Milky Way- Shennendoah National Park

2020 was filled with many firsts, some good and some bad. But this is one first of 2020 that I am not likely to forget for a long time. Early in the summer of 2020 I captured photographs of lightning for the first time while visiting my parents house. In that blog I had talked about how I wanted to explore with more photography of the wonders and power of nature, and my camping trip with my family in October certainly provided the opportunity.

For my school's fall break (as I am a teacher as a well as a photographer), my family all met up at Shennendoah National Park for a camping trip.

Note- Sadly my brother could not join us due to opposing school schedules, but hopefully we can go back there again with him soon. Love you brother!

When we got to Shennendoah, we started off driving some of Skyline Drive, the road that goes through the entire park, and I discovered that this national park is one of the locations where you can see the Milky Way at night. My parents had been the one to pick the location, so I hadn't even thought to research what photography opportunities there would be. As soon as my family and I discovered this, it was all I could think about despite having no real experience with this area and no internet to look up and tips or tricks. But I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by!

We ended up choosing three nights to go to the Big Meadows (where they recommend you go to view the Milky Way, which was less than a minute drive from our campsite) and taking my camera with us. The first night we were all in awe, as none of us had really seen the Milky Way before. Around us people would be hiking to the tops of trails and hills, some staring up at the sky, some taking photos, and some sky enthusiasts had brought their telescopes and were staring up and beyond what we could see. (Sadly I did not know about this in advance, so I did not think to bring either of my telescopes with me.) Meanwhile, my family and I were bundled in our winter wear (as it was well below freezing with some strong cold wind), laying on our backs in the field just staring up. That first night I didn't really take many photos as I was more just taking everything in, and trying not to let my tripod fall over from the strong winds. On our second and third nights going to the meadow, just my dad went with me, but I was still just as in awe as that first time. The stars were just so bright and I loved sharing my knowledge of the night sky with my family who are not normally sky enthusiasts, but were eager to hear what I knew this night. My brother in law saw a shooting star, my sister was amazed at how fast the stars moved across the sky, my mother wanted to hear me geek out about the night sky, and my dad eagerly helped me with my camera and gushing about the photos I took. Though we did have to tease my mom a bit as she would find a cluster of stars and ask if it was the Big Dipper. Over and over throughout the trip she would joke about it, pointing out stars that were not the correct constellation and eventually I took a photo of the dippers just for her

Funnily enough, my favorite photos of the Milky Way that I captured were taking from right outside my camper door. It was after we discovered that despite it being late in the season we could see the Milky Way here, that we really started to look up at the night sky while sitting around the camper. Our campsite was perfectly nuzzled between some trees that we had some coverage from the sun, but at night left plenty of big gaps for us to view the stars. One evening I decided to stay outside a little extra as we finished our card games by the fire. The fire was still burning, but I suddenly realized that the Milky Way I had been trying to capture in the meadows was right above my head! It didn't have the lovely extra colors from the sunset, but the stars were bright and I could see the gas clouds that are such a key feature of the Milky Way. I immediately began taking photos, and only ever stopped because we were leaving for a hiking trail at 7am the next morning and I had to get good sleep. I do not think I will ever forget this experience and the emotions it brought out in me.

So without further ado- here are my photos of the Milky Way (please keep in mind these are night sky photos, so be sure to turn up your brightness). Let me know what you think, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

ps- someone asked if I am going to sell prints or digitals of these photos. Please message me on text or social media if this is something you would be interested in.

Until next time- Stay safe, much love!

Laura Mantooth

-this one (above) is my favorite- shot from my campsite just looking up!

-I apologize for the blurriness of a couple of these. I may not have been the best at focusing the first night, but they had some beautiful natural colors and felt they still should be shared.