When I decided I really wanted to go camping for the first time, I really want to go someplace new. I hadn’t been to the mountains much in my life and I wasn’t really in a position to go out west, so I chose to head down to West Virginia. Never having been there, I looked into some popular places and one of the first stops I made was Blackwater Falls State Park.

I don’t have any astrophotography experience, so that wasn’t my priority on this hiking and camping trip. During the first night, I couldn’t believe how many stars were out. I live near Cleveland, Ohio so we can see the stars but nothing like this. It was mid-late July so it was still the Milkway season and I noticed I could actually see it with my bare eyes. I wanted to get to bed at a good hour so I could get up for the sunrise the next morning, but I didn’t know when I’d get another chance like this.

I actually had some cell service in that part of West Virginia, so I googled some Milkyway settings to try out and set to work.

It ended up being more difficult than expected, as I was struggling to get the focus correct on the stars. I also ran into the issue of the trees at the campground. There was a lake that had a short trail that connected to the campground and it would've been perfect, but I didn’t really want to walk there in the dark when I hadn’t been over there yet. So I had to deal with the light wind moving the trees in my shots.

I wanted to try doing star trails as well as just capturing the stars and Milkyway. Both turned out okay as you can see below. They’re not as in focus as I wanted nor is the composition that good. But overall, I think they turned out okay considering it was my first time doing Astro shots. Can’t wait to head back to West Virginia to try again!