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I have had some decent success with the Milky Way this year and while this article is decent, here are a few more tips: 1) Use an app to find where the galacti

by jonknee 10y ago

I have had some decent success with the Milky Way this year and while this article is decent, here are a few more tips: 1) Use an app to find where the galactic core will be at what time. This is harder than it sounds because ideally you want to compose an image with something interesting in the foreground (a mountain, rock formation, building, etc). Poor timing, but peak season has already passed this year in the Northern Hemisphere--it's a Summer pursuit. I use Sun Surveyor, but there are lots of apps that do this. 2) Focus is extremely critical and very hard to do after it's dark. I set the focus manually before sunset using a distant object and then use gaffer's tape on my lens so that I don't accidently bump it later. There is nothing worse than coming home to a bunch of slightly blurry stars. Do not trust "infinity" on your lens, it's not accurate! 3) Use the rule of 400 to decide on maximum exposure time. Divide 400 by the length of your lens to get max seconds (e.g. 400/24 = 16.66s for a 24mm lens). Some people use 500, but either way you get a nice ballpark. More time than this and you will get star trails. Neat if that is what you want, awful if you want a nice shot of the Milky Way. This rule assumes a full frame sensor, so if you have a crop sensor remember to adjust (a 24mm lens on Micro Four Thirds would be 48mm for this calc). A couple of my shots from this year: https://www.instagram.com/p/BJBgSTvg-wO/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BJBgSTvg-wO/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BGU-1d0uyJN/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BGU-1d0uyJN/

darrelld 10y ago
These are amazing! I'll have to try your 3rd tip next time I'm out in the dark. I took my first Milky Way picture in June from the Grand Canyon: https://flic.kr/p/Lw5qWz https://flic.kr/p/Lw5qWz
- jonknee 10y ago
  I haven't caught the stars at the Grand Canyon yet, that would be awesome! It might just be the image quality at Flickr, but it looks like you could have focused a little better. Sometimes it's moisture in the air (I've had really light fog ruin things), but at the Grand Canyon that's not likely the case.
  - darrelld 10y ago
    It probably was my focus...I struggled all night with it. Using your tips I'll be better equipped next time.
fluxquanta 10y ago
If you have an iPhone the PhotoPills app [0] will help with steps 1 and 3 (and in a lot of other photography situations as well). I found it to be worth the money. That said, my Milky Way shots pale in comparison to yours (but my excuse is that I'm still working with a relatively cheap APS-C camera). [0] http://www.photopills.com/ http://www.photopills.com/
- 4ad 10y ago
  Thanks for the reference. There are a zillion photo apps, and a zillion paid reviews; it's really hard to get good info on what's worth it and what's not, so I tend to lean on people who recommend something naturally as part of a larger discussion.
4ad 10y ago
Nice photos! > Do not trust "infinity" on your lens, it's not accurate! It's perfectly accurate on the manual focus Nikkor AI-S lenses I use. Can't speak for other lenses. Of course, they don't do lenses like that anymore.
- jonknee 10y ago
  Here's a good piece on what changed: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/who-killed-infinity-focus%3F http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/who... Different manufactures gave different reasons, but in general you should always go by sight and not a ∞ mark. Even in a manual Nikkor lens there will be a shift based on temperature so you don't want to strictly go by the numbers (which is why ∞ is often juuust past focus, it lets you work in more environments).
uabstraction 10y ago
1: You can actually see the galactic core easily with the unaided eye if you get far enough away from the city. An app will help if there is too much light pollution, but light pollution will also put a cap on your exposure time. 2: Not a bad idea at all. Mirrorless cameras shine here as well. 3: Sounds about right. Nothing wrong with experimenting also. Different cameras introduce different amounts of noise at various ISO settings, so the ideal ISO / shutter speed will vary. Again, if trailing doesn't get you, you need to worry about light pollution eventually washing out the photo. Those are some beautiful shots! Here are my horribly processed contributions: http://i.imgur.com/IO5A43p.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IO5A43p.jpg - M13 through a 5" Maksutov Cassegrain http://i.imgur.com/jYBHJul.jpg http://i.imgur.com/jYBHJul.jpg - Northern sky in Maine. Milky Way was overpowered by Augusta's light polution. The processing is a lot more difficult than the shooting IMO... lots of fun though.
- jonknee 10y ago
  > 1: You can actually see the galactic core easily with the unaided eye if you get far enough away from the city. An app will help if there is too much light pollution, but light pollution will also put a cap on your exposure time. I always line up shots during the day, apps are useful so that you can frame things before it is dark (e.g. directly over a rock formation, mountain, old barn, whatever). You can see both place and time, so you'll know if it will be dark enough when it is where you want. Finding a good location for an interesting shot is the hardest part IMO.
seansmccullough 10y ago
What is your process for light and color correction?

by jonknee 10y ago

darrelld 10y ago

These are amazing! I'll have to try your 3rd tip next time I'm out in the dark. I took my first Milky Way picture in June from the Grand Canyon: https://flic.kr/p/Lw5qWz https://flic.kr/p/Lw5qWz

jonknee 10y ago
I haven't caught the stars at the Grand Canyon yet, that would be awesome! It might just be the image quality at Flickr, but it looks like you could have focused a little better. Sometimes it's moisture in the air (I've had really light fog ruin things), but at the Grand Canyon that's not likely the case.
- darrelld 10y ago
  It probably was my focus...I struggled all night with it. Using your tips I'll be better equipped next time.

fluxquanta 10y ago

If you have an iPhone the PhotoPills app [0] will help with steps 1 and 3 (and in a lot of other photography situations as well). I found it to be worth the money. That said, my Milky Way shots pale in comparison to yours (but my excuse is that I'm still working with a relatively cheap APS-C camera). [0] http://www.photopills.com/ http://www.photopills.com/

4ad 10y ago
Thanks for the reference. There are a zillion photo apps, and a zillion paid reviews; it's really hard to get good info on what's worth it and what's not, so I tend to lean on people who recommend something naturally as part of a larger discussion.

4ad 10y ago

Nice photos! > Do not trust "infinity" on your lens, it's not accurate! It's perfectly accurate on the manual focus Nikkor AI-S lenses I use. Can't speak for other lenses. Of course, they don't do lenses like that anymore.

jonknee 10y ago
Here's a good piece on what changed: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/who-killed-infinity-focus%3F http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/features/who... Different manufactures gave different reasons, but in general you should always go by sight and not a ∞ mark. Even in a manual Nikkor lens there will be a shift based on temperature so you don't want to strictly go by the numbers (which is why ∞ is often juuust past focus, it lets you work in more environments).

uabstraction 10y ago

1: You can actually see the galactic core easily with the unaided eye if you get far enough away from the city. An app will help if there is too much light pollution, but light pollution will also put a cap on your exposure time. 2: Not a bad idea at all. Mirrorless cameras shine here as well. 3: Sounds about right. Nothing wrong with experimenting also. Different cameras introduce different amounts of noise at various ISO settings, so the ideal ISO / shutter speed will vary. Again, if trailing doesn't get you, you need to worry about light pollution eventually washing out the photo. Those are some beautiful shots! Here are my horribly processed contributions: http://i.imgur.com/IO5A43p.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IO5A43p.jpg - M13 through a 5" Maksutov Cassegrain http://i.imgur.com/jYBHJul.jpg http://i.imgur.com/jYBHJul.jpg - Northern sky in Maine. Milky Way was overpowered by Augusta's light polution. The processing is a lot more difficult than the shooting IMO... lots of fun though.

jonknee 10y ago
> 1: You can actually see the galactic core easily with the unaided eye if you get far enough away from the city. An app will help if there is too much light pollution, but light pollution will also put a cap on your exposure time. I always line up shots during the day, apps are useful so that you can frame things before it is dark (e.g. directly over a rock formation, mountain, old barn, whatever). You can see both place and time, so you'll know if it will be dark enough when it is where you want. Finding a good location for an interesting shot is the hardest part IMO.

seansmccullough 10y ago

What is your process for light and color correction?