rheebird

Starry Night at Reflection Lake

Seattle is not known for its clear skies and dry weather, although an occasional cold snap will pass through the Pacific Northwest and give us an astoundingly c...
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Seattle is not known for its clear skies and dry weather, although an occasional cold snap will pass through the Pacific Northwest and give us an astoundingly clear view of land masses surrounding the region that we often forget exist.

Such a cold snap rolled through Seattle in November, obliterating all haze and clouds from the sky. It just so happened that I had just received my very first full-frame body (a refurbished Nikon D810), so I decided to test out my new ISO limitations with some night photography.

Once the weekend hit, I set off with the new body, a rented Nikkor 14-24 f-2.8 from Glazer's, and nearly every bit of outdoor clothing that I own. I drove in to the south side of Mount Rainier National Park before being stymied by a road closure and hiked in the rest of the way to Reflection Lake. Four hours later, I had two compositions, 3 dead batteries, and a water bottle that had frozen shut. Driving included, it took 14 hours to get this shot.

This image is a composite of multiple 30 second exposures merged together in Photoshop.
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