willchristiansen
FollowHi! I'm Will Christiansen (@sky_folk on Instagram) and I'd like to tell you a bit of the story behind this photo, don't worry, I'll keep it...
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Hi! I'm Will Christiansen (@sky_folk on Instagram) and I'd like to tell you a bit of the story behind this photo, don't worry, I'll keep it short. A while back I spent a very cold summer night shivering on the top of a mountain very close to a much larger one (Mt. Rainier, pictured). I hadn't brought enough warm clothes but I knew it was the perfect night to get the shot I had been trying to get all summer. I battled high-elevation dew points with rubber bands and hand warmers on the front of my Nikkor 14-24mm while shooting this panorama of the Milky Way. As I waited for the Milky Way to get high enough in the sky I lay in a thin sleeping bag (my mistake) and wondered about things like hypothermia and how I could get myself into space before I die. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the results from that night. <3 -Will
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Awards
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in ViewBug Photography Awards
Peer Choice Award
Runner Up in Rugged Landscapes Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Rugged Landscapes Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Large Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 19
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 36
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
Virtuoso
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Forrest_Imagery
February 19, 2017
An epic view of the night sky and rich radiance of the arcing Milky Way. Mt. Rainier is elegantly lit and the distant, many-hued, soft glow in the distance is exquisite.
Your sacrifice of comfort for the sake of making beautiful art was well worth it, this image is a masterpiece from my point of view.
Your sacrifice of comfort for the sake of making beautiful art was well worth it, this image is a masterpiece from my point of view.
Theimagebanks
May 21, 2017
Sometimes you have to endure hardship to be in the right place at the right time and this picture clearly so that, brilliant!!!!
amanavinash
September 01, 2017
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I hiked miles up a nearby mountain around 9,000 feet around the base of Mount Rainier.Time
I spent all night on a pad, freezing mists kept trying to obscure the camera; I used hand warmers strapped to my lense with rubber bands to keep the lens clear of the clinging mists.Lighting
The lighting is of course all natural. The photo itself is composed of many photos shot throughout the night; the foreground and mountain panorama was shot just after blue hour, then the Milky Way was shot as a separate panorama hours later.Equipment
I used a Nikon D810 on an Induro tripod which needed to stay in the same position while the hours passed between shots.Inspiration
My curiosity and really a necessary excuse to lay on my back outside all night next to a mountain.Editing
A lot of the post processing was spent blending the panoramas together, making sure the light felt consistent with passes of luminosity masking, noise-reduction, sharpening and dodging and burning.In my camera bag
A Nikon D810, a Sony A7R II, 14-24mm, 25mm, 55mm, 70-200mm a microphone for recording ambient audio for films, a gorilla tripod for vlogging and often a case or backpack with my DJI Inspire 2.Feedback
I have detailed tutorials on my site on gumroad.com/skyfolk and explanations on how to make these images, the best advice I can give here is to go out and experiment with night photography, just like any photo it is about the composition and story you tell, so get somewhere interesting. Take pictures of it. :)