Stars in the Evening Sky
A Starry Night
The evening sky is filled with stars, as seen from our front yard one summer night.
One night a few weeks ago, I had a little time on my hands. So I grabbed my camera and tripod and went outside for some late-night photos. It was a good evening for it, with only a few clouds here and there. And it was interesting to me that the longer I was out there, the brighter everything seemed to be. Even though there were no lights on anywhere close by because I had turned them all off, after a while, I did not need a flashlight to be able to get around. My eyes adjusted the longer I was out there. It was pretty cool!
Our dog Copper came up to me a few times while I was out there. He was saying, “Hey, why are you out here without any lights on? And why are you out here after already feeding all of us animals? But hey, if you want to feed us again, we will eat!” He did not actually say all of that, of course, but I would guess it was what he was thinking.
I would advise you to give being outside in the dark a try sometime!
Seeing Stars
Do you ever just go out and look at the stars? They are always there, except that we can’t always see them. Sometimes there are clouds. Or sometimes we are somewhere where the lights around us are too bright. But the stars are always there, always shining.
Some people use the stars as a guide at night because the stars are so predictable. But other people do not ever look at the stars because the stars are so predictable. And that is okay, too.
I suppose there is a life lesson in there somewhere. Be there, whether people notice you or not. Be predictable, because that means you are reliable. When someone needs you, they will know where to turn.
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. - Daniel 12:3
About the Photo
While the title of this post references the evening, this was actually well into the night, believe it or not. I took this photo just before 10:00 PM, and sunset that night was right around 8:00 PM, so that the sun had been down for a couple of hours. That brightness you can see near the horizon is the brightness of the city lights, several miles away.
As you might guess, this was a long-exposure photo. But actually not all that long, only 10 seconds. Still, that was long enough to require a tripod. Here’s a tip: when I take photos like this, I use the 2-second timer setting on my camera. That way, I push the shutter button, and the camera waits 2 seconds before starting its 10-second exposure. That gives a little time for whatever movement I might have caused by touching the camera to stop.
Also, I turned off all of our outside lights before going outside. One of the benefits of living where we live is that there are no streetlights around us. So we can make it as dark as we want it to be. Not only is it helpful for taking nighttime photos like this, it makes it good and dark when we are trying to sleep. No pesky lights shining in our windows! Just make sure you know the layout of the room before you get up and walk in the night!
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in GIMP and Raw Therapee. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Rokinon 35mm f/1.8
Date: August 19, 2022
Location: Home, Williston, Tennessee
