Edge of the Flint Hills

My wife agreed to go with me on a stay-up-all-night trip in the Kansas Flint Hills for some Kansas photography. The Milky Way galactic core (the brightest stars) was starting, but it was too cloudy to take full advantage of it. I had marked this tree previously as a location I wanted to revisit to photograph. Instead of waiting for the sky to clear, we took the hour drive to this tree.

After taking the first photo at this location I realized the car headlights lit up the tree in a way I couldn't do with the spotlight I brought with me. Even though it was about one o'clock in the morning, the highway still had a few cars passing every few minutes. I purposely waited for cars to approach over the hill, covering part of the lens with my hand to avoid a flare that might ruin the photo.

The moving clouds allowed for some of the Milky Way galactic core to show some and really made the photo for me. This tree is located in Marion County, Kansas and that is why it is called "The Edge of the Flint Hills".