Mount Rainier, the Milky Way galaxy, Star Trails and Climbers’ Lights at Night

On my recent trip to Mount Rainier National Park, I had one particular image in mind, and I managed to achieve something very close to what I envisioned with this photograph. Seen here is the northeast side of Mount Rainier, with star trails in the sky and climbers’ lights tracing their paths over Rainier’s snow-covered slopes. The colorful area of the sky to the left of Rainier is the Milky Way moving through the sky from left to right as the Earth rotates, intentionally blurred in a time exposure but still recognizable. I’ve used this technique a number of times this summer to good effect, to make Milky Way images somewhat different than the norm. Cheers and thanks for looking!

Mount Rainier, star trails, the Milky Way galaxy and climbers' light, seen at night.

Mount Rainier, star trails, the Milky Way galaxy and climbers’ light, seen at night.