McGown Peak Cloudy Milky Way

ISO 1600, f/2, 15 seconds, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Although the astrophotography conditions weren’t ideal during my trip to the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho, that didn’t stop me from setting the alarm at 2am and return to a spot I scouted earlier in the day: beautiful Stanley Lake. The Milky Way positioned nicely over 9,860’ McGown Peak, but increasing cloud cover nearly thwarted my efforts. So bright was the last quarter moon, that I dialed down my ISO significantly to compensate, using an ISO of 1600, 15 second exposure, f/2 on my Rokinon astro lens. The shooting star photo-bomb in the upper left was a nice, unexpected surprise when I viewed on my monitor at home.
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