Milky Way Over Saguaro National Park
A pano-stitch of 4 frames.
Sony a7S ii
Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA set to f/4
13 second exposure ISO 12800
After a few days in New Mexico and Texas on business, I concluded my short trip to the southwest in Tucson, Arizona, where I decided to visit Saguaro National Park. It was my first visit, and by late May the temperature was already 100 degrees out during the day. Despite being out on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend, I had nearly the entire park to myself during the day to tour the awesome scenery of the Sonora Desert.
I returned to the park at midnight. That was pretty spooky.. things were definitely crawling and scuttling about so I made a point to stay on the trails. It started getting interesting in the foothills as the giant Saguaro cacti would stand out against the sky. I found one in front of a cool ridgeline full of Saguaros and it was a perfect setting for the Milky Way. And that yellow dot in the center bulge of the Milky Way (in Ophiuchus) is Saturn! The deserts around Arizona, known for their dark skies, provide great views of the Milky Way. Sharing the scene with the giant Saguaros was humbling and the perfect way to end my weekend trip.