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Edge of Earth
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Edge of Earth



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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...
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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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upload_dateFeb, 2017

Views

4950

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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
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Peer Award
gerhardprinsloo richardeaton_9707 davidjprosser Vorster hobocolin TonyGuzmanG arcrem +405
Absolute Masterpiece
jamesfox_2552 christymink victoriavictoriapalicpic jessicabee mugwump uniLEE gillybriggs +101
Superb Composition
James-Evans ceinreyes Shawtyv RMCROC carladalenehall sunstar_photography CafeBokeh +85
Top Choice
clane andreacarminati eugenesiroklin cas3005 rizwankhan Spoz101 victorbergstedt +53
Outstanding Creativity
crissgomez Eaking arkinkenballestero anasolposto nema lextur Ohadrip +52
Magnificent Capture
richardpetersen allanvenables Novagurl53 Yorkie1964 TomasTar antoinettebiehlmeier DeniseKramer +22
Superior Skill
donaldgbrown JBordons beverleypohlner karinmcfarlane hiyahercfarm Badgrandad paaluglefisklund +10
All Star
liamollett patriciahoran panoslykourgiwtis JayLawler travel4ever shannonkirk raulweisser +8
Genius
Mary18 sandythompson offpin22
Virtuoso
Lanah Happy_Dayz_Imagery

Top Ranks

Earth Day Every Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Looking At Faces Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Looking At Faces Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Inspiring Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Anything People Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Anything People Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Our World At Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Talent AwardsTop 30 rank
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank week 1
Natural Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Natural Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Natural Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Rugged Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Rugged Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Rugged Landscapes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Large Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Large Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Large Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 7Top 10 rank
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 7Top 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 1
A Sense Of Adventure Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 19Top 10 rank
Unforgettable Landscapes Photo Contest by ZenfolioTop 30 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 36Top 10 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 19Top 10 rank week 2
Unforgettable Landscapes Photo Contest by ZenfolioTop 30 rank week 3
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 19Top 10 rank week 1
Creative Compositions Photo Contest Vol3Top 30 rank
Unforgettable Landscapes Photo Contest by ZenfolioTop 20 rank week 2
Creative Compositions Photo Contest Vol3Top 30 rank week 1
Around the World Photo Contest By DiscoveryTop 20 rank
Around the World Photo Contest By DiscoveryTop 30 rank week 1

Categories

14 Comments |
Forrest_Imagery
 
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.
Horhai1 PRO+
 
Horhai1 April 05, 2017
Love the composition
Theimagebanks
 
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!!!!
willchristiansen
willchristiansen July 04, 2017
thank you! yep, worth it.
AngelLappmarkSe PRO
 
AngelLappmarkSe August 29, 2017
Superb capture of the night!
amanavinash
 
amanavinash September 01, 2017
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
amanavinash
 
amanavinash September 01, 2017
Write a comment
youmeanthabo
 
youmeanthabo September 11, 2017
Too cool
artyfartylens
 
artyfartylens September 22, 2017
Beautiful
charour
 
charour January 05, 2018
i love the composition how did you get this?
Beverlymoto
 
Beverlymoto March 05, 2018
Wow
lauren_s5467
 
lauren_s5467 May 09, 2018
beautiful
marcbaechtold
 
marcbaechtold May 14, 2018
nice work! Some nice colors and good contrast, keep shooting!
TomasTar
 
TomasTar June 02, 2018
Awesome
harveywotherspoon
 
harveywotherspoon March 21, 2019
Wow

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#astrophotography #milky way #night photography
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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. :)

See more amazing photos, follow willchristiansen

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