Stargazing In Ladakh

Cleaning the dust off the DSLR was all worth it. This ride to go stargazing in Ladakh had many inspirational and joyous moments

- Rishad Sam Mehta

I am gripped my camera passionately after three years of ignoring it in favor of my iPhone. Travels in these three years took me to beautiful places that have generated a plethora of photographs, all with the convenience of a device that sits in my pocket and fits in my palm.

But today, I needed the talents of my trusty old Nikon D700. Its 3.5 kg weight and brick-like size felt familiar even after a separation of three years. Even in pitch darkness, my fingers could easily find buttons and dials, and more importantly, I had muscle memory about the combinations of these two to pull up menus and adjust parameters. It is a good thing because at that moment of time light is the polluting evil.

This evening definitely cannot be titled ‘the sound of silence’, because there is excited chatter around me in a multitude of languages. But the mantra of the evening is certainly the first line from the said song, “Hello darkness, my old friend”.

Ten of us from places as varying as Ludhiana to Poona to Chitradurga are stood in darkness, bent over our tripod-mounted cameras in the midst of the Zanskar Himalayas waiting for the star of the show to make an appearance. The time of year chosen is perfect with the moon setting soon after the sun and the clouds have obliged by staying away. Soon from behind the crest of high mountains she makes an appearance — that celestial diva; the Milky Way.

I say that darkness is the old friend tonight because to capture the Milky Way on camera the shutter needs to remain open for more time than it would take to blister