Just after sunrise, the 365-degree view from the top of Sourdough Mountain Lookout is breathtaking. Shot with Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art series lens.

For this post, I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking. How did I find myself in a place to take these photos? Well, Kyle Hart of Rhino Camera Gear sent out an invitation to Rhino customers a couple weeks ago, inviting us to join him and one of his team members on a backpacking trip into the North Cascades. That’s what I call customer relationship management!  I still can’t believe I was the only person who said yes.

Kyle’s goal for this trip was to find an epic spot to shoot a timelapse of The Milky Way. Well, we found that spot. It’s called Sourdough Mountain Lookout, and I’ve never seen a view like the one we saw as we woke up in the morning. The fog spread below us in all directions, like a glacier from the ice age. It was an unforgettable moment.

I hadn’t had my coffee when I headed out for this trip at 6 in the morning, and forgot the motor for my slider in my living room. (Tip: never leave the house without having coffee first). So for this trip, I left the timelapse shooting to the Rhino guys, and focused on shooting stills with my 5dmkiii.

As a result of this trip, Rhino Camera will soon have some fresh content on their website featuring tips on how to pack Rhino sliders for backpacking, and how to shoot a great Milky Way timelapse. I’ll put up a link to that here as soon as it’s up.