Back in 2017, I made it my mission to try and create a photograph I’d dreamed of for over a year. Having had my ambitions quashed the year before, due to weather, I found a weather window and set off out deep into the Lake District with high hopes.
My plan was to try and capture a series of images of the ongoing Perseid meteor shower which I would the combine into one single frame. This would show the distribution and density of the meteors falling that night overtime, as well as giving rather striking visual interest to the photo. For this, I would need clear skies, a dark location with little light pollution and time. The weather was forecast to be clear and I‘d had a spot planned for months in advance, so the first two requirements were easily met. The only way I could meet all 3 was to wild camp. My location being rather remote meant that the usual B&B or car camp was not an option. The nearest road from my location was nearly 2 hours walk away. Fortunately, I love wild camping, so I set off with urgency and excitement.
The walk was tough, with not only my camera and tripod but sleeping gear, a tent and food/water packed, my bag weighed probably around 15kgs. However, my excitement carried me and the walk seemed inconsequential. The 3-hour drive felt like the hardest part!
Arriving at my location, it was getting dark so I set up my tent and found my composition. My camera needed to be not only facing North but also encompassed a lot of sky. Being surrounded by mountains this might have been a problem if I’d just turned up with no planning. But, having pre-visualised the photograph in advance I was delighted that my planning had all come together and I achieved the composition I’d hoped for.
The spot was about 200m from my tent so I set up my camera and tripod, removed my camera and went back to the tent until twilight ended. Emerging an hour or so later, I was greeted by a clear sky full of glimmering stars. I set my camera up and set an interval timer going to start capturing my image. I stood with the camera for about an hour, watching and waiting for the next meteor to strike across the night sky. I was somewhat disappointed with the frequency of the meteors I saw, this was set to be the peak of the meteor shower so I expected many more. However, I was set to leave my camera out on the interval timer all night, so with hopes they would pick up throughout the night I went back to my tent.
I woke just before sunrise to a beautiful, still, clear morning. This was probably the only time I’d ever seen the waters of the tarn I was camped by still and reflective. My camera had no battery remaining and was covered in condensation. Having a quick flick through the pictures on the back of my camera I saw a large amount of cloud swept over the sky throughout the night which was quite disheartening, but I did have a lot of images with a clear sky so I wasn’t too concerned by this. I had a wander around my site, seeing if any further images could be captured throughout sunrise.
Below are the images from that trip.
Unfortunately the meteor shower didn’t put on a great show for me that night. I did not capture many even with my camera shooting continuously for well over 4 hours. That, combined with the cloud that rolled over meant I didn’t achieve the shot I set out to. However, I did capture this single frame in that time which I was pleased with. The single, bright, long streaking meteor is framed by the clouds. So whilst the clouds were a hinderance, they also brought me some success. The light and shadow you see in the scene is moonlight.
The red light from the rising sun grazes the surrounding peaks. Reflecting almost perfectly in the tarn below. My tent was about 10ft behind my camera.
On my walk down from my site, this view caught my eye. Along with the single cloud floating across the scene. Quite harsh light at this point of the morning but I liked the contrast leading down the valley into the distance.
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