Yosemite at Night

Moonlight is something that really sucks away the life of the Milky Way when you're trying to take shots of it. It makes the whole sky light up and makes it hard to see the Milky Way. That being said, the moon LIGHTS up the whole night, and can make for awesome and unique landscape shots. With astrophotography, you kind of just have to roll with the punches since you can't control the sky. I was blessed to be able to visit Yosemite during both when the moon was "gone" and when the moon was visible. I was able to get both great Milky Way shots the first night I was there, and then this shot the day before we left. Yosemite Valley and Half Dome are gorgeous during the day, but I think during the night brings out a whole new life to the area. It almost makes it into more of a painting than during the day, but that's just my opinion.

During the night, the Yosemite Valley area turns off all the lights to keep the light pollution down. Since Yosemite is roughly the size of Rhode Island, since the park policy is to turn off all the lights in the evening it is apparently one of the best skies in the United States to view the sky (at least that's what the park ranger told us). Truly some incredible views, and I'm counting down the days when I can go back.

As always, leave a note below with any questions or comments and I'll get back to you!