Galloway Forest Park is what is known as a Dark Skies Area. It’s a place where light pollution is so low that, on a cloudless night, you can see for a thousands of light years in any direction. With a large part of it being in my own council region on South Ayrshire, I went for a walk there and soon found myself daydreaming in the middle of the night.
Here is a gallery of the night as we rarely get to see it.
Looking back towards the village of StraitonStars above Colonel Hunter Blair’s Monument
Where I’m starting to get keen on photography, I’m no expert. These pictures were taken on my Samsung Galaxy S10 using some of the Pro Settings with ISO set to 1600 and shutter speed to 10 seconds. Main challenge for me (which I’m sure is apparent in these pictures to the more trained eye) was keeping the camera still during exposure.
Looking out from the shore of Loch BradenLooking down on Loch Braden from a nearby hillside
Having spent a quarter of a century working in the Telecommunications Industry, I’m very familiar with the global network of nodes and routers that interlink our data. I tend to see the stars as more of a celestial network connecting the hearts of those physically apart from each other and the souls of the living with those in eternity. I’m rarely more in touch with the universe than when sitting under the stars on a clear winters night.
Stars above the winter hillsStars emerging out of the noise pollution of Ayrshire to the north
I have been travelling regularly, sometimes on the road constantly since I left home to join the British Army at the tender age of 17 more years ago than I care to mention.
Since then I have been in every continent and lost count of the number of countries I have had the pleasure of visiting. From the Silence of the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand's South Island to the endless noise of the motorbikes, trikes and tuc tucs in several parts of Asia. From the luxury of Dubai to the poverty of Mumbai and everything in between.
Ever since a good friend of mine some time ago encouraged me to step out of the Irish Pubs and off the beaten track into the vibe which fires the hearts and souls of the people amongst whom we travelled, I have never looked back.
Now, I want to share this with you to whet your appetite for what's out there and give what practical pointers I can on how to get there and move around.
By all means read my articles and pictures, enjoy my music and videos and meet me either here or on Social Media. I look forward to meeting you.
View all posts by Sean McBride
Great blog and amazing photos
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Thanks Vinny, great to hear
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Why not go to bed yaduplin!!!!????TC
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I get there occasionally 🙂 Good to see you following
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