THE WATERFALL AND THE MILKY WAY

The dream was to capture both the waterfall and the Milky Way together. The difficulties included finding a good location for the camera, artificially illuminating the waterfall and the surrounding valley effectively, capturing the entire scene with numerous close-up shots and background, keep the camera dry and avoid stepping on a poisonous snake. 

Here is the result, captured after mid-July midnight and artfully sewn digitally in this spectacular wide-angle panorama. 

The waterfall is the picturesque Zhulian waterfall in the Luoxiao Mountains, China. The central belt of our Milky Way Galaxy crosses the sky and shows numerous filaments of dark dust and colored nebulae. Bright stars dot the sky, including the Summer Triangle with the star Vega visible above the arc of the Milky Way. 

After capturing all 78 exhibits useful for this composition, the photographer and friends enjoyed the view for the rest of the night.

Photo: Xie Jie