Third times the charm!

Summertime is such a great time if you enjoy astrophotography and live in the northern hemisphere.  The Milky Way is out in full force!  This year I had the goal of capturing the milky way behind the iconic Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  It’s famous around the world from the classic movie The Goonies. 

It pays to do research and planning before you go out on a shoot.  It is at least a 90-minute drive each way to get to Cannon Beach from where I live.  So, the first attempt I should have done more research besides checking to see if it will be clear skies at Cannon Beach for the night.  It was, but I forgot to look at the time the moon set and where in the cycle it was on that night.  Turns out the moon was just ahead of the milky way that night and was over 3/4 full.  Needless to say, I did not get my shot that first night, but did make the most of it by getting down there early and capturing some great sunset shots and then a bunch of moonlit shots before calling it a night.

Attempt two was about a week and a half later.  The moon was not going to be an issue on this night and the forecast called for some clouds.  The clouds looked to be light and we thought even if there were some scattered clouds it may make for some unique photos with the milky way partially blocked by a few scattered clouds.  That was the worst outcome we had hoped for, ideally the clouds would hold off and allow for a clear shot.  Again, I went early and hit up Hug Point for some sunset shots before heading over to Cannon Beach again.

When we arrived and set up it looked like it would be ok.  I took some test shots and slowly some clouds started rolling in.  I looked behind me and was so disappointed when I saw a solid cloud bank making its way southwest and heading over our heads and directly towards Haystack Rock.  I made the best of the situation again and got some cool cloud shots before the sky was covered in clouds and I could no longer make out a single star in the sky.  I was able to get a milky way shot that turned out cool in which it was situated in between two cloud banks, but it still was not my shot I was looking for.

I made a third trip down to cannon beach, this time with my wife who has been itching to get a good campfire in.  The forecast called for clear skies, which it was, and the moon was due to set about the same time the Milky Way core was to become visible at this location.  I was setting up my Nikon D500 to take a time lapse the entire two hours we planned to stay at the location while Kimberly, my wife, set up her beach campfire.

I grabbed my Nikon D850 and a tripod and started to move around the beach capturing a few different compositions.  There was one point I had just taken a shot and was moving to set up another composition and I saw this light moving along the horizon above the water.  At first, I thought to myself it must be a Coast Guard helicopter.  Then it made a weird move that happened really quick.  I thought to myself that maybe it just spun quickly to hover in place, but I had not seen a helicopter move like that before.  Before I could finish that thought the light started to streak and then it broke up into six pieces in greens and orange and yellow and each piece streaked until it disappeared.  It was the most spectacular meteor I had even seen in my life.  It was so bright and big and colorful.  I was happy to hear Kimberly saw it as well while sitting at her campfire looking out at the ocean under the stars.

I was surprised to see I caught the last part of the main section of the meteor in one of my frames I was taking in the time lapse.  I was sure it would have been too far to the right to get in the frame at all.  I am stoked with what I caught but cannot help to think what it could have been with the entire sequence to see how all the pieces breaking off would have turned out in an image.

So, this is what photography is like sometimes….  I got more than what I expected with multiple compositions that I am in love with from the third night.  It took a lot of time and effort to get these images.  A lot of driving, late nights, energy drinks and not getting to sleep until 3 or 4 in the morning.  In the end perseverance won and the efforts I believe were rewarded!