Looking out at the stars on a clear night in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area is an experience that forced me to think bigger, while feeling as small as ever.

The first time I looked up at the starry night in the BWCA was during my first winter camping trip in the region.

The thermometer read zero degrees.

Three feet of snow was stacked outside of our camp, with a bumpy trail beat down by old tennis rackets.

The air took effort to breathe in.

My eyes welled up with tears as the wind off the lake rushed to my face.

I stood on that frozen lake for only a few moments before turning back toward the warm glow of the fire. Even if I had my camera, I’m not sure I would’ve taken it out that night.

The sight itself was a visceral experience, hyping up my imagination -- while the cold forced me to focus on what mattered most, not losing fingers and toes.

My most recent venture to the BWCA afforded me more time and opportunity to both take in the night sky and photograph it.

What I Learned From Photographing the Wild at Night

The first night in the BWCA was shrouded in clouds.

So were the next two nights.

The third, however, finally gave us a glimpse at what was just on the other side.

We sat on the rocky shore, listening to the water hit land.

A slight breeze was enough for me to stay crouched and bundled.

I listened to my cohorts talk about big ideas, solutions to the world’s problems, and things I had no familiarity with -- most of it inspired by the stars.

On nights like this, we could easily stay out until midnight watching as the stars became clearer and clearer.

What started as a hazy western glow faded into a deep black sky that gave way to thousands and thousands of lights.

Some would dash a short distance.

Others glimmered.

What really captivated me was the Milky Way, this cluster of blue dust that spanned the sky.

What a shame that we can’t always see it in the city.

Having the opportunity to finally see it felt like a gift. Looking into a bright LCD screen almost felt like I was spoiling the experience.

But I couldn’t resist.

I wanted to see what it’d be like to photograph the stars as they reflect in a calm backcountry lake in the middle of canoe country.

It was my first time doing so, and overall, I’m pleased with the result. But here’s what I’d do next time:

I would experiment more with my settings
Set my composition differently
Plan my shots

Experimentation

Mostly, I jacked up my ISO as much as I thought would get the job done without too much noise.

I’m shooting with a Sony Alpha a7 II, a full frame mirrorless camera that performs well in low light. The lens I shot with was a 16-35mm f/4.

Set up on my tripod, I brought my ISO up to 3200, opened the aperture wide, set the lens at 16mm, and set the exposure for 30 seconds.

I didn’t have a remote shutter release and didn’t want to pair my phone to conserve its battery, so I just used a 2-second delay, which worked just as well in my book.

I hit the shutter.

I waited.

And waited.

It felt like forever really.

But snap!

A bright image came up on the LCD, showing Mack and Rylee sitting next to the fire, which appears to be exploding out of the grate.

But behind them is a bright blue scene, featuring the Milky Way.

I was jacked.

Mission accomplished.

I got that dang photo I was looking for.

Hot frickin’ dog.

But all that hype distracted me from trying other settings, like maybe dropping my ISO down in favor of a longer exposure, or even zooming in a bit to compose differently. Or, to straighten the image out.

Some of that can be done in post, no doubt.

Some can’t.

Next time, I’d like to see what other settings yield.

A Different Composition

I only took out my camera to photograph the night sky once during our trip.

It was just this night, and it was sort of sporadic.

The idea came to me randomly.

We had paddled 6 miles into the wind that day, with the sun hot overhead.

Getting into camp early let us eat our fill and then mosey around.

The day felt long.

But so relaxing.

Much of the day I wandered around taking it all in, letting my mind wander or stay still -- whichever felt better in the moment.

I didn’t think of taking my camera out at all really.

Until we had finally got the fire going. I’d been struggling to get this damp wood to really roar, but with some help from the others, we got it going.

Sinking back into my seat, the thought struck me to grab my camera and take a few shots.

I set up my tripod and just started shooting.

In total, I think I took fewer than 10 pictures -- mostly because of how long it would take per shot.

That said, I didn’t try to compose my image in more creative ways.

I set it up.

I fired away.

Especially at this campsite, I think I could’ve been more creative in my approach.

I think the light source of the fire afforded me more opportunity than what I took advantage of.

I also think having Mack and Rylee there could’ve helped to show scale or to provide another light source or another subject.

So many ideas came to me the next morning.

So many more came long after we drove back to the Cities.

That all leads me to planning.

Planning My Shots

Continuing to build on these skills and taking the opportunities that I get, planning will go a long way when it comes to getting the shots I’m looking for.

I think what would’ve helped more would be to find a few good places to shoot from while there is still daylight.

What I’d look for:

Stable ground or a relatively flat surface
An easy place to get to in the dark
A place that shows a lot of sky
Somewhere I might be able to show depth and scale too

When I first took out my camera, much of the camp was situated on a hilly, uneven rocky shore.

Not ideal for setting up a backpacker’s tripod.

Not really, anyway.

What’s more, I didn’t want to start scouting places to set up in the dark even with a headlamp.

I sacrificed location diversity for the sake of making it easy on myself the first time at it.

What was a lucky break, maybe, was that the campsite had this excellent vantage point over Vera Lake. A small inlet, with a wide break in the foliage allowed for a lot of sky to come into frame.

That was swell.

More places like that would be great.

What I think would also be cool is if I could have a person standing on a rock some distance out to show depth and scale, perhaps with a headlamp or a flashlight.

All of that would’ve been great had I thought of it well in advance.

Or even that afternoon while I was dragging my feet around camp.

Have you ever photographed the night sky? If so, where and how’d it go? Let me know in the comments.

What I Learned from Photographing the Night Sky in the BWCA

What I Learned From Photographing the Wild at Night

Experimentation

A Different Composition

Planning My Shots

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