You know I’ve been working on my night photography, right?. Well, I was lucky to be able to meet Heather, aka Snap Happy Gal, while I was up north. We met out on the beach long after sunset and she gave me a few pointers about night shooting even though the skies were cloudy and the stars were hiding.

I learned a lot, though I need much more practice before I can even begin to think I understand all of this.

But I didn’t get much time to practice night photography on this trip because, as you have seen in recent blog posts, we had days and nights filled with clouds.

Lots of them. Luckily my last evening the sky cleared and I hoped there might be a chance.

I checked the sky at 10:30 and found stars! So I rushed down to the beach with my tripod and my camera and tried to figure out what there was to shoot. The milky way was directly overhead, making it difficult to include in a photo of much of anything.

But the Big Dipper, my star symbol for my dad, was out there over Lake Michigan.

It was pretty high in the sky, so it was hard to include it along with anything on the ground. But I tried.

I tried a lot. I struggled with the tripod in the sand. But I think I’ve almost got that figured out.

It was fun to be out on the beach late at night. Slight breeze, no mosquitoes. Not cold. Not hot. Just perfect.

Now I have to say these shots aren’t close to what I hope to do someday. There’s definitely a shake showing up, and I found it hard to focus on anything in the dark, but they are the next step toward fully understanding how to capture the magic.

I’ll be trying again, the next time I find myself outside in a dark place. I figured out a few more things about the tripod. And I’m getting more confident in the camera settings.

Thank you Heather for all the helpful tips!