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The Snowdonia National Park in North Wales is a premiere Dark Skies Reserve, and is a great place to go on a moonlees night to just lie back, look up and take in the wonder of God's creation, spread out across the heavens above.
And in the middle of winter up here at a latitude of 53°N you can enjoy fully dark skies from the very civilised hour of 7pm onwards.
Which is why my wife Liz and I took the long way home from an afternoon spent in Caernarfon on the North Wales coast, driving through Snowdonia rather than taking the much faster A55 coast road.
We stopped off at a number of beauty spots en route, including the fabulous Llyn Mymbyr shown here, to photograph the milky way, clearly visible in the darkness overhead, .
From the far end of the valley the milky way rose up from the peaks of the Snowdon Horseshoe in the far distance, arching over our heads while the brighter stars were reflected in the still waters of the lake below.
The only problem I had in taking this photo was the very bright lights of the Plas-y-Brenin outdoor pursuits centre right next to the lake.
And you can see the effect of those lights on the trees to the left of this composition.
A strange thing to encounter in the middle of a dark skies reserve!
Filename - llyn mymbyr night 03
Lens - 14mm prime
Exposure - 30 secs @ f2.8, ISO6400
Filters - None.
Location - Llyn Mymbyr, Snowdonia, North Wales
Image enhancements - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Tripod, mirror lockup and remote release used to prevent camera movement.
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