On 11 February 2024, my parents and I took a night time trip to Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton, CA. We took the back route traveling from Livermore, to Lick, then looping back via San Jose. We went for night photography and was shooting all the way into the next day (12 February 2024) until 5AM (my last photo was around 2AM because I was way too tired, but my dad took more)! What surprised me the most was the amount of light pollution (so the trip was mostly a bust). There were only 2 directions you can shoot in (north and south) because to the west was the San Francisco Bay Area, and to the east was Central Valley, both of which provided a ton of light pollution. The light pollution was so bad, I was able to see pretty well even with my half night blindness caused by Visual Snow Syndrome. The light pollution was so bright, I was usually able to tell when the photo won't turn out very well even before I started taking the shot. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!
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Message from the Photographer: Recently, my dad has taken up photography again, so I was teaching him how to do long exposures at night. I still can't see very well at night due to Visual Snow Syndrome, and the experimental treatment didn't completely fix it. These were all places I have been to during the day so I pretty much know what direction to shoot in (and I marked out all the spots on Google Maps). My dad did assist me as well, and I was able to compose by taking a ton of high ISO test shots (despite not being able to see much). Also, as mentioned above, there was a surprising amount of light pollution in the mountains east of the San Francisco Bay, so that assisted me as well! I'm sure some of you are wondering how I'm able to do this despite my half night blindness.
We started our trip on Mines Road. It actually dipped below freezing that night in some parts of our drive along this road.
A night time long exposure of star trails, mountains, and Mines Road. The photo was shot on the side of Mines Road in Alameda County, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | 11 minutes 1 second
The photo was shot on 11 February 2024.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 24' 07" N 121° 29' 18" W
Next we arrive on State Route 130.
A night time long exposure of star trails, mountains, clouds, and State Route 130 (left). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Santa Clara County, CA.
EXIF Data: 27mm | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | 11 minutes 1 second
The photo was shot on 11 February 2024.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 19' 47" N 121° 29' 25" W
A night time long exposure of stars, mountains, clouds, and State Route 130 (right). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Santa Clara County, CA.
EXIF Data: 20mm | f/2.8 | ISO 800 | 1 minute 22 seconds
The photo was shot on 11 February 2024.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 21' 03" N 121° 36' 38" W
A black and white process of the photo above.
Next we arrive at Lick Observatory in Mt. Hamilton, CA. There was still a tiny bit of snow left on top of Mt. Hamilton that night. I forgot to bring gloves and it was freezing cold! It was past midnight, so the rest of the photos were shot on 12 February 2024. The following photos were shot at approximate GPS coordinates of 37° 20' 23" N 121° 38' 39" W.
A night time long exposure of State Route 130 (bottom), San Jose (in the distance), San Francisco Bay (in the distance), and San Francisco (in the distance on the right). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/11 | ISO 100 | 2 minutes 5 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of San Jose, San Francisco Bay, and San Francisco. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 42mm (84mm - Full Frame Equivalent) | f/9 | ISO 200 | 1 minute
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A black and white process of the photo above.
A night time long exposure of San Jose. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 42mm (84mm - Full Frame Equivalent) | f/13 | ISO 200 | 1 minute
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
The last of the photos I took are of stars and star trails above Lick Observatory. The photos were shot at approximate GPS coordinates of
37° 20' 33" N 121° 38' 49" W. The photos were shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.A night time long exposure of stars, Lick Observatory (top center), mountains, clouds, and State Route 130 (bottom). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 400 | 1 minute 5 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of stars, Lick Observatory (top center), mountains, clouds, and State Route 130 (bottom). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 800 | 30 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of stars, Lick Observatory (top center), mountains, clouds, and State Route 130 (bottom). I lit up the foreground a little bit using my flashlight. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 800 | 30 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of stars, Lick Observatory (top center), mountains, clouds, and State Route 130 (bottom). I lit up the foreground a little bit using my flashlight. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 400 | 1 minute 5 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of star trails, Lick Observatory (top center), mountains, clouds, and State Route 130 (bottom). I lit up the foreground a little bit using my flashlight. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | 4 minutes 5 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of stars, Lick Observatory (center), mountains, and State Route 130 (bottom). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 800 | 30 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of stars, Lick Observatory (center), mountains, and State Route 130 (bottom). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 1600 | 15 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of star trails, Lick Observatory (center), mountains, and State Route 130 (bottom). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 34mm | f/2.8 | ISO 100 | 4 minutes 5 seconds
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
A night time long exposure of star trails, Lick Observatory (center), mountains, and State Route 130 (bottom). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 130 in Mt. Hamilton, CA.
EXIF Data: 14mm (28mm - Full Frame Equivalent) | f/3.5 | ISO 200 | 8 minutes
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
Now on to the most interesting part of our night trip. I can't really remember if this occurred while we were driving on Mines Road or State Route 130, but it was very dark in the mountains east of of the San Francisco Bay (at least parts of the road was, not the sky). For some reason my dad forgot to turn on the high beams, and we crashed into wild boars that were walking along the road. I had no idea those things even exist here in the San Francisco Bay Area, but apparently they did. My dad did not stop in time, and I'm pretty sure we crashed into the butt of one. The boar ran off really fast, so I guess it's ok. I'm pretty sure we hit the butt because there was poop on our vehicle's bumper. Take a look for yourself in the 2 cellphone photos I shot later that day once we got home! I think our bumper took some damage too as it was a pretty hard hit.
Boar poop on our vehicle bumper from the collision.
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
Boar poop on our vehicle bumper from the collision.
The photo was shot on 12 February 2024.
This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.
