larryepage Loc: North Texas area

There have been several posts recently from folks who are interested in learning how to photograph the night sky. A number of those folks are from locations that are not ideal...either too much light pollution or too much humidity or too low elevation. Any one of these problems can make this genre of photography either frustrating, difficult, or impossible. Most "experts" tend to limit their activity to high desert areas. These areas are lightly populated (the nearest town to Big Bend National Park is something like 70 miles away, and I can't even remember how many miles I drove between ranch houses or bunkhouses). The valley where I set up to photograph was at an elevation of 2500 feet, and my other locations were significantly higher than that. This minimizes the thickness of atmosphere to shoot through. And relative humidity is almost always below 20% or so...very little concern around dew or condensation.

"Milky Way Season" is generally considered to be late June from some time in September. This puts the Milky Way in convenient parts of the sky at convenient parts of the night. It also puts the photographer into the night environment during the most convenient time of the year...no cold nights (although pretty cool in the highest mountains). This is also a time of year when the spring storm season is past in most parts of the country.

I've been thinking, though, that it might be worth trying some springtime Milky Way shooting. There might be some hidden benefits, especially this year, if each of our states' rules will allow us to get out at night. Here's why:

1. Shooting after a cold front passes will provide dry, stable air, even in locations not normally considered suitable for night sky shooting.
2. The weeks of reduced activity should be providing us with air that is cleaner and has less dust and pollution then normal.
3. Shooting now avoids the hot atmosphere and ground surfaces that contribute to the "horizon glow" in images.

We'll still at least have to find locations at least 50-100 miles away from population centers...farther than that if they are east of us. We will also have to find a quick window between the time rules allow us to get out and the time that activity gets back to normal.

There will be a period beginning in 14-18 days or so, after the full moon, when the last quarter moon will not be rising until after the Milky Way rises. (Full moon is on May 7.) That will open a period of nearly two weeks with no moon in the late night sky. The first few days of that window will get progressively better from a lunar perspective. If a cold front or two passes each of our location during that time, there might be an unexpected opportunity or two.

So...anyone interested in doing some experimenting? There are no guarantees. It may just be a big bust. We'll have to see.

I'm going to try here in North Texas, which is normally a pitiful place to see much overhead at night. If you try also, let us know what happens. I'll let you know what happens with me. Good luck to all of us that give it a try.

Riverrune

I'll be doing some night sky shooting this spring. The Milky Way is still in the west, but I live in Colorado, outside a smallish town at 7000 feet in a pretty dark neighborhood. I will be going up to Trappers Lake in the Flattops in mid July, just before the new moon, at 10,000 feet. The nearest town is pretty small, and 70 miles distant. The Lodge has electricity only by generator, which is shut down at 10pm. Then it's just headlamps and lanterns in the cabins, and the entire universe overhead. If the weather holds it is one of the best places for astral photography. It was also the first true wilderness area in the country, set aside by the USFS for that purpose in the early 1920's at the recommendation of Author Carhart and Aldo Leopold. The fishing can be pretty god too!

redtooth

Hi, I am looking at trying to shoot the Milky Way in Sept. at Arches in Moab . Would the best time be Around 10:00 Pm or around 4:00 in the morning ? Thanks

arqsfoto

Ask Photopills, they know everything about your question.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

I'm thinking 10pm

Harvey Loc: Pioneer, CA

This has been a challenge for me for many years - I am fortunate to live in an area that has wonderful clear air and literally no ambient light -3,500 ft elevation of the CA Sierra Mnts - 25 mi from street lights- my back deck faces East "BUT" there is little space between the tall pines & Oaks for wide/full sky images. True it is just a few miles to secluded ridge and mountain pass locations with vast open views - but dang it is cold up there.
Yes - I'll be venturing out again soon as I have had some attacks of "GAS" as the results of reading up on the subject and watching videos on Youtube covering the subject.
Harvey - fore ever searching for new challenging photo topics

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

The Milky Way can be photographed successfully from just about anywhere. The following article is an excellent guide to doing so:

https://petapixel.com/2014/07/29/photograph-milky-way-light-polluted-skies-singapore/

Enjoy!

bwa

Gourmand Loc: Dallas

The Milky Way appears in the Northern Hemisphere between May and August. In May, its galactic core appears very early in the morning, and shows up later and later as the year progresses. Use an app like Dark Sky Finder to find where there is the least amount of ambient light/noise pollution in your area - set up your shot there. Use an app like The Photographer's Ephemeris (TPE) to determine sunset time and moon set time. Get a shot of the landscape during the last hour that the moon is out (the moon's golden hour) for use later when putting your picture together.

Consider using foreground elements like trees (which will appear in profile). Photograph them during the Blue Hour - the period of the day when the color of the sky ranges from blue to dark blue, followed by black sky or vice versa depending upon the time of day it is being considered (i.e. for sunrise or sunset). It is termed the "Blue Hour" because the blue hue in the sky lasts for about an hour (in reality it lasts between 30 to 40 minutes). Its duration depends upon the geographical location and the season. Shoot the foreground with the camera locked down on a tripod and don't move the camera again until you have shot your stars, or vice versa for morning shots. Once the stars are out and looking good, refocus on them (using Live View, zoomed in to its maximum zoom) and then photograph them.

Gourmand Loc: Dallas

Star Shots

1. Get as far away from artificial lights as possible.
2. Dark skies with ½ moon or less work well (no moon, or just after a new moon is best unless you need the moonlight to brighten the foreground).
3. Use a sturdy tripod, a fast wide-angle lens and a cable release.
4. Shoot RAW and Manual mode.
5. Turn off image stabilization and Long Exposure Noise Reduction. Turn off auto focus.
6. Use your camera's playback screen to help focus at infinity (manually focus on a small bright star).
7. Use an aperture that is two stops above the widest aperture to avoid coma aberration (having the stars appear with a tail, like a comet - especially at the edges of the image). 50% of the distortion goes away by stopping a lens down one stop - 80% with two stops.
8. To determine the longest shutter speed you can use before the stars will loose their sharpness and begin to develop streaks, divide 500 by your focal length (for a 24mm lens, 500/24 = 21 seconds) (the wider the lens, the longer the exposure can be).
9. Make a test exposure with ISO set to 1600 and exposure set to the amount of time you determined to be the maximum working speed where the stars do not begin to streak. Adjust ISO and shutter speed to obtain a proper exposure.

Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI

As with anything in photography, practice, practice, practice. (sort of like preparing for Carnegie Hall) The more you try it, the more you learn. Have fun and post some fabulous results.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Been shooting the night sky since the mid '60's and still learning...

bwa

Harvey Loc: Pioneer, CA

This is so true - one needs to not get discouraged by the number of "junk" images that out number the "quality" ones as that is the way it goes for a while - heck even after one thinks they have it mastered.
I remember the effort and dozens of shots of "failures" before I got a decent moon shot - and how happy I am today when I get another. I learned this way before I took up a SLR as many many years ago my wife worked for a pro sports and travel photographer and we would see the hundreds of images he took for the few he presented for sale and the few he sold. I like the "night sky" photography as it only needs a good DSLR and a tripod - yes a remote shutter release also- where with my macro photography it doesn't look like I'll ever get thru buying "stuff" I need for that. LOL

Ya - lrt's all keep posting of images.

Harvey Loc: Pioneer, CA

Here are a couple of my captures from between the trees in the canyon behind my house - I am on a ridge but tall pines and oaks are all around me.

(Download)


(Download)

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Nicely framed between the trees.

bwa

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada