There's something about the night sky in winter that is incredible. The stars are so bright and clear it makes for great picture-taking opportunities. These weren't taken in the BWCA but were taken on a trip I did last week up in Algonquin Park. It amazes me though how much light pollution there still is in what I would consider somewhat remote areas. I've never had the fortune of spending time in the BW areas...how is the light pollution levels there?

Great photos, Thanks for posting them. Yes it's unfortunate that there are not that many dark sky places left anymore.

This is the best light pollution map can find right now, but it looks as if there is less light pollution in the BWCA than there is in Algonquin Provincial Park.

Very nice pictures. Thanks. Just a thought, in some of the pictures I think the light pollution adds an effect to the picture.

Great pictures! I'd say the BWCA has very little light pollution. I live about 6-7 miles north of Ely as the raven flies, and on a clear night the Ely light is just barely noticeable in the southern sky. On a cloudy night there is more reflection and the light is more noticeable, but still confined to the lower reaches of the southern sky. Some places in the BW are equally close to Ely, or not much further away, and they would have the same low but present level of light pollution. As you get further away, the pollution vanishes. Across the border in Quetico Provincial Park I have never sensed any unnatural light at night.

Steve- As I mentioned once before, clearly you've mastered the art of exposure--long exposure included as illustrated in these photos. If I may ask, how do you prevent the human figure in the photographs from becoming anything but a blur with exposure times likely in excess of 30 seconds?

Thanks guys! Hubben in all honesty it's a matter of standing as still as I can for the duration of the exposure. If you look at 100% crop there is definitely movement there. Had I brought my flash and lightstand I could have frozen any movement by having the flash blast at the end of the exposure...but my hands were cold enough!

Great photos!

30 years ago while in college, I spent my summers guiding canoe trips in Algonquin and Temagami--and being an avid sky watcher, never noticed any light pollution in Algonquin. But skies are getting brighter everywhere. No doubt, the sprawling Toronto metropolis now is impacting the area.

80 percent of Americans live where they can't see the Milky Way in the night sky, and there are very few truly pristine skies left in most of the US or the settled parts of Canada.

The night sky is still very dark in Quetico and most of the BWCA. I've stood on the ice of Little Knife Lake at night when there was a high overcast and barely noticed a little glow from Ely to the west (as Ho Ho mentioned), as well as low along the eastern horizon from Thunder Bay. But you had to look for it.

A high overcast can reflect light pollution from well over a hundred miles away and is a good test of sky darkness.

Nice pics. Thanks. Light pollution is an issue we are yet to wake up to.

quote hubben: "Steve- As I mentioned once before, clearly you've mastered the art of exposure--long exposure included as illustrated in these photos. If I may ask, how do you prevent the human figure in the photographs from becoming anything but a blur with exposure times likely in excess of 30 seconds?"

I'm familiar with rear sync flash, but I never thought of using it at the tail end of long exposure. That's brilliant. On the other hand, the un-illuminated silhouette of a human figure in the photo conveys a sense of scale and wonderment that could be distracted from were flash employed. Anyway, that's some compelling art right there.

Ya I think it would take some playing with to get the flash to look right. Perhaps a rim lighting effect so that just the outline of the person is what you see, but none of the surrounding area (snow etc)...Something to try for next time!