For as long as I can remember I have always been preoccupied with the notion of endlessness in space. Maybe something about not being able to fully wrap my brain around the vastness of it. Well growing up in rural eastern Kentucky I have never had a shortage of visibility in night — and I’m so very thankful for that. I’m so glad that I was raised in a part of the country that isn’t overwhelmed with the big city lights and walls of pollution that otherwise obstruct the view of the very immenseness of space.

This obsession that I’ve always had has rooted into me, a deep fondness of bringing this beauty to others — to those who weren’t fortunate enough to be born into the hills of Appalachia. There is something so magical about standing on the edge of Cave Run Lake and staring up at an endless sky, with the Milky Way nebulae backlit by the light of a zillion stars. This is something I have done many, many times. And last night, the experience was made so much greater by the hundreds of bright meteorites brought to us by an incredible Perseid Meteor Shower.

When I first heard of this astrological event I knew immediately to charge up my batteries and load up my tripod for a night of stargazing and shooting. And let me just say — it is not easy to convince anyone to go with you at 3 AM to abandoned Cave Run Lake, in the pitch black, to take some pictures of the stars. LUCKILY FOR ME, I have a TOTALLLLLY AWESOME sister who was willing to make the trip with me. So off we went! 

I have a special spot that is perfect for viewing the nebulae, and it’s only about a 30 minute drive for me! We parked in an empty parking lot at the Muskie Bend fishing area in Morehead, and grabbed our lawn chairs/blankets to settle in for the long haul. At first we watched; we watched the meteorites burn brightly across the sky, and just as quickly, fizzle out into the darkness. After a while I set up my trusty tripod and my camera and started to shoot. After about 4 or so hours, and a memory card full of RAW images later, we packed up our things and headed home to take inventory of our beautiful images.