Trip to the hands of faith
Trip to the hands of faith
It’s been a while travelling was a “regular” daily activity without facing restrictions. We all have tough and unusual month and year behind, we could easily say, the “new normal”. Only one thing have not changed, we still love photography and to go out for a shoot. However we had some hurdles which made it challenging especially photographing the night sky.
One of our last trip recently led us to a unique and spectacular spot in Hungary. It’s the only lookout “tower” in Europe with a shape of a human hand. Some people call it hands of God, some call it the hands of Faith. It’s hand made from wood, has been finished in November 2020.
This place also has more touristic attractions as we have the Hollókő castle nearby and the city itself offers beauty on every corner. We have been at the castle several times to frame it in different compositions . Now it’s under refurbishment process and temporarily closed in 2021. This image was taken 2 years ago, the star trail consist of 190 pictures. The camera was working for nearly 2 hours in freezing conditions before the battery died.
On the first day of the hike the goal was to capture sunset. Based on the weather forecast I was expecting dreamy clouds and stunning colors. (the usual tools I use for planning are in this blog). In a relaxing walk it takes around 50 minutes from the car park of Hollókő. You can do it 30 minutes if you’re late as the sun sets without you 😉
It has some peaks, however it’s still recommended for everyone (in “clean” conditions…when it gets rainy and muddy it becomes more of a challenge).
Once you got the masterpiece you have a spectacular view to the valley. Also the hand itself looks unbelievable. Luckily there were only a few “tourists” so I could focus on my compositions. My tripod did not support me to go low enough so I improvised…slide for the next image to see the result, then a few more images 🙂
After the last rays of the sun I started planning my Milky way shots for the next day as the forecast was very promising for a clear sky. I use the Photopills app since many years. It’s a great tool to plan your shots and trips for sunset, sunrise, Milky way, moon. It also comes with many beneficial features. During the workshops we will teach you in detail 🙂
Next day I felt a little anxious as in the afternoon the sky was still full of clouds. I trusted the forecast and drove to the location. Once I got out of the car and looked up I felt calmness and relaxed by looking at the million stars. This time I did not hurry, rather enjoyed the mystical sounds of the night forest. After arrival I noticed I still have enough time the Milky way to rise so started a few hundred pictures intervalometer for making a star trail. The counter was around 200 shots when I saw some clouds sneaking into the frame…30 shots at the end were rubbish…
Quickly changed my setup, prepared for the Milky way shots. There were only a short time frame to capture it. South-west the light pollution was quite ugly so I had to create my images not to let the Milky way travel to the strong city lights.
Considering the circumstances and the conditions I’m very happy with the results and I will definitely go back.
” Miracles happen every day, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around You .” – Jon Bon Jovi
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