one of us cared to photograph people unless it was a cool location or concept.  I am more of an artistic photographer, I love framing unique compositions and I’m not a huge fan of a lot of post editing or worrying about settings. So the learning curve of Milky Way photography is still a challenge for me as it’s so technical and you have to plan. The Milky Way appears in the Northern Hemisphere for the season of April - October and it’s best to see it with no moon or cloud coverage in a location with minimal light pollution.

On top of that you are photographing complete darkness until the photo exposure is complete. Once you hear the shutter click you find out if you caught a masterpiece or sadly a photo fail. But that’s the thrill! There are many factors in this photography form which makes getting the perfect shot even more enticing. I absolutely love it! It’s not like any other form of photography, you are in this thrill of living in the nocturnal world. You are immersed in nature in complete darkness, minimal light pollution and you hear the coyotes, see bats and owls fly across the night sky, the crickets sing at night, snakes have crept up on us, mice and sand crabs have skirted across our feet.  But each moment is so divine and I’m so grateful to experience it. There is a healing and thrilling feel when photographing dark skies. It’s almost an addiction because I’d rather be out in nature with the wild than watching TV in artificial light, hearing cars, sirens, and other human invasion sounds. 

My favorite part of capturing the Milky Way is bringing friends along, not necessarily photographers, just friends who appreciate the sound of nature, the excitement of seeing shooting stars, and the love to just be. A lot of people are invited to go to buildings and be distracted. So it’s special when I invite my friends to go out in nature past 9PM and sometimes into the early morning of 3AM you find the true adventurous friends who seek peace, thrill, excitement, and nature. I often am thanked by my friends for the invite because they haven’t taken time for themselves to be in nature. I try to make it fun as I’ll bring lights for light painting, show them my process of photo taking, and we enjoy each other’s company.

My favorite moment is when my friend Abbie joined myself and my photographer bestie Dustin, to travel Moab Utah to capture the Milky Way in a certified dark sky national park. It was a divine moment as her and I sat in darkness looking at the sky, hearing the night sounds, and both in awe of what Arches National Park looked like at night. She was sitting on a rock while I was siting by my tripod. We hear Dustin in the distance yelling in excitement for getting the whole milky way arch like a celestial rainbow. I’m feeling giddy of being in the moment and behind me I hear her say, Thank you with a tear in her eye. It hit me hard as I was also caught up in emotion of being in a beautiful place with people who appreciate the beauty just as much as I did. She was so touched to be included in our adventure and to be there to observe the night sky with us. She has been searching for friends who seek adventure and we were able to give it to her. Most importantly she was such a huge value to us on our trip as she was designated driver while us photographers were asking her to pull over every ten minutes. WE LOVE YOU ABBIE!

My friends often ask to come out again because they realized they have felt healed by just being, observing, playing, feeling in awe, and finding their inner peace. It genuinely brings me happiness to give this to my friends. I have made nature such a huge part of my life I tend to forget how much it can heal those who aren’t used to the peace of stillness and observing. I am extremely privileged to live in an area where you can see the Milky Way along the beach. I hear the crashing waves, the brush of the sea oats, and the star's reflection twinkle in the water while setting up my camera for the perfect shot. I am getting happy tingles just writing about it. I encourage you to go outside when there is no moon, no clouds, and in a place of nature with no light. Feel your body at peace and your mind in awe. Let the beauty of the Milky Way, shooting stars, nature sounds wash over you and you will feel your body rush with gratitude. If it’s your first time you may have an awkward feeling or fear, it’s normal as this is not our norm anymore and you start to feel your survival instincts kick in. Embrace it. 

Thank you for reading my excerpt of Milky Way appreciation. If you like any of these photos check out my photo gallery! If you want to know more about the Milky Way please reach out! I’d love to send you resources and nerd out. 

Check out my Milky Way Collection!

Peace & Love, 
Erica ✌️💜