You might remember Utah Night #1 and #2... Well, I suppose this is Montana Night #76 or something. Quite a different feeling, eh? I think it was about 3:00am and I had been driving since around 5:00 the previous afternoon. The sky was just gorgeous, being so far from any light pollution and without the moon in the sky. The whole time I was driving I was marveling at the myriad of stars and the clarity of the cool, crisp night. Though I was about dead when I finally pulled into the rest area somewhere in Southeastern Montana, that didn’t stop me from climbing out of the car into the cold to point my camera at the sky a few times.

I purposely went with the highest ISO possible as I wanted to go with the super grainy look. I don’t think I’ve ever actually shot at 3200 with digital before… Also, I needed a short enough exposure to keep the stars as points rather than streaks. Easier said than done during the waxing crescent before the moon had even climbed over the horizon. I’m happy to say though, that I really didn’t have to touch this one out of the camera. I got jut what I was looking for… Just resized for the web.

INFO: 30 seconds @ f/5.6, ISO 3200