Astrophotography in the summer in South Dakota can be difficult. Nights are short, clouds are often a problem, as is the wind. Last night was about perfect though. I was up till 2 AM. The sky is dark and moon is rising late. The sky is so dark here at my camp that the Milky Way is bright enough to light up the area. I can see the Andromeda Galaxy with no visual aid. This is a great place for astrophotography when the weather cooperates.
I’m still here at my summer campsite in the Black Hills. Weather has been near perfect and it was even good enough for an evening of astrophotography. There is a small stock pond near the camper that is usually dry but this summer there is a few inches of water from a heavy rain a couple of weeks ago. I have been watching birds coming to water there. One morning a Common Nighthawk came swooping in, again and again, finally it flew low over the water and drank! I have never seen nighthawks do this before, but it makes perfect sense. Birds that are not used to walking on the ground often do this, as do bats. Swallows and swifts are known for this behavior. I wanted to photograph this behavior and the next morning I was able to get some so-so images. Here’s the best one.
It was pretty exciting to finally have a comet visible to the unaided eye. July of 2020 was the month of Comet Neowise and of course I had to photograph it. A lot.
