Story Behind the Image 6: Medicine Bow Milky Way

This story is one for the books, truly, as I’ll also be adding this image to my book when I can finally get it complete. Taken within the Snowy Mountain Range in Eastern Wyoming, Medicine Bow peak stands tall at 12,018ft. The goal was to capture this stunning “wave-structured” peak in the Wyoming wilderness with the Milky Way galaxy shooting out of the top whilst showcasing the many alpine lakes below.

It took me two attempts to get the shot I had in mind. First attempt was quite wild while the second was more relaxed and much comfortable. The total hike was 4mi round trip with about 1,000ft of elevation gain. And of course this shot had to be done at night to get the milky way in prime viewing.

The first attempt (Image 1): After some research to get to the trail I had to get onto and the amount I’d be hiking, I arrived around 11pm and made my way to the trail. After adventuring on the trail for about .25mi my flashlights died. Yes, both my flashlights were useless surrounding in miles of wilderness that I was most likely alone in to only try and avoid the Mountain Lions, Moose, Elk, Cows and Bears! So after contemplating about moving forward for a few minutes, as I still had 1.5mi left of my hike to the get to the view, I decided to go ahead and use my phone flashlight as the only light which garnered me about 10ft of view distance. Using my ears and keeping my head on a swivel for stalking Mountain Lions and plenty of switchbacks. I made it to the spot, and although beautiful, there was one problem. I was late, the Milky Way had already made its way behind Medicine Bow and was tilting out of frame, and if you have noticed in my photography, I love symmetry and balance. So after taking a few photos I decided it was no longer worth it and trekked back down the 2mi and thankfully got back to my car without encountering any wildlife, that I know of. So that takes me to attempt two.

Attempt 2 (2nd and 3rd images): Two nights passed of clouds and I decided it was time to try again and see if I could accomplish the shot I wanted. This time I left a little earlier. At around 9pm I made it to the trailhead and started the 2mi hike. With new batteries in the flashlights and carrying my good ole 40lbs photography bag I made my way up the 1,000ft climb. This time it was a little darker out as the Moon hadn’t risen above the horizon yet. So after taking time to navigate and understand where I was I set up shop. After a little bit of trial and error with focus, I got what I had gone there for. The Milky Way, standing up tall, over Medicine Bow, with the alpine lakes below. This shot was super rewarding not only because of failing the first night but because my plan was exact. I was able to have plenty of time to get different views and different compositions below the stars. Definitely my favorite Milky Way shot from 2022 and I can’t wait to see what I can capture this coming year.

Attempt 1: The Milky Way can be seen behind Medicine Bow Peak with some crazy hues in the sky as well. And the ridgeline of mountains that reach out to the peak as well.

Attempt 2 Image 1: The Milky Way exactly where I had envisioned and even created a stunning reflection in the water of the lakes below. The long exposure brought out just enough detail in the mountains for this compelling shot.

Attempt 2 Image 2: A little rotation in the Milky Way but that’s better than it being straight up for this image. It had some balance to the alright right heavy frame and balanced nicely along the Alpine Lakes.

If you enjoy these photographs as much I do the vertical frame is on my print shop linked here.

If you’d like to read my last blog post it’s linked here.

Thank you for reading and plenty more blogs to come!