Prison Hill by Night

(shutter click!)

Oh! the wine.

In my scramble to pull the camera gear and tripod together I forgot to slip the wine bottle under my arm. In addition to forgetting my comfort beverage on this coldish night I left my clock back in the car so here I am counting each second of light exposure. 120 seconds.

(shutter release)

hmmm. A bit over exposed but I'm already one exposure deep and I aught not waste my batteries repeating the same exposure. When shooting a night panoramic one must expose each sequential picture in the same way to ensure continuity. After adjusting my camera for the next frame I start the next one. 1.....2.....3.....man that wine sounds nice about now....4.....5.....Silence on the outskirts of town is an odd mixture of engines, suburban coughing, children's screams, domestic dogs barking to one another causing a chain reaction until the entire neighborhood is laced with canine cries. Then the coyotes chime in. Continuing what the puppies had started, the the night yields to the wild dogs and their yelping, whining, barking, the neigh of a horse?? hmmm.....119......120. Click!

I begin the next photo and turn toward my car....1.....2.....scrambling down the rocky summit I carefully step on what seem to be good footholds in the half moon light....39......40.....I've made it to the car realizing I am without a bottle opener.....50.....quick thinking....55....I search through my tool bag and find a 2 inch screw.....65.....66.....phone clock......67......racing back up the large rock pile I make it to my camera, set down the bottle and close the shutter.....120.

(click)

By inserting the screw into the cork and using my Leatherman pliers I am able to de-cork the bottle and take my victory swig. Two minutes on the clock. About five more pictures to go.

The clouds are no where to be seen and the stars are out. Orion, Gemini, Ursa Minora, Draco, Ursa Majora, Polaris. Over time I can track the movement of the sky around the north star. This is what I have needed this past month, I needed to get back outside and spend some much needed time with the world.

The owl hoots then pauses. His response is heard across the sagebrush meadow.

What a perfect night to sleep out.

(shutter release)