Nights of no sleep, just to get the shot that I imagined in my mind beforehand with the stars and the Milky Way aligning perfectly above the landscape. The rewards of that successfully capturing that shot keeps me coming back for more.
Milky Way Journey
- Thread starter Jacobs
- Start date
Very nice!! Where did you take these pictures? Care to share how these were taken?
I am going to U.S. Yellowstone in December and I hope to take something similar. I have been getting conflicting information on the Internet on how to take them.
Some sites say to take duplicate shots and stack them using deep sky stacker, while Mark Gee seems to do it in a single shot.
http://theartofnight.com/2014/06/the-art-of-astrophotography-tutorial/
I am going to U.S. Yellowstone in December and I hope to take something similar. I have been getting conflicting information on the Internet on how to take them.
Some sites say to take duplicate shots and stack them using deep sky stacker, while Mark Gee seems to do it in a single shot.
http://theartofnight.com/2014/06/the-art-of-astrophotography-tutorial/
Last edited:
When i started my Journey to capture the milky way, I was filled with questions and very little information. It took me almost a year to get to a level of understanding which helped me in capturing my first milky way. I am not an expert in astrophotography, I have gained sufficient knowledge over past year and sharing the same with you.
I have personally struggled with how to find the milky way for quite a long period, contacted few friends who took the milky way shots and was able to gather little information to start my journey. With little information my journey looked like a tunnel with no opening, struggled for few months to get to a level where I could experiment on my own in the field. I can go on with my experiences, to sum it up the journey might look hard but in reality with right information and gear it can easily be achieved.
Milky way is always present in the sky but it can only be seen in the night with naked eye or captured with our camera. To spot a milky way we need a clear dark sky with no moon, preferable a new moon day or up to 3-4 days before or after the new moon. It is possible to shoot with moon light on other days but to start off I would recommend to shoot as close or on a new moon and once you build the confidence then you can expand your creativity. With moon or no moon the most important requirement is to find a place with a dark sky it is an absolute must for capturing the milky way. Light pollution will ruin the opportunity of capturing the milky way.
I know its difficult to memorize the correct timings month by month, day by day. So how do we overcome this problem? Well,there are couple of Apps I would recommend which will ensure we take the guess work out and become 100% accurate:
Star Chart: this is my go to Apps when I am in the field and in real time you can get the information you need. This Apps is available on both IOS and Android.
Moon: this is a perfect resource to help you learn about the moon. Moon constantly updates a panel of information that tells you everything you want to know about the moon.
There is no specific camera model to suggest it depends on your personal choice and budget. Different cameras work differently and produce different results, I personally dont have an experience with different cameras so I will specify the gear I normally use and below are my personal setup equipment:
Camera : Canon 5D Mark 3 (Yes I am a Canon person)
Lens : 16-35 f/2.8L and Fish Eye 8-15 f/4L (You will need a Wide angle lens for capturing milky way)
Steady tripod & Remote Shutter Cable
Settings are personal to each photographer as per their shooting style, this can be a starting point for you to capture your first milky way and then experiment different settings as you progress.
Camera Mode : Manual Mode(M)or Bulb Mode (B)
Focus : As it is difficult to focus in the night, you can pre-focus to infinite when there is light and switch the lens from Auto focus to Manual focus. As an alternate switch the focus to Manual and adjust the focus ring to infinite.
ISO : The typical ISO is around 3200-6400 when there is no moon light, if moon is present then dial it back to 1600. This is starting point and as per the test shots you can dial up or down.
Aperture : Shoot at the widest aperture available on your lens, I shoot at F2.8 which is available on my 16-35mm lens
Focal length : I typically shoot anywhere between 16-24mm, its always better to capture more and crop it later.
White Balance : I set my white balance to Auto (since I shoot in Raw format) and then adjust in LR or CS.
Exposure Time : Exposure time can be from 20 sec to 36 sec depends on the amount of moon light you have. To shoot beyond 30 sec your needs set to Bulb Mode (B).You can increased or decrease the shutter exposure time depending on the shot you capture.
Image Format : I shoot in RAW format this will give me the flexibility to play around in LR and CS.
The above information should give you a good understanding on when to shoot for milky way, how to find a milky way in the dark sky, which camera to use and what should be your settings. Hope this has been useful to you.
Have fun!
I have personally struggled with how to find the milky way for quite a long period, contacted few friends who took the milky way shots and was able to gather little information to start my journey. With little information my journey looked like a tunnel with no opening, struggled for few months to get to a level where I could experiment on my own in the field. I can go on with my experiences, to sum it up the journey might look hard but in reality with right information and gear it can easily be achieved.
Milky way is always present in the sky but it can only be seen in the night with naked eye or captured with our camera. To spot a milky way we need a clear dark sky with no moon, preferable a new moon day or up to 3-4 days before or after the new moon. It is possible to shoot with moon light on other days but to start off I would recommend to shoot as close or on a new moon and once you build the confidence then you can expand your creativity. With moon or no moon the most important requirement is to find a place with a dark sky it is an absolute must for capturing the milky way. Light pollution will ruin the opportunity of capturing the milky way.
I know its difficult to memorize the correct timings month by month, day by day. So how do we overcome this problem? Well,there are couple of Apps I would recommend which will ensure we take the guess work out and become 100% accurate:
Star Chart: this is my go to Apps when I am in the field and in real time you can get the information you need. This Apps is available on both IOS and Android.
Moon: this is a perfect resource to help you learn about the moon. Moon constantly updates a panel of information that tells you everything you want to know about the moon.
There is no specific camera model to suggest it depends on your personal choice and budget. Different cameras work differently and produce different results, I personally dont have an experience with different cameras so I will specify the gear I normally use and below are my personal setup equipment:
Camera : Canon 5D Mark 3 (Yes I am a Canon person)
Lens : 16-35 f/2.8L and Fish Eye 8-15 f/4L (You will need a Wide angle lens for capturing milky way)
Steady tripod & Remote Shutter Cable
Settings are personal to each photographer as per their shooting style, this can be a starting point for you to capture your first milky way and then experiment different settings as you progress.
Camera Mode : Manual Mode(M)or Bulb Mode (B)
Focus : As it is difficult to focus in the night, you can pre-focus to infinite when there is light and switch the lens from Auto focus to Manual focus. As an alternate switch the focus to Manual and adjust the focus ring to infinite.
ISO : The typical ISO is around 3200-6400 when there is no moon light, if moon is present then dial it back to 1600. This is starting point and as per the test shots you can dial up or down.
Aperture : Shoot at the widest aperture available on your lens, I shoot at F2.8 which is available on my 16-35mm lens
Focal length : I typically shoot anywhere between 16-24mm, its always better to capture more and crop it later.
White Balance : I set my white balance to Auto (since I shoot in Raw format) and then adjust in LR or CS.
Exposure Time : Exposure time can be from 20 sec to 36 sec depends on the amount of moon light you have. To shoot beyond 30 sec your needs set to Bulb Mode (B).You can increased or decrease the shutter exposure time depending on the shot you capture.
Image Format : I shoot in RAW format this will give me the flexibility to play around in LR and CS.
The above information should give you a good understanding on when to shoot for milky way, how to find a milky way in the dark sky, which camera to use and what should be your settings. Hope this has been useful to you.
Have fun!
