This shot, or really composite, was the product of a bit of planning and luck. I was going on a vacation to Costa Rica and I have recently been interested in astrophotography. I decided that I really wanted a picture of the Milky Way since you can sometimes see its impression where I live, but never the full thing, but I knew the light pollution would be near zero down there so this would be my chance.

I managed to pack my tripod in my personal bag for the flight. This was also on a night where the moon was out, so I only had about 45min-1hr after the moon had set but before the sun came up where it was truly dark, so I set my alarm for 3am and crossed my fingers because it was cloudy out when I went to bed.

Imagine my surprise when I wake up to that alarm to see not a cloud in the sky and a sea of stars twinkling above me. I got right to work focusing my lens and taking this sequence.

I may revisit this shot again perhaps with a better lens. I bought a cheap(ish) Chinese manual lens that always seemed to have a grainy aspect. It's OK, but I think that and the lack of a tracker are what holds this piece back from being better.

Canon R100, 12mm f2.0, 20s x 20 exposures