Abandoned boat under the Milky Way

I had a mind to go back to Dungeness on a clear night to photograph the Milky Way over one of the abandoned boats. The problem was… which boat? Those very close to the sea have the added bonus of water, but the downside is all the light pollution from France. Some are a little further away, but have sheds or tractors in the background. The only solution was for me to drive all the way down one Sunday afternoon and check the location again. It took well over an hour of traipsing up and down on the shingle, looking for the perfect subject. Finally, with just one boat to check, I found it. The boat was neither too small, nor too large and was set back from the sea. It was the furthest boat from the lighthouse and had no distractions in sight. Sadly, the narrow window that month had no clear nights and I had to wait a few more weeks.

Eventually, the weather cleared and I decided to make the 75-minute drive in mid-June. I knew the galactic core would not be visible, but I felt it was a price worth paying, as the Milky Way itself would be at the perfect angle. (Early in the season, the upper section is much closer to the land, while at the other end of the season, it becomes almost perpendicular).

My husband came along for company and we were making good progress until I struggled to find a narrow turning in the dark. I turned on my sat nav to help and asked if he could find Dungeness in my list of favourites. I had built up a collection of nearly 50, from local reserves, to distant landscapes. To this day, I still don’t know how he did it, but he managed to select all 50 and with the press of a button, deleted them all. Thankfully, I did find the turning and some time later, I parked up on the shingle.

The photo shoot was remarkable for its speed, as we were done in less than an hour. I think I’m addicted to astrophotography for the challenges. While the boat is clear in the image above, in reality, it couldn’t be seen through my viewfinder. My husband helped me locate it by shining a torch on one end, but the composition only existed in my head. Exposure and focus are done manually and although I’m improving, my eyesight is so bad that I can never be sure that I’ve nailed it until the images are opened up on my large monitor at home. This was taken at ISO 3200, for 20 seconds at f/2.8.

I would like to get this printed for the study. I’ve already enquired about a print on aluminium dibond, set in a very deep box frame as if it is floating. The only problem at the moment is that we have already run out of wall space. I don’t see why I should let a little problem like that get in the way though.