Fumbling Through the Heavens
An artist, a man, a failure, must proceed. ~ e.e. cummings
No one can stop us now, ‘cause we are all made of stars ~ Moby
First Deep Space Object: Orion Nebula and IC277, Munds Park, AZ — November 30, 2022
Canon D6 Mk II (unmodified), Rokinon 135mm f2.8
The week after Thanksgiving with my brother in Tubac, Arizona, spent in a one-bedroom mobile home (with two people and three dogs), I rewarded myself with an extra few days alone in the little town of Munds Park, just south of Flagstaff.
The plan was to drink wine, hike with the dogs, bake bread, and shoot the sky. The actuality was arrive, proceed to feel not great, then come down with COVID-19.
Bound and determined to not lose this chance at a mostly dark sky in a dark, semi-secluded location, I mustered the strength on my last night to set up my gear at the end of the driveway and do my best. Not the ideal location, since the neighbors all came home from work while I was shooting and my view of the sky was partially obscured by trees. But I managed to get a small stack of photos as Orion crossed the small patch of clear sky.
On the plus side, though, I was able to set the timer, run inside, stay warm, and drink tea as I watched the exposures fire off from the kitchen window.
The moment I saw this nebula for the first time in my test shot, I had a near-religious moment of ecstasy. Like magic, this marvel, hidden from the naked eye and even the camera viewing screen, was revealed. Like a secret between the universe and me; a little whisper from the cosmos that said, “See? I knew you’d find me if you kept trying.”
I’ll still try to fix my processing (which isn’t great because I have no clue what I’m doing), but I don’t know if I’ll ever experience as great a high as I got from seeing this emerge. Even as I look at it now, my heart is full of joy and wonderment.
First Photo: Goat Rock, Sonoma County - October 30, 2022
Canon D6 Mk II, Samyang 14mm f2.8
Last 20 minutes of the session, with my 50mm fogged over and trying to salvage something to work on when I got home, I switched lenses and took a mostly blind shot toward the coast. Pleasantly surprised.
First Sky Photo: Seven Sisters and Friends, Sonoma County - October 30, 2022
Canon 6D Mk II, Canon 50mm f1:1.8
A failed attempt to find the California Nebula before the fog rolled in.