Finger Painting

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8:3-4

Back in August Jane and I went up to Mt. Rainer (for the third time) to see if we could capture the Milky Way in a position that made it look like the mountain was erupting. Three hours up, three hours back. Awake all night. This is getting harder and harder to do.

The first time I went up I wasn’t thinking about composition, I was just interested in seeing if I could capture the Milky Way at all. Once I saw the results I wanted to improve the composition so I drove back up the next night. However I was fogged out. It was clear for about 10 minutes after I arrived, but then the fog rolled in. I napped in the car for about a hour but the fog never lifted. Since I had to go to work the next day, I drove back home.

A week later the sky was still clear and according to my moon maps the moon would be set by the time needed to capture the composition – around 2:30am. So we headed up. When we arrived around 1:30am the moon was just rising. So much for my ability to read moon charts! However it was rising opposite the mountain so the light didn’t interfere terribly. It is truly amazing how much reflected light is cast by the moon.

Looking at the sky, the stars, the Milky Way, the words of the Psalmist elicit praise and worship from my heart. Living in the city it is harder and harder to see the sky. There also tends to be a business such that I rarely even look up. It is good to take time to savor the works of His fingers and the astounding truth that he is mindful of us.

Note for those concerned about truth in photography:
To be able to see the detail that we see in these pictures there is a certain enhancing of the photograph that needs to be done. What you see in the picture is not what you would see with your naked eye.