Winter's Moonset on the Hornbeck Homestead (full image) Size:9 x 20 Starlight from the Milky Way

Starlight from the Milky Way highlights the curves of the dunes while a faint aurora glows above

One of my favorite places in Illinois is Garden of the Gods at the southern tip

ÿsky on the sandstone cliffs

ÿ It was a beautiful site despite the brutal wind and cold

Winter's Moonset on the Hornbeck Homestead (full image) Size:9 x 20 Starlight from the Milky WayAfter months of waiting, the weather, snow, moon, and the Milky Way all aligned for an image I'd been planning for quite some time: the full arc of the Milky Way over a snow bejeweled Hornbeck Homestead lit by the setting moon. I can't say it was an easy shot: getting up before 2 AM for an hour drive, then several hours shooting at 4 degrees F; But at least there wasn't a wind! The final result makes the icy fingers and toes well worth it. This fine