It was a perfect night to capture the Milky Way. As I was driving and glimpsing the stars, I saw the 6000′ Mitre peak tower overhead. Slowing down, I turned down a narrow dirt road I had never been on before. At one point I swerved quickly; I thought an old twisted and torn shirt was a rattlesnake. Creeping further along, I had to wait for a dozen cows to realize the pasture was safer than the road. Finally, the road turned slightly and I saw this wonderful angle of the peak rising above the desert below. I pulled over, grabbed my tripod, and set everything up using the soft light from the Milky Way. Mars decided to join the star party, and the longer I waited, a serendipitous meteor appeared. This is a one-shot capture, and I used a flashlight to help lighten the foreground. Everything seemed magical in that moment, and Mitre Magic was born. After I produced the image, I realized that long narrow dirt road led to Camp Mitre, a special and memorable home for the girl scouts. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was capturing beauty and magic in the west Texas sky for them as well as for me. This image continues to remind me to always drive down those long narrow dirt roads, wherever this journey in life takes me. The ability to share each and every image, and the feeling I get when a girl scout contacts me about this image, makes my journey all worthwhile in the end.
Winter 2021: Mitre Magic by Andy Morgan
