White Sands National Park: Photo Adventure!

Photo Trip - Inspiration

When I first met my friend, Lena, she and I had children attending the same elementary school. We became friends and over the past dozen or so years, we've seen each other grow and evolve as photographers. When I was talking with her over a year ago, I was sharing about how I wished there was a photo retreat or trip just for photography in an area that's new to me, and didn't cost thousands of dollars. You see, there are many, many photography focused retreats, workshops and trips around the world. Usually those are hosted by experts who understandably charge thousands of dollars (locations, their expertise and the exclusive access to spaces make them cost this much, which I understand is necessary).

I wanted something different. Nothing full of all the extras like a wine tasting, or morning yoga. I wanted pure photography, an opportunity to explore and see something new to me. To be a beginner again. And, to try something new! And, that is how we decided to plan our own photography adventure trip. We chose White Sands National Park in New Mexico to practice Astrophotography (the stars and night sky).

And, I was so happy to be able to visit a part of the US that I had never been to before. I learned that the areas we traveled between Albuquerque and White Sands National Park are on the Native Lands of the Pueblo and the Apache. Both have museums and cultural centers to learn more about their history in these lands. I highly encourage learning more!

White Sands National Park

It took a year to plan, and the permit process took so long! While they used to have overnight camping in the park, it now closes at 9pm. We needed the permit for access after hours to do astrophotography. We chose the week beginning with Memorial Day weekend, because there was a New Moon (meaning very little Moonlight, making the sky as dark as it gets) on that Monday so we'd have the best chance to see the stars with more dark sky. What we didn't consider was looking up the timing of the Milky Way, which rose during a window of time we didn't have access to the park (our permit was only through 12am). If I were to do the trip again, I'd plan around that too.

An unexpected challenge on our first day into White Sands was that Lena sprained her ankle! The next morning we got her to the ER to help figure out what was causing so much pain. They confirmed no broken bones, diagnosed it as a sprain, and provided a boot and crutches. She was such a determined photographer who didn't let pain and crutches keep her from White Sands and the adventure!

Below are some of my photos of White Sands during the late afternoon - evening. Yes, I did some self-portraits, and explored some motion blur in one of them.

Astrophotography - learning curve

The sky was beautiful as the light dimmed and the stars emerged. We saw Jupiter first, then the stars. It was a challenge to get all the camera settings lined up, and I think I pushed my Canon 5D Mark 4 to it's limits. The experience has inspired me to practice more when I have the opportunity to view the sky without light pollution. Here's a series of my favorites. I think these are best seen on a computer screen as a small Smartphone doesn't do it justice. And, I wasn't as successful as Lena was with photographing me using light painting to photograph her, but I tried! The first photo below is Lena looking at the screen of her camera. The rest are of the night sky in White Sands, and yes, the light glow and bright spots are from either the nearby towns or vehicles driving through the park. All in all, it was a trip that filled my photographer cup!