"Eternal Illumination"

The Milky Way shimmers amidst a rush of star trails above the Rio Chama, viewed from Georgia O'Keeffe's famous overlook.

On a September evening in 2020, I ventured to Abiquiu, hoping the sky would remain clear enough to create astrophotography images. After assessing a handful of potential locations, I settled on this classic location, a favorite of artists since Georgia O'Keeffe.

I watched the crescent moon set over the mesa after sunset, and set up my camera and tripod while I waited for the sky to grow dark enough to clearly see the Milky Way. Double checking my setup, I started my intervalometer and and enjoyed the quiet darkness.

In post-processing, I created several edits from the images I captured that night - and ultimately decided to blend a stacked star trails image around a single shot showing the brilliance of the Milky Way. This image was the final result.