LBI - Reaching for the Stars
“LBI - Reaching for the Stars - Boardwalk”
I had wanted to create a meaningful milky way series for quite some time and as it happens, LBI is one of the few locations where this is possible in our area. Typically these shots are planned months or a year in advance and require a new moon, clear night and the right elevation of the galactic center (bright area) of the milky way, for which the season runs March - October. As it happens, I got lucky on a clear and cool night in April where the planets literally aligned. The darkness of the ocean sky, facing away from the light pollution of the cities provides a natural canvas. LBI’s own charm provides a beautiful foreground. With a cloudless, beautifully clear night forecast, I set out for what would become an all night photography journey.
Without shore traffic, the late night drive was peaceful. I crossed the bridge and decided to head north to Barnegat Light. Through some trial and error, I found a few quiet streets and grabbed my gear, closing my car doors quietly so as to not disturb the neighbors. The gentle ocean waves are a tranquil calling card at night. I took the boardwalk shot at East 22nd St with my tripod right on the boardwalk. What’s rather unique about this milky way shot is that I took this as a single exposure, exactly as you see. This shot uses a low-light lens and is shot as a “long exposure,” with the camera shutter open sufficiently long to gather a lot of light but not so long that the stars leave trails as the earth rotates, which it does rather quickly. The milky way might be faintly visible to the naked eye, however when the camera gathers the light, the result is what you see.
In some locations, I was the only one taking pictures. Out on the jetty, I had the company of a half-dozen other photographers, meeting quite unintentionally to capture earth’s beauty. We traded stories about families and what we do, all in the middle of the night under the clear sky. I took several hundred photos that night and returned home at sunrise the next day.
I present this image on ¼” acrylic to provide visual depth, printed on metal paper to highlight the majestic colors of the milky way and render clarity and detail in the beach. The sand, dunes, shells, boardwalk path and faint glow of boats on the horizon are all there for us to appreciate and savor this amazing part of New Jersey.
This image is available for purchase in the store.
