It was January. Well, New Years day to be precise. I had driven past a church a couple of times and thought it had some potential. Given it's location which was somewhere just outside of Ambleside in Cumbria, I knew that it might provide a good opportunity for some night time photography. The lack of light pollution from street-lights in the area meant that if the conditions were right, there'd be lots of stars to be seen. And as I discovered that was the case, although what I hadn't factored in was just how much it was lacking in light pollution and in fact, lacking any light at all. It was located where two narrow country roads split, so finding somewhere to park the car was the first challenge. I manged to just squeeze the car through the entrance and there was just enough room to turn around. This entrance-way was clearly never designed as a car-park. I switched my headlights off and then the engine. That's when I realise that sometimes one or two street lights can be a good thing! My sense of hearing becomes heightened to compensate for my eyes, which are now totally redundant. The rain which seemed sporadic, now seems ominous as it almost thuds off the roof of the car and the gusty wind is whipping through the overgrown vegetation. I sit for a few moments, hoping that my eyes would adjust, trying to use my peripheral vision to catch outlines of the dense trees which surround the church and the narrow path that leads between them and the church, to the graveyard beyond. But it just wasn't happening. I switch on my lights again briefly to get my bearings but not long enough so as to cause my eyes to re-adjust. I see where the path is and switch off the lights again. I pause to confirm to myself that this was a suitable night to take pictures. It's dark, windy with heavy spots of rain and about 2 degrees Celcius- a fact which I had completely forgotten about up to that point. I get out and zip my parker up, pulling the hood over my head, more to keep warm than anything else. I reach for my gear in the boot of the car and decide that rather than risk getting everything wet, I set up everything I can there, this'll also save me a bit of time fiddling around when I have no shelter. I set the camera onto the tripod on go for the standard setup I use for star photography; ISO 3200, F2.8 30 second shutter speed. I close the boot and I'm in pitch darkness again. I reach for my phone to use as a torch.. 18% battery... A number of internal expletives later, I'm walking the narrow path between the church and the perimeter wall which is lined with huge trees. I negotiate the gravestones, to reach the edge of the cemetery and look for a spot to set the tripod up.  I look up and WOW! the stars were bright and there were billions; tiny dots of different colours which could be seen with the naked eye. One problem though, I couldn't see anything in the foreground or detail on the church itself. At this point my phone was completely flat. I used the outline of the church to try and set up a composition using the viewfinder, whilst the wind continued to flap the edges of my hood over my eyes and the rain pinged against my face. The digital spirit level on the D750 really helped out to make sure it was straight. I set the timer to avoid any camera shake, set the focusing to manual and and tried to get the sharpest view of the stars, hoping the foreground would also be focused enough to retain some detail. Pressing the shutter, I stood back for the 30 seconds. This is when you can stop thinking for a short while and enjoy the experience (usually) I glance around looking for any other compositions, taking a few deep breaths after I had held it during the set up process when I was concentrating. Suddenly, there was a tap on my back! I must have jumped about 5 feet and spun around to the branch from an overgrown bush being tousled around by the wind. At this point I realise I've become a cliche from a generic horror film and part of me finds humor in my ability to get into these situations, the other starts to write the rest of the film I've fumbled into. 'Click', the shutter closes and provides a welcome distraction. I check the image, sharpness is ok and composition isn't bad. I even caught some of the gravestones. Too many clouds though, so the stars are hidden:

I decide to change the composition to try and get more clear sky. Again, slight educated guesses at the composition and the focus distance were needed. Took another image - a bit better but needed a little trial and error to get what I wanted:

Happy with that result. Time to get back - fingers numb from the cold, legs wet and in need of some whiskey to settle the nerves! Top Tip: I used the pre-focusing light from the camera to light the pathway back to the car. Alternatively you can just take a regular torch {sighs}.