As majestic Mt. Shasta towered above the lake before me, I set up my tripod for an evening of long exposures and astrophotography.
My dream was to create an image featuring the Milky Way rising above Mt. Shasta. It only took a few exposures to realize that the hazy band of stars and light was not aligned in the way I had hoped.
So, I snapped a few images of a reflecting Mt. Shasta with the stars above. Then, I focused the rest of my night’s astrophotography on the Milky Way itself.
When I shared the images on social media, I highlighted the portrait-orientation image of the Milky Way reflecting in the lake. However, I was never truly in love. It was a bit blurry and felt more like a consolation prize.
It’s amazing how time changes your perspective.
For years, I ignored the below photo of a starry Mt. Shasta reflecting in a nearby lake … declaring it to be an outtake of my night’s shoot.
Then, a few days ago, something fascinating happened …
I fell in love with the outtake.
While preparing a Facebook post on the mysteries of the Universe, I came across this photo of the stars above Mt. Shasta. No Milky Way – just a closeup of the sacred Apu.
Now, I’m in love with this photo!
What about you? Which one is YOUR favorite?
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