If you climb to the top of Moel Famau in North Wales, the highest peak in the Clwydian range of mountains (hills really), and look to the east you can see right across the Cheshire plain to Liverpool and beyond.
The view during the day is nice, but not anything spectacular as the land is pretty much flat all the way to the horizon. However, if you get to the top well before sunrise you can look out over a myriad streetlights shining in the pre-dawn glow.
As you sit and admire the view, the sky slowly turns from the dark blue of night to the orange and pink of twilight.
This is the time for photography, as the glow from the streetlights is matched in intensity by the skyglow. This condition only lasts a few minutes, until the ever brightening sky overpowers our feeble attempts to bring light into the darkness.
On this particular occasion I had the added joy of seeing three shining planets together low on the horizon over the lights of Chester.
I'm not an astronomer, but a friend of mine with a planetary app on his iphone told me they were Jupiter, Mars and Venus.
All too soon I had to tear myself away from this wonderful light show, climb back down Moel Famau and head to the factory for another day's work.
However, my day was certainly made richer by the experience.
Filename - planets 01.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 82mm
Exposure - 20secs @ f5.6, ISO100
Location - Cheshire Plain
This image - 800x533px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Tripod, mirror lockup and cable release used to prevent camera shake
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