Space Photography

Photographing a Piece of the Milky Way

The Milky WayCaptured with a Sony NEX-616mm f/2.8 at f/4ISO 320025s

The Milky Way
Captured with a Sony NEX-6
16mm f/2.8 at f/4
ISO 3200
25s

I just wanted to share my very FIRST Milky Way shot. I have always wanted to get this shot, but have always lived in the big city. I watched Melissa Wu's course on KelbyONE training. To assist, I used an app called "Star Walk" to help find when and where the Milky way would be. Using a wide, fast lens, along with an 'UltraPod' mini tripod, my first attempt was much easier than I thought it would be. 

Things to consider:

  • Light Pollution. This will probably be the number one thing that will stop you from getting a great shot. The spill from the lights that you see are about 8 miles way.
  • Focus points. The hard thing about focusing on stars, are getting them to a point that makes them in focus. What I did, was find one of those lights on the hill and focused on it. 
  • Air temperature. NO, the temperature wont really affect your shooting, but if its too cold, you may be really uncomfortable. 
  • Time and location of the Milky Way. Be aware of the Milky way is and at what time of night the Milky way will be rising and setting. 
  • The Moon. The more full the moon is, the less stars you will see. 

Do you have a great shot of the stars? Post in the comments, I would love to see!

LD

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