Desolation Wilderness

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So this was a fail. But I thought it would be a good idea to share it with you.

It did not occur to me that while we were out camping, we would see stars. I don’t know why. It’s just something that completely slipped my mind. I think I was too worried about the actual camping part to even consider anything else.

So after the sunset on our first day in the woods, I was kicking myself for not bringing my 14mm lens. It’s so much faster and I specifically bought it to take more night images like this. *Facepalm x2* So I tried to do best with what I had.

My camera settings for this image is F4.0 at 13 seconds and ISO 5000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm. I did not have a tripod with me so I did my best by balancing the camera on this big log we were sitting on. I think the colors are really cool in the image. I just wish it were sharper and I know I could have done that with my 14mm.

Oh well. Next time!

Which will be soon because Andrew and I will be traveling to Norway next week! I can’t wait. Neither one of us have been there before and I’m really looking forward to capturing the fjords, waterfalls and the night sky! Don’t worry though, my 14mm is the first lens I’ll be packing in my camera bag. We’ve booked places to stay that right along the water and am really looking forward to just checking out the scenery. I’ve been on pinterest like a madwoman planning out this trip and reading other people’s experiences. I couldn’t sleep the other night because I was just so excited. So if you’ve been to Norway, please let me know. I’d love for any tips or advice.

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This was my very first time camping. And when I say camping, I mean real camping. No running water, no bathrooms, sleeping outside in the wilderness, as real as it’s going to get. To be honest, I was a little nervous. Sleeping on the ground never really interested me much, plus I hate getting mosquito bites.

Luckily we went with my sister-in-law’s family who had experience camping and they were super prepared. Like they brought burners so we had hot food for every meal, 2 water filtration systems, and even a shovel so we could dig poop holes. I KNOW RIGHT! WE HAD TO DIG HOLES TO POOP IN!!!! It was so the bears couldn’t smell us. I’m still so grateful Andrew came with us last minute on this trip. He shoveled all my poop holes. I just had to cover them when I was done with my business.

I also thought I’d be super uncomfortable not being able to shower for 2 nights. But in the end, the non-showering part wasn’t even that bad. LOL.

But every morning I woke up to views like this. No alarm clock needed. Just woke up with the sun woke up. And it was totally worth it. Would I go again? I dunnooooo. Maybe in a couple of years. The experience was great and all but it just made me appreciate a mattress so much more. Side note, the elevation was so high that there weren’t even any mosquitos 🙂 Double win!

I’m glad we did it though! Here’s a group shot of us right before we were about to hike back down the trail. We would spend nights sitting on this tree trunk talking and looking up at the stars, so I thought it was an appropriate place for us to take our last group shot.

My camera settings were F7.1 at 1/320th of a second at ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.