Starry Surprise
The ISS made a guest shot during a Milky Way shoot at my Lake Meridian campout.
This 20-second exposure (2.8/14mm lens at 5000 ISO) features the Milky Way, the Constellation Orion, and the ISS.
CAMPOUTS DON’T DISAPPOINT. The mid-January weekend at Meridian State Park with some work chums was no exception. A shrimp boil was the highlight of the campfire menu, and the 3-plus-mile hike put my recently repaired arteries to the test.
One clear, cold night, I pointed the Canon at the sky, hoping the Milky Way would pop out of the starry new-moon canvas. Despite the perfect, dark conditions, the galaxy pattern was less defined than usual. I was lucky, however, to capture the International Space Station streaking across the sky in three consecutive 20-second exposures. (I confirmed it later with an ISS tracker.) When it proved too cold to sleep well, I rose early and watched the sun rise over Lake Meridian.
Campouts don’t disappoint.
The Way We Were
A blurry snapshot summons a crystal-clear memory and a reminder that it is, indeed, the memories that matter.
A BLURRY SNAPSHOT summons a crystal-clear memory and a reminder that it is, indeed, the memories that matter. In it, my kids and I are perched on a large stone, a quiet stream barely visible in the wooded background of our campsite. Our sweatshirts hint at the crisp coolness that usually accompanied those outings, whether spring or fall.
The photo was taken in the afternoon’s glow before sunset near the end of a fun weekend. Perhaps our smiles are a sense of relief that the hiking and other physical exertions were over, but I suspect that the sweetness of that moment is simply a manifestation of the love we felt in that bonding experience. It’s a memory mosaic, an image that captures the way we were before sports, school, teenage turmoil, and the digital revolution complicated life.
A full head of hair helps frame a youthful, healthy me, clad in my favorite campout hoodie. Dare I say — it might be the most handsome I’ve ever looked.
My son sports the chili bowl haircut that he insisted on during that part of his adolescence. Like mine, his face is healthy and relaxed. His hiking boots betray a young nature lover.
My daughter is the centerpiece of the image. Her grip on my shoulders, the twinkle in her eyes, the purse of her lips — they all reflect what a daddy’s girl she was then.
That blurry, spur-of-the-moment photo takes me back to a simpler time when I didn’t insist on a certain perfection from my images, a time when making the memory was the thing that mattered.
A foundation and roof, wood and nails, paint and wallpaper, furniture and appliances — all make a house. Memories and family make it a home. We celebrate 30 years and look back from the beginning.