Early attempt at stars: Went to one of my favorite spots last night, Lake Chokorua in New Hampshire. My hope was to see and capture the Milky Way as others have done from this same...

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

Went to one of my favorite spots last night, Lake Chokorua in New Hampshire. My hope was to see and capture the Milky Way as others have done from this same spot. Didn't happen but I had no trouble settling for the Big Dipper and a touch of the Aurora Borealis. Nikon D7100 w/Tamron 24-70 f2.8.

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ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

Very good. You'll get the hang of it. The MilkyWay stretches from the Swan to the Scoripon. It is up there a little past overhead right now. I use a phone ap called Night Sky to find everything in the night sky. Just remember to manually focus your lens, use a remote shutter release, or self timer, lock your mirror up (not required on newer Sony Cameras) and preset the f-stop to your best resolution. Happy Shooting

taxman Loc: Cleveland, Ohio

Beautiful shots! What were your settings?

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Great images. Your exposure time was a bit too long ( > 30 sec? ) as you got star trails on your image showing movement of the planet. Experiment with Exposure and ISO with the lens wide open.

Practice and you will get a stunning exposure that will knock everybody's socks off.

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

taxman wrote:

Beautiful shots! What were your settings?

Both were f2.8 @ 24mm. The vertical shot was ISO 1600 and 25 seconds. The other was at ISO 3200 and 13 seconds. I've done a lot of reading about how to do this but have learned that conditions vary widely and experimenting with settings is a must. Thanks for commenting.

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

ORpilot wrote:

Very good. You'll get the hang of it. The MilkyWay stretches from the Swan to the Scoripon. It is up there a little past overhead right now. I use a phone ap called Night Sky to find everything in the night sky. Just remember to manually focus your lens, use a remote shutter release, or self timer, lock your mirror up (not required on newer Sony Cameras) and preset the f-stop to your best resolution. Happy Shooting

Thanks for your comment. If I learned one thing, it's that there is no "best" setting. I wish I had taken more shots. I had plenty of time.

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

Great images. Your exposure time was a bit too long ( > 30 sec? ) as you got star trails on your image showing movement of the planet. Experiment with Exposure and ISO with the lens wide open.

Practice and you will get a stunning exposure that will knock everybody's socks off.

Thanks. This wasn't my first try but the first that was anywhere near successful. And I did have a lot of fun.

Shootist Loc: Wyoming

Nice composition. With a D7100 the equivalent focal length of 24mm lens is 36mm. I think about 10 to 15 sec is max for that lens and camera combo (For my tastes I have found that the shutter speed based on 600/focal length should be 400/focal length for most situations). I would try wide open about 8-10 sec at ISO 3200. The D7100 is a little noisy at 3200 but can be much improved with good PP. Also, if you are adept at PP, using luminosity masks can make the Milky Way pop. Welcome to the night owl gang, at night photographers rule the roost!

rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

Great shots Dennis!!

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

Shootist wrote:

Nice composition. With a D7100 the equivalent foca... (show quote)

Thanks, Shootist. Night photography has definitely captured my interest. I have to drive a little to get to the good locations as my home is surrounded by trees. I read somewhere that the ideal exposure for star photos is f2.8, ISO 6400, and 25 seconds. That resulted in way too much exposure so it definitely is not for all circumstance. Not being restricted to f2.8 will allow me to use other lenses and all kinds of ideas and locations are popping into my head. So, I'm just getting started. For PP I have Elements 13 and still much to learn.

dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

rlaugh wrote:

Great shots Dennis!!

Thank you rlaugh. I'm just getting started.

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

Both picture have star trails your shutter speed is to long you need to use a tracking mount which will track with the rotation of the earth they start around 300.00 look in a astronomy magazine or go on line to see one.

sailorsmom Loc: Souderton, PA

I think they're beautiful shots, Dennis!

Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI

You've done a credible job. Play with the exposure times until you have the exact timing you want. Love them both! Thanks!

Treepusher Loc: Kingston, Massachusetts

Great job, even if not exactly what you wanted. Keep up the good work and you'll nail that Milky Way yet!