Photo Caption: I really fought through a lot to get this photo. From my group being delayed to the point that only three of us made it to these ruins that day, to the clouds in the sky, the light pollution from Aguas Calientes nearby, and the moon rising on the coat tails of the Milky Way that night.
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This was exactly one week ago when I was down in Peru hiking the Inca Trail. I knew I wouldn’t be able to shoot the Milky Way at the famous Machu Picchu, but I was determined to shoot it over some ruins while on trail..
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I only had one night when I was there, (Friday night) when the Milky Way would rise 45 minutes before the nearly full moon. Friday night I researched we were camping RIGHT next to the ruins, Winay Wayna which means Forever Young.. Just as everything I read mentioned, these ruins were empty due to everyone being exhausted by the time they hit the last campground before Machu Picchu.. I ran to our campsite to drop off my bag and gear and grabbed two friends and a porter and made it right before 6pm which is when they close for the evening..
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It wouldn’t be till midnight when the galactic core would rise above the mountains behind the ruins.. Since we had to wake up at 3am to break camp, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get to these ruins that night.. I slept for 2 hours, then Rene and I walked 10 minutes to the ruins and quietly snuck in as the gate was still open.
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I didn’t have a ton of time because clouds were rolling in so I got this one comp w/ 10 images for the sky and 5 images for the foreground… I never saw the core on the entire trip which is a bummer but to shoot the stars in such a beautiful &historic place was an absolute honor…. you can see the southern cross in the top right again; just wish the sky had come out better! thank you to the staff of @valenciatravelcusco for making this a reality!
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Sky 10 Stacked in SLS for NR
ISO 6400
F2.8
13 seconds
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Foreground 5 stacked in SLS for NR
ISO 6400
F2.8
45 seconds
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@tokinausa 16-28 @ 16
@slikusa CF522-lite
@canonusa 6dmk1
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#tracylee #slikusa #canonusa #tokinausa #canonbringit #teamcanon #teamtokina #epicjourneycontest #sliktripods #machupicchu #incatrail #cuscoperu
Photo taken at: Machu Picchu, Cusco, Perú