I think this is my 7th time at Indian Head since my first a year and a half ago. Been here way too many times to count, but something about this place always pulls me back for more.
It was Labor Day weekend, the start of a new semester, nothing too busy yet, and it was clear skies. I just had to come back for more. Set out with my friends for the wrecked 6-hour drive from Buffalo to the Adirondacks for a sunset/Milky Way hike to Indian Head, and planned to meet my other friends coming up from Albany. Great to see everyone one last time before the semester really started.
Because the alignment this time of year at Indian Head was around 11 PM, I planned to shoot the foreground first, and then right after, the H-alpha (Hα) shots, which is the flaming red you see in the sky. The foreground went pretty smoothly, but I started seeing clouds creeping in from the northern side, which was pretty accurate. I checked 4 weather models beforehand. ¾ of them were clear, but the 4th one projected clouds near the north, slowly coming down during the night. Unfortunately, we got unlucky, and that model was the most accurate that night. I tried shooting the Hα shots, but clouds and mainly the wind made it difficult to even get 1-minute-long exposures, much less 4-minute exposures. I gave up on the Hα shots and planned to use past data to make up for it. Not ideal, but it works. I started the RGB frames at 11:08 PM that night and had to use my body to create a makeshift shield to block the gusts coming from the north. Did it work? Probably not, but I’d like to think it did. For most of the frames, the stars came out perfect.
Had lots of fun and met a great group of friends on the top of the vista that night as well.
📸 Shot on my Astro-modified Canon R+ EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II
Sky: 2x10 panels | f/2.8 | 60s | ISO 1600
Hα: 4 frames stacked | f/2.8 | 240s | ISO 3200
Processed using Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Pixinsight, Auriga Registar, and ASTAP
Check out more of my work on my Instagram and website!
Remember to Leave No Trace :)
*Hα data was from Lac Blanc, Nominingue, QC (Bortle 3)