Most photographers go home after sunset. But that’s when the fun begins…

I take out my lights and tripods, and head for locations I scouted during the day. It may be a prominent physical feature like New Mexico’s Ventana Arch, or an abandoned building like the Magdelena Tire Service or 1000 year old Chetro Ketl ruin in Chaco Canyon. I use Luminos, Stellarium and PhotoPills to find out when and where the Milky Way will rise over that prominent feature or building. I also use Astropheric to find cloud-free viewing sites with good seeing, and Lightpollutionmap to find sites away from urban (and not so urban) light pollution.

Either way, I light and expose. Sometimes the results are very controllable, other times more random. But the pictures are going to be interesting, and the shooting is always fun.