It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a personal note. Between the corona blues & the upcoming ND2020, I’ve been either incredibly busy or incredibly slow. The ND2020 is picking up steam. A couple of entries have hit the forum and I’m starting to get very, very excited! I also had a midnight playdate last Saturday & that is doing wonders for my corona blues.

It’s not every day I leave the house just before the clock strikes midnight to go meet some strangers on a dark, deserted road. In fact, I can’t remember ever doing something like that. The more corona forges a new normal, the more I’m surprised at who I really am & what I really need. Obviously midnight playdates are something I really need.

And, honestly, they weren’t complete strangers. I’ve been a member of a local Facebook photographer group for just women for a couple of years. But. I broke my leg. I wasn’t able to go on any shoots. But now, with the leg 80% healed, and corona getting me down, I pushed out of my comfort zone & out of the house. A midnight playdate sounded like Heaven.

We met up outside of Burg Hohenzollern. On that dark & desert road at midnight. I pulled up as the last of four, everyone had brought a companion to venture out that late, so we were a group of eight Americans at the base of one of the most imposing neo-Gothic castles in Germany. Camera’s at the ready, determined to tackle astrophotography. Most of us for the very first time.

The goal had been to get the milky way in a shot behind the camera. I quickly discovered my lens (a Canon 50mm prime) would not capture the milky way. I need a wider lens & probably an equatorial mount. Or telescope. With a lot of patience, quite a bit of rolling around on that dark, cold road, I finally did get a gorgeous shot of the castle. My camera saw what my naked eye couldn’t.

The delight I felt when I got home, slept until after noon, and then used a little lightroom magic to see what was in my camera, was exhilarating. I had stars, hints of milky way, and a gorgeous almost-daylight clear castle on my memory card. I didn’t get the milky way + the castle. I did get a new addiction.

It’s surprising that for someone who loves space & stars so much, Saturday was my first stab at astrophotography. I cannot wait to go again.