Milkyway Over Lake Tahoe

With the capabilities of the newest professional digital cameras, images of the Milky Way are now possible. I had envisioned a panoramic image of the Milky Way over Lake Tahoe and did my research to put myself in the right place at the right time. The experience of standing on the rocky shore of Lake Tahoe in the middle of the night, alone, is truly impactful. This image captures that feeling perfectly.
I chose this location for two reasons. 1) it lined up perfectly with the arc of the Milky Way, and 2) the water in the foreground was protected by rocks, affording reflections of the stars. In order to obtain the resolution necessary to print very large I captured 12 separate vertical images, each overlapping the other, and "stitched" these together in Photoshop. The planning and effort were well worth it!