Galactic 50! A photography project2 min read time

When I started in photography my one driving force was to get out and see the world. 3 years ago I moved to Colorado to keep that dream going and this summer, I take on my biggest adventure yet! Starting at the end of June I will begin a project to photograph the Milky Way in all 50 states of the United States of America. A project of this size is going take time and patience. The Milky Way is only visible for a portion of the year, with the best viewing opportunities being in July and August. There will be many obstacles along the way, but it will definitely be an experience worth every second!

Because of the challenges involved with photographing the Milky Way as well my own personal time constraints, I will be breaking this project on in a few different parts. This summer, I will spend 2 months on the road traveling in the northern part of the continuous states and next summer I will spend a few months traveling the southern part of the country. I have decided to take on the east coast in the fall, doing the northern section this year and the southern section next year. Scheduled for this summer will be, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Washington State, Oregon, California and so many more.

I have plenty of surprises for all you out there in internet land, but the center of this trip is probably one of the things I am most excited about. At the beginning of August I will be in Zion National Park for the Persiods Meteor Shower, the biggest one of the year, and I will be meeting up with some great friends so I look forward to shooting not only the Milky Way but the park in general. Utah has been very good to me in regards to the Milky Way as you can see below from one of my other favorite places, Arches National Park.

Altogether, I will be spending just over 2 months on the road, this summer but with many more days and weeks left to complete the project. In the end I will be producing a book showcasing the best photos from every state, but I will have more on that as the project goes on. Since the project is going to be a large one, I have set up a gofundme to try and raise some funds for this project. If you would like help an artist complete a galactic project please take a look: https://www.gofundme.com/galactic50project. Most importantly be sure to follow my blog for updates and of course some amazing Milky Way photos from your state. You can also support me and this project by heading to my Milky Way Gallery and purchasing a print :). Click here for my Milky Way Gallery!