Wonder Lies Sleeping 'Neath a Mantle of Light

This is a breathtaking image in and of itself Geoff… but your words have made me stop and think. The night sky has always captivated me and now that I find myself lucky enough to live away from any major city, I can fully appreciate its magnitude. I have a ritual where I step out onto my balcony each night to say goodnight to the stars. To quote a famous spaceman…

“To infinity… and beyond”

Whoa you guys are quick off the mark!
Sarah – what a beautiful story and a brilliant memory to have of your father – talk about showing your kids what’s important. And I love the way that the longer you spend out there the more stars you see as your eyes adjust – one of the most magic transitions I think.
Rhana – thank you my friend – yes I try and do the same thing but I bet you get to see way more than I in Tassie! The night sky is one of the main reasons I don’t think I could ever go back to living in a city. Love the quote – brilliant!

First of all thanks for sharing these pictures that we don’t get to see us mere city dwelling mortals. It’s great to feel like “we were there” (although I can easily imagine it would be 100 times better to actually be there surrounded by nature and darkness as opposed to my work desk right now lol). I like how the milky way is lit up by the light below, it give it a “stage’ effect. Love this piece.

“steller” shot Geoff…lol…..ahem….
I too grew up in the country where, on a moonless clear summers night, you could still see your war around in the dark by the light of the stars themselves.

Now I live in the city where, if the lights go out….you get mugged.

Congrats on a brilliant thought provoking image.

war = way

Great work, well done!

This is incredible….................I don’t think I have ever seen stars like this…....magical!!

Douzy – thanks, glad you like it – it was rather fortuitous that the Milky Way lined up so nicely with the halo from the city.
Michael – I can certainly believe that – I’ve been in some beautifully starlit landscapes myself. And it’s always useful being able to see a “war round” lol. Don’t you hate how you can’t amend comments in RB?
Antanas – thanks
jacq – thanks for your lovely comment

Love it Geoff. Well done

ahhhh i love this shot, i have tried to capture the milkyway but never achieved anyhing like this, great capture

what camera are you using to get such a high iso????

Lindsay – thanks
Canon – thanks also – I use a Canon 30D – brilliant camere for high ISO I find.

Wow this is awesome!

Aweeee…am lost for words!!!! mighty beauty!!

Just got my 10-22 the other day. Can’t wait to get out under the stars. Great capture Geoff.

breath taking. the stars have always boggled my mind.

Stunning and full of unknown mysteries

wow, wonderfully taken.

Fantastic work, Geoff

Spectacular work Geoff!

Wonderful capture!

Congrats on the homepage Geoff !! :)

Excellent work! Congrats on making homepage!

Congrates on the homepage Geoff, well deserved.

Great pic here Geoff! How on earth did you manage to get a picture this clear with ISO of 3200 though??!

saw it on the frontpage and knew it’s yours :p
Awesome as always..
Nice to see u here Geoff :)

Very impressive.. Love the portrait mode.

This is fantastic. I always get star streaks in my images. Did you use a mount for this image or just a tripod?

One of my dreams is to see the MIlky Way before it goes out…......
Thank you for this.
j

Wow ! what a wonderful picture! well done.

Gorgeous capture, Geoff! I have a backup 40d which is absolutely hopeless at ISO over 400….glad to know the 30d was good!!

weird, and VERY disappointing! Still….I only have the 40D cos hubby thought that 40 must be better than 5….when he was looking for a birthday present for me….lol! He’s promised to not buy me any more cameras :D

HA!

I grew up in the ‘60s and used to stare in wonder at the night sky whenever I could manage to sneak a look – the city (Melbourne) was so much smaller then. Now, even though it’s so much bigger, I can still see the Milky way out in my backyard/ While the city lights drown out much of the galaxy, they also enhance the middle, the densest part. Magical shot.

Stunning capture. An area of photography I am pursuing. ISO 1600 max, though. Perhaps a 5D MK2 would solve this.