Moonrise

Piper's Bellflower, growing in the
Alpine meadows at Hurricane Ridge.

I was at the Olympics this weekend with a friend, and on Saturday night after dark we went out with our cameras to try some long exposures.

It was dark there!  Even though we could clearly see the city lights from Port Angeles, it was so dark that the plane of the Milky Way was obviously visible in the night sky.  Feeling ambitious, I decided to take a very long 30 minute exposure with an inspired shot.  There was a teardrop camper parked on his parents' properly, resting idyllically under some fruit trees with the mountains in the background.  I decided to brightly light-paint the mechanical teardrop camper with an LED flashlight, and then light paint the underside of the trees more gently with the golden hue of an incandescent.  12 minutes into the shot, Nature decided to step in and paint everything else as the moon rose over the Olympics.  The result is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken.  Thanks to Benson for his assistance in light painting this shot!

30 minute exposure, ISO 100, f/3.5.  Light painted.  No photoshopping.