Then the Clouds Parted
Some nights do their best to discourage photographers from going out. On this night in June, I headed out to teach a night sky workshop only to be greeted with thick clouds across the entire sky. So, instead of teaching Milky Way photography, I taught the participants about capturing ultra-long exposures of streaky clouds, and then later, about light painting. Just as we were setting up for a few last light painting shots -- and right when I got out my camera to remote trigger a shot while light painting for the participants -- the clouds parted in front of the Milky Way. They stayed that way for 15 minutes before closing back up again. No one could really believe it, but they all agreed that they were happy I'd dragged them out regardless of the conditions, since they wouldn't have seen it otherwise!
