First try - Astro and Milky Way Photography

Intro

So, finally I was about to do my first real attempt on the Milky Way, I have been thinking about it for a long time but the truth is, its not like landscape photography. In a sense the basics still applies, shutter speed, aperture and ISO but its pitch black and you really must know your gear inside out. On top of that you need so many things to align, a small moon (preferably a new moon), clear skies, no light pollution and of course a Milky Way above the horizon. All of this was perfectly set up on Thursday 20th of April so I took one day of from work and headed to the east cost about an hour from where I live to camp for the night.

I struggled more than I expected, but that’s part of the charm, to always work towards being better and to see the effort pay off down the road. First shot was not great since the fore ground is of focus, check my gallery for the two photos I am somewhat happy with.

Hilleberg Soulo

During daylight I was scouting the area for good compositions, you don’t have to have a fore ground in your Milky Way photos but it sure makes them more appealing in my opinion anyway. I was going to try light painting and learnt the hard way its not so easy to get a decent amount of light and at the same time make it look natural. Next time I will invest in something more than just a flashlight to bring a softer and wider spread of the light. Leason learnd ! These are the highlights I will keep in mind for next time:

• Write down all the settings for your camera, in the dark its easy to get stressed and miss something

• Take more photos than you think you need

• Better light source for light-painting

• Light polution is worse than you think

• Make SURE everything is in focus

Camera settings

Its hard to give exact answers but a good starting point would be:

• Widest apature possible

• ISO 3200-6400

• Shutter speed 5- 25 sec

Astra photography - Milky Way