Finally I get my starry shot of the windmill I've been wanting for the past year :) Really there are only a few days each month when attempting this shot was possible as to get good star visibility it's best to shoot around a new moon. Of course a clear night is also a must and several months this past year the two never coincided. Other times I was simply too busy with other engagements or afflicted by an uncharacteristic apathy and laziness (call it seasonal affective disorder or something!). Anyway, one night last week ticked all the right boxes and I was psyched to go give it a try. Probably a little excited cos I rushed out the door not long after sunset, drove the 15 miles there and realised immediately on getting out of the car I didn't have my bloody tripod. Muppet! I pissed around with a makeshift support on my bag and coat for the best part of an hour before deciding it was hopeless. Dejected and mad at myself I got back in the car and drove home under starry skies. Damn. Can't be having this.... gotta go back... So I packed a sandwich, mini bottle of whisky, whacked a load of tunes on my phone and headed back out about 11:30, determined to have something to show for my efforts. After about an hour of experimenting with points of view, camera settings and lighting methods I had formulated a gameplan. The shot went something like this: Open the shutter on bulb mode, paint the windmill with a powerful handtorch, fire an external flash into the foreground on 1/64 power, leg it up to the mill, fire two flash bursts into the ceiling on 1/8 power, search for the red light of my camera in the field so I could find my way back to it, wait about half a minute, close the shutter.... all the while with my playlist blaring on full volume in my pocket. I must have looked a right nutter having my little one-man rave and shining lights everywhere! Fortunately I was alone with nobody to witness my madness. Eventually got home just before 3... Some of you are probably getting sick of seeing this windmill by now, well you'll be glad to know I've only got one more shot to get of it - autumn harvest so I have one from each season - but that might have to wait another year and a half as the field is lying fallow this year. The bluebells are out already though, can't believe it! Adam