Suggested soundtrack while you are reading: X-Files soundtrack (opens Youtube in a new window for background audio)

This is a strange one as a photograph. The location is the Toadstool Hoodoos known for it’s various red and white coloured stones that stand on their own in the landscape. Having walked there in the evening to see the sunset from the cliffs, make sure when you arrive from the visitor car park to walk to the end and go left around the corner in front of the high hills. Cliffs are amazing and the landscape is a beautiful viewing spot to see the sun set. Walking back when getting dark, there was man with a full set of old fashioned photography equipment. Me, being always the last in the group due to my slow ‘photo’ skills joined the conversation half way in. The person explained that he drove 9 hours for that day to photograph the Milky Way from that specific location and was testing en setting up his equipment for that night. Tonight around 2 am. it would be packed with people to see this phenomenon. So come prepared he said. He would even sleep in his car  just to make it. Having said that we stayed around the area to set-up camp. Timer set for 1 am since the walk to that specific location would take an hour in the dark.

1 am… and fully geared up with improvised winter clothing, summer clothing layer over layer over layer. I got out of the campervan and set out to the location. First strange thing I noticed, the parking is a little empty? Nothing, no other car parked. Secondly, it was a heavy cloud overcast. No stars or sky visible. Decided to take my chances I continuing to walk. Luckily my previous evening marked GPS track helped me to find the location in the dark without falling over cliffs, rocks etc. The walk was to say spooky. I am used to visit abandoned locations or be somewhere at midnight to take photos however this was different. There is usually a background sound. A buzz, a humming or even the wind. Here… nothing! absolutely no sound besides my own heart rhythm when walking. It was probably the creepiest experience ever. Decided to pull trough and walk to the location. Besides it would be packed with people. I would not be alone?

When arriving at the destination I started to wonder. Was this real? Was this person seen, real? At exactly the same spot. There was no one, nothing, no person, no sound and no light. Setting up my equipment even tough it was still overcast, I got more used to the silence and by a sort of miracle the sky cleared up slowly when I finished the setup of the camera. The next few minutes I was able to take a couple long exposure shots before the clouds came back. I waited and worked the rest of the night until the moon got visible and it never got as dark as that short moment before. This image is sort of proof that sometimes perseverance pays of with a little bit of luck ending up with a  great photo of the Milky Way to share and a unique experience richer.