Good evening,
So this is turning into an almost a monthly thing. Sorry I will do better.
People say it all the time and to me it seems clique. We as forward thinking humans are supposed to "expect the unexpected." Realistically expecting what is unexpected would make it expected so it wouldn't be unexpected anymore. To me it has to do more with going with what is happening than trying to ponder all of the things that could not be in order. So I was on vacation with the family. A beach house that backed up to the ocean to the point that waves would crash over the back wall during high tide.
My 7 year old watching the waves.
It seemed like the perfect place to do some astrophotography over the ocean. They can't be made out in the image but some of the Channel Islands could be made out on the horizon. The HOA has a policy for external lights to be turned off at 10pm too. My plan didn't quite work out how I wanted it to for various reasons. Such as oil rigs with lights on and people not caring too much about the 10pm light policy. So the skies were not all that dark. I didn't let it stop me though I just rolled with it and decided try and use some of the lights to my advantage.
Waves crashing in the foreground, an oil rig in the mid ground, and Scorpius in the background. I feel that it works for something a little different.
Now this is not what I was expecting to accomplish when I planned the shot. I was thinking a darkish sky nothing like Cedar Breaks but something darker than this. I feel that it worked out. The oil rig lights I could expect the outside lights being left on not so much. If we spend all our time wondering what the worst case scenario is and how to work around it we will never even grab our camera. So be prepared for things to go not the way you want not to the point of stressing so much you stop enjoying the process though, grab a camera, roll with what comes your way, then go out and shoot.
~Scott