Reflection on the Night Sky

What you're seeing above are the first and second price winners of the 2013 Earth & Sky Photo Contest, held by The World At Night (TWAN) program. 

I remember when I received my first digital camera. I think it was a Nikon, but I definitely can't recall the model name. I do remember it being a relatively bulky contraption that probably took pictures with less megapixels than the camera on the phone I currently own. But I still remember how bummed I was when I tried to take a picture at night. Everything was dark, muted, blurry, and basically unrecognizable. It was a total loss, and it didn't look like I would ever get a good shot of the night sky, no matter how much I tinkered with the settings. 

Then, a few years later, I got a new camera -- still a Nikon, if my memory is correct  But still, it had the same old problem. No matter how much I tried -- tripods, timers, even the fancy setting on the new camera that allowed me to leave the shutter open a little longer than normal -- I couldn't get a good shot at night. 

Now about five or six cameras removed from that original Nikon, I still have the same trouble, even though the technological differences between my current camera and that first one are immense. Because I haven't invested in an expensive, semi-professional camera -- and likely never will -- I'll probably never get shots as clear, crisp, and breath-taking as the ones above. And maybe that's why I'm always so enamored with them. Mountain pictures can make me stop a moment and reflect, but a good shot of the night sky -- with the millions and millions of white dots, milky expanses of purple and pink, and occasional pops of color from distant galaxies -- I end up staring for several seconds, letting my mind wonder and wander through time and space. 

Maybe one day, if I become successful enough and rich enough to afford a really nice, expensive camera, I'll be able to take pictures like this one. But even then, I know myself well enough to know that no picture will be good enough. Just like all the pictures I take now, there will always be something missing. They're never real enough, bright enough, wide enough to capture the entire scene. They aren't alive. I don't think I'll ever accept that limitation of photography: you can never capture life, no matter how hard you try, no matter how long you wait with that shutter open.

I still try, though.

-JJ