18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
The Road to the Milky way

I was out near Custer, South Dakota, and found myself on a country road. It was pitch dark but I could see very start in the sky clearly and the Milky Way as well. So I stopped my car on the side of the road and set up my camera on a tripod and captured this image of the Milky Way. I benefitted from a very slow shutter speed and the light from a porch light some distance behind me that illuminates the road and the telephone poles. And for some who have seen this photo - they comment about the symbolism of the telephone pole as a cross and referencing the religious aspect of such an image.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2020
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Custer, South Dakota, United States of America
Camera: NIKON D700
Copyright: © Tom Jodis