When you shoot with friends, are you forced to make the executive decision? Or do you just go with the flow? —- A shot from a group trip up through Utah, Idaho, Montana and into Canada back in October... I met up with @missjessbess, @megavai, @ryantoswald & @whiskeybowen for an adventure of epic proportions.. the original plan was to shoot the MW from inside this lava tube, but it was risky as the skies were filled with clouds and we had no idea if they would clear up enough to get a good shot. so we decided the safer route was from up top with a wide angle to include the lava tube... I shot 15 images of the sky just before it completely clouded over. Then I placed a #lumecube (go to lumecube.com and use code TRACYLEE10 for 10% off and free US shipping!) through another lava tube to light the back of the cave... then @ryantoswald had this lamp and wanted to be in the comp so he climbed down into the tube in the dark and this was the resulting image.. I think him standing in the shot really makes the image although the full comp is so much more interesting than the IG 4:5 crop... I really didn’t have faith on this image turning out because I barely got any shots of the sky before it clouded over but I am thrilled about it’s turnout now... —- Sky - 15 images stacked in SLS ISO 10000 F2.8 10 seconds - Foreground - 6 images stacked in PS ISO 6400 F2.8 8 seconds —- . . . . . #longexposure_shots #tokinausa #slikusa #tracyleephotos #canonusa #milkyway #astrophotography #astrophoto #teamcanon #astro_photography #longexposure #longexpohunter #longexpo #amazing_longexpo #amazingearth #idaho #lavatube #milkyway #nightphotography #night_excl #photopills #amazingphotohunter #fantasticuniverse #wonderfulplaces #wonderful_places #beautifuldestinations #thegreatoutdoors #worldbestshot #longexposureoftheday

So earlier in 2018, I took off to the Eastern Sierras to meet up with @ryantoswald & @whiskeybowen... The weather was questionable, and the wind was atrocious and we ended up here lake side.. well I was standing on some rocks and had used my gear bag to weigh down my tripod and then turned my back.. two seconds later the entire set up had blown into the lake... without hesitation, I jumped in after it and saved all my gear from sinking, but everything, all my lume cubes, intervalometers, batteries, and more were wet. At some point during all of this, my case of memory cards flew out of my pocket and disappeared into the abyss. Luckily I had some extra clothes to change into in the car and started stripping down to my skivvies out there on the rocks while the guys got me dry stuff to wear.. I’m fortunate that my camera was not attached and didn’t go swimming, so my night wasn’t ruined. We decided that on the rocks was a poor place to set up and moved to a more stable location to wait out the clouds and hope for clear skies... —- We got them and I was able to shoot 4 images for the foreground here horizontally, and then 8 Images and 14 images stacked for the horizontally oriented images but vertical pano of the sky. I can’t say why I didn’t have a consistent number of images but I’m assuming the wind and the cold and clouds prior to this had a lot to do with it... just thrilled that the image still came out pretty good in spite of the drama of the evening lol!! —- ISO 10000 Foreground 4 shots @ 30 seconds Sky 8 and 10 shots @ 10 seconds F 2.8 @tokinausa 16-28 @ 28 @slikusa 634-CF @canonusa 6DMK1 Processed in LR, PS & SLS —- . . . . . #nationalparkgeek#findyourpark #yourshotphotographer #naturephotography #adventurephotography #landscapephotography #keepitwild #wanderout #allaboutadventures #takemoreadventures #wildernessculture #neverstopexploring #earth_shotz #big_shotz #depthsofearth #optoutside #gramslayers #exploreourearth #exploremore #northwestisbest #shootslik #teamtokina #canonusa #tracyleephotos #tokinausa #milkywaychasers #milkyway #nightphotography #teamcanon #mammoth

#TBT #ThrowbackThursday — This adventure starts over a decade ago here in Las Vegas... I made friends w/ @MichaelPernula as he bartended at one of my favorite clubs in Vegas. We would see each other around, and hung out a time or two even; we had since lost contact. Fast forward to recent times. We reconnected & on a whim, took off to Escalante w/ no notice. I planned out a few spots to explore & decided I wanted to shoot this cottonwood composition I had seen from other photographers although try as I might, couldn't find this exact tree with the Milky Way over it. --- Now, this exact tree; that's another story in itself. We arrived to the area of Escalante that we knew it was in, but it was already dusk & getting darker by the minute & I had never been there before! We didn't realize that the rock formation it was on top of extended for at least a couple miles when we started exploring potholes, some over 50ft deep! I was obsessed because I knew this one had the right depth, as well as was the right composition (I love the leading lines in the photos @dustinlefevre has taken here!) to line up with the Milky Way. I pored over the details of Dustin's photos vs Google Maps & found what I thought must be the tree a good distance from where we started. In the dark with potholes everywhere, we finally found it!! --- Michael was gracious enough to go place my lumecube.com (Use TRACYLEE10 for free US Shipping at this link!!) in the pothole facing the wall directly in front of me.. He slid into the hole, but when it was time to climb out, his shoes were covered in sand & got no purchase on the walls. He was stuck!! I kept him in there a few moments longer as I sent up my camera's focus, and tested it's settings then ran over with my 2nd @SlikUSA tripod extended fully and used it to give him a hand up. We actually ended up doing this dance 2 more times to adjust the light and then retrieve it at the end of the night. --- It was an amazing adventure with great memories, and one that should cement our friendship forever! --- ISO 6400 F2.8 15 seconds 10 images stacked in SLS Processed in LR & PS @tokinausa 16-28 @slikusa 634-CF

Here’s my top 9 photos as liked by all of you... 2018 was a year full of new ideas, lots of great adventures and tons of new friends.. looking forward to an exciting 2019; can’t wait to see what’s up next!! Thank you to everyone for being so amazing and supportive; next up is our MWC of the year contest so please go click the link in my profile to nominate your friends and then vote!!! —- Thank you to @tokinausa @slikusa @tenbabags @lumecube & @hoyafilterusa for making this year so much easier on getting out there and shooting!! It’s a blessing to be involved with such great companies! @canonusa, I’m coming for you next!!? —- . . . . . #slikusa #tokinausa #canonusa #nationalparkgeek #tracyleephotos #findyourpark #yourshotphotographer #naturephotography #adventurephotography #landscapephotography #keepitwild #wanderout #allaboutadventures #takemoreadventures #wildernessculture #neverstopexploring #earth_shotz #big_shotz #depthsofearth #optoutside #gramslayers #exploreourearth #exploremore #northwestisbest #westbysouthwest #teamcanon #shootslik #roorsrated #longexposure #longexpo_addiction

Hope to make the eastern Sierra’s in the next few days... #FBF —- Repost @tracyleephotos ・・・ After my stop in Vegas to work a couple days, I continued on my 2nd part of #TheGreatMilkyWayChase.. I headed to California with @ryantoswald to meet up with a crew of friends to shoot and started at Racetrack Playa, the Ancient Bristlecone Forest, and then continued to Mammoth Lakes... We were going back and forth from blistering heat to super cold temps each night but having such an awesome time shooting. This was the 19th night of the chase and we got here mid afternoon with @The_gingers_adventures & @redheadkatrina and I sat in my hammock relaxing until the sun went down... --- I shot blue hour images for my foreground but I really wanted shots once it was full dark of the moonlit landscape.. I've really spent a lot of time on this trip planning and utilizing the light of the moon because we have so many days at the beginning and end of the chase that the moon is so prominent. --- After I shot my moonlit landscape images around 10pm, I went to sleep until 2am and then we all woke up to get our perfectly aligned Milky Way images... The minute I got my shots to stack, we all packed up and left to another location for a late night comp... More on that soon!!! --- 5 images Stacked for foreground ISO 400 F2.8 210 seconds - 20 images stacked for sky ISO 10000 F2.8 10 seconds ---- @canonusa 24-70 @ 35mm @slikusa 634-CF @canonusa 6DMK1 ---- #tracylee #tracyleephotos #tracyleephotography #slikusa #canonusa #tokinausa #canonbringit #teamcanon #teamtokina #teamslik #shootslik #slikusa #longexposure_shots #nightimages #nightshooterz #nightpics #milkywaygalaxy #astrophotography #astrophoto #astro_photography_ #astro_photography #longexposure #easternsierra #easternsierras #mammothlakes #mammothstories

#TBT #ThrowbackThursday —- Repost @tracyleephotos ・・・ I have been sitting on this image for a year and a half and finally got around to editing it. I feel like that year and a half was vital to the outcome of this image. I had taken off to the eastern sierras on a double trip; 1st was with @mattcookii and then followed by another with @danielbrittonphoto.. On the 2nd one, Daniel, Me, @prevailz and @MatthewSavillePhoto met up to head into the Ancient Bristlecone Forest.. We spent the afternoon in this photographers playground searching for comps and then started shooting in the evening as we waited for the moon to duck below the horizon. This was one of many comps I got that night at a lower ISO than I usually shoot nowadays.. I lit the foreground with a @luxproflashlights.. ---- ISO 2500 F 2.8 25 seconds @TokinaUSA 11-20 2.8 @SlikUSA 634-CFL @CanonUSA 70d Processed in LR 8 Images stacked in SLS for NR ----- #tracylee #tracyleephotos #tracyleephotography #slikusa #canonusa #tokinausa #canonbringit #teamcanon #teamtokina #teamslik #shootslik #sliktripods #easternsierras #californialiving #californialove #longexposure_shots #nightshooterz #nightshooters #longexposure #longexpohunter #longexpo #amazing_longexpo #amazingearth #natgeo #itsamazingoutthere #nightphotography_exclusive #longexpo_addiction

Calling all @NightSkyChasers!!! - We officially hit 500k followers on @MilkyWayChasers last week and we figure it's time to find out who the top @NightSkyChasers are out there; not based on just a single photo, but based on their body of work. You nominate, the sponsors pick the finalists from all the nominations and then YOU all vote to pick one winner from each category. Each will win Title and Award for 2018 and prizes from our sponsors; There will also be Grand prizes for Best Male and Female MWC. All sponsored by @SlikUSA, @HoyaFilterUSA, @TenbaBags, and @LumeCube! - Thank you to everyone for their following, involvement, and wonderful passion for this sport we love so much and for helping us achieve this amazing milestone! -Tracy Lee - How to Participate: - Head to FB.com/milkywaychasers from a computer or milkywaychasers.com/nsa/ from your phone and click on CONTEST on the left side tab. - Nominate Your Favorite @NightSkyChasers in each of the following categories till midnight PST 1/6/19. You can nominate once for each category every 24 hrs. - Start Voting for your favorite @NightSkyChasers once a day as of 1/7/19 - Share your favorite @NightSkyChasers to help them gain votes. Voting ends Midnight PST 1/14/19. - The more you tag the sponsors as you campaign for nominations and votes, the better as they are the ones deciding the final nominees in each category.. @slikusa @hoyafilterusa @lumecube @tenbabags #slikusa #hoyafilterusa #lumecube #tenbabags - Also, make sure to check out and tag @NightSkyChasers #NightSkyChasers where we will be featuring a bunch of the submissions every day. — Good luck to all of you, I’m excited to who will be awarded “Best Of” in each category! —- . . . . . #nationalparkgeek#findyourpark #yourshotphotographer #naturephotography #adventurephotography #landscapephotography #keepitwild #wanderout #allaboutadventures #takemoreadventures #wildernessculture #neverstopexploring #earth_shotz #big_shotz #depthsofearth #optoutside #gramslayers #milkyway #milkywaychasers #astrophotography #astrophoto #longexpo #nightphotography #nightphotoshoot #longexposure_shots

#FBF #FlashBackFriday I didn’t go here this year because I’ve been on tons of other adventures.. who’s made it down this season? —- Repost @tracyleephotos ・・・ This was from my April trip to Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon.. The waterfalls are such a popular destination that I have been 5 times now... I don't know if I will be going again this year but seeing as I never edited a photo from last years trip that didn't have me in it, I decided to do so today... This was lit by a single lumecube.com (use code TRACYLEE10 for 10% off & free US Shipping) from the right. I was with a group of 20 friends I had organized and i ended up hiking about 55 miles in 2.5 days trying to explore and shoot the Milky Way around all the falls there... Who has been here??? ---- ISO 6400 F2.8 15 seconds 10 images stacked in SLS for NR @TokinaUSA 11-20 2.8 @SlikUSA 634-CFL @CanonUSA 70d ---- . . . . . #tokinausa #slikusa #rsa_night #landscape_captures #beautifuldestinations #amazingearth #earthdeluxe #earthpics #earthpix #fantasticearth #earthcapture #wonderfulplaces #havasufalls #havasu #havaupai #natgeo #natgeotravel #canon #canonusa #canonbringit #tracyleephotos #tracyleephotography #litbylume #lumecube #capture4cubes #teamtokina #teamslik #shootslik

I finally made it out to see the infamous frozen bubbles up in the Canadian Rockies during last weeks #LadiesRetreat sponsored by @bhphoto and hosted by @rachel_jones_ross... crazy thing is we thought the lake was going to be under snow and it wasn’t till we were passing the general area that we saw next to no snow on the ground; Rachel said, what do you guys think and without hesitation we said, “let’s go!”.. Can’t say that the timing or the skies were in our favor, but I’m happy I at least got to make it to a place I’ve been wanting to see for a very long time! —- This is a 2 image focus stack; one for the foreground and one for the mountains and sky... I also lit the bubbles from the right to give a little depth and shadow using my new #LumeCube Air! (Use code TRACYLEE10 for 10% off and free US Shipping) — ISO 100 F22 20 seconds @tokinausa 24-70 @ 40mm @slikusa pro 500 DXS mini tripod (use code LEE20 for 20% off!) @canonusa 5DMK4 Processed in LR &PS..

It’s still #FBF somewhere ?and I’m missing the New Mexico Badlands a ton... hope I Getta go there soon! —— Repost @tracyleephotos ・・・ I always admire all of the images I see @Wayne_Pinkston produce out of the Bisti Badlands and he motivated me to go my 1st time; My 2nd trip here definitely outdid the 1st because I had more time to explore it with @kaydenphan @SMPetersonPhotography & @SafatajPhoto.. We had so much fun coming up with tons of comps.. --- This particular shot was taken on Monday night although I had scoped it out and we got clouded out on Sunday night... This amazing hoodoo formation can be shot from almost every single direction although a South West direction seems to be better if you want other significant hoodoos in the background. I think these are my final shots of the Milky Way from this trip for this season; I wasn't willing to accept that it was over last month and i'm glad I didn't!! Thank you to my adventure partners for humoring me!! --- This is 15 images stacked for NR in SLS.. I lit the scene with 2 lume cubes (LumeCube.com/160.html and use TRACYLEE for free US Shipping) for the front using CTO filters and a Lighthouse (all available from Lume Cube), and Morteza had his flash firing as a rim light.. I could have used another cube from the back to do the same, but we had the flashes up for other images we did in the evening. --- ISO 6400 F2.8 10 seconds Processed in LR Tokina USA 16-28 @ 22mm Slik USA 634-CF Canon 6dmk1