SMITH & MOREHOUSE MILKY WAY PANO

Back in May 2022 I visited this spot...

and I shared some photos and the store in this post -----> REDEMPTION

I came away with some great images and a resolve to visit again. But before I get to some new fall photos here is another image that I made that night.

Something I didn't share in my previous post was that while standing out on the ice (covered in snow here) we would hear loud, deep booms every once in a while. The first time I heard it I was out alone on the edge of the snow, about where my nephew is standing in the photo above, and my mind immediately thought it was a wild animal, proabably a bear or moose, so I shouted in my deepest, scariest voice (translation: most scared, high pitched voice) HEY BEAR!!!! and whipped my flashlight around frantically hoping to not see the dreaded reflective eyes in the dark.

Fortunately, I did not see any eyes so I continued on shooting.

A few minutes later my nephew joined me from the the car and we decided to do a little comparison video of how well our phone cameras compared to my full frame Sony mirrorless cameras for milky way photos, and during the video, BOOM!, I could literally feel it under my feet. (This reminds me that I haven't finished that video yet, I gotta get that done)

After a few minutes of using my half-awake brain, I came to the conclusion that since the snow and ice on the lake was melting during the day, then freezing again at night, it was just some ice cracking or shifting, and me and my nephew walking on it.

Phew! not bears or moose