The Awakening

Like the famous song by about a hotel in California, this photo owes its creation to a dark desert highway and cool wind in my hair. The only smell in the air, however, came from the snacks I brought along for the trip. This photo is of an ancient Joshua Tree against the Milky Way ; the intense yellow at the horizon was due to partial cloud cover reflecting sodium vapor lights from some far off city. The fireball captured here lit up the sky like a giant flare before quickly vanishing, but the trail was captured still on the exposure. Stack of 4 photos, 20 seconds each, ISO 10k. F2.8.