It’s that time of year my friends! The core of the Milky Way is now visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Look for it in the South Eastern Sky… for now. As the season passes this September will be the last sightings of the core in the South Western Sky.
The best times to view the Milky Way are durning the new moon, two hours past sunset for full dark, and two hours before sunrise. The viewing hours vary… from 1:00am to 4:30am in April… From 8:45pm till 12:00am in September.
What gear will you need to Photograph the Milky Way? Almost any camera. You can even use a smart phone. The camera will determine your outcome, to some extent, just like normal. Your final use of the images better known as “final outcome” will determine the quality of your image.
If you are simply going to post your images online the iPhone will work, but not great. The same holds true if you have an entry level camera. In order to capture awesome images of the Milky Way there are a few requirements.
The Glass and The Sensor
Awesome night sky imagery starts with good fast glass and a great low noise sensor. Recommendations? The list is long and opinions of that list are longer. When it comes to Photography, you can obtain better than expected results with knowledge every single time!
You can use less glass, and less of a sensor… and obtain pretty good results, depending upon final output. One place to find out real scientific testing of lenses and sensors is DXO Mark. However even with a very good low noise sensor, and very good fast glass… your editing practices will win the day.
Personally I’m using a Nikon D-850 with the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 lens. That’s the set up I’ve used for every single image you will see me posting on my website. I’ll be shooting with some other gear this year as well. Do you need my exact setup to get awesome results? Nope! But knowledge of what you do have is essential!
There can be a LOT of post processing necessary here! When you see images online that state stacked, tracked and blended? This means post processing! Many shots stacked together, using a star tracker, and then blending many images into one final image.
My opinion of all of these stacked, tracked, and blended images? Sometimes the maker takes things a bit far. Personally every single image in my personal portfolio is one image. I do have what will be a blend in my files, that I have not worked on yet, from last year at the Toroweap Overlook.
Last year I was given a Star Tracker for my birthday, that I’ll be getting out this year. My goal with the tracker will be noise free pin point stars. I wish to print some very large Milky Way images, and pin point stars are a must. If there is any elongation in the stars, when I blow that up to 40″x80″ that elongation will look like big dashes in the sky not stars.
Even the image below is not great printed larger than about 20×30.
You Want Dark Skies!
This typically means you will be in the middle of nowhere with very little light pollution. Below is an image of the “Dark Sky Map”… Look at this closely! If you will notice the worst light pollution in our country is east of the Mississippi.
I’m based in Las Vegas Nevada in the Winter. Talk about light pollution! However you can also use that light pollution as an element in your image, like I did in the image above this section. For that Image I was 110 miles North of Las Vegas in September.
The big glow to the left of the Milky Way is the lights of Las Vegas. There is a bit of a story to that image regarding about a hundred little critters. I’ll tell you that one if you like when you join me on a PhotoSafari. All you need do is ask.
The really dark spots in our country are depicted on the map. The map on the left is an old one. The map on the right is updated to 2022. If you will notice really dark skies are becoming harder to find.
The Western United States is still king for Dark Skies with the exception of California, Oregon, And Washington. The best dark skies are always where there is little population. In other-words the middle of nowhere. There are dark skies there because there is little else to attract people.
What I’ve done personally is to check out little known locations, not too far from civilization, where shooting in the right direction and the right time of year, pays off in nice images. However! Photographers every where are ruining things for all of us. Currently you can no longer use lighting of any kind in most National Parks.
So? I’m pretty secretive of my locations and I require people on my PhotoSafaris to keep those secrets. If we don’t do this soon, even these locations will become over run. The map below is of the the Nevada Region for dark skies. There’s a lot of scary dirt roads in the dark out there my friends. Which one do you take? ^_*
I Want Realistic Representations Of The Milky Way
I’ve seen a pretty wide interpretation of the Milky Way in images all over the internet. You probably have as well. I have also been in some of the darkest night sky locations in the world. I have never seen a blue tinted sky at night.
There are some other things I’ve never seen as well. Ultimately I respect the artistic interpretations someone might like to use in their work. I want what I want for mine.
If you would like to go Photograph the Milky Way this season I’ll be doing several Milky Way PhotoSafaris this coming summer. Stay tuned to my blog for information on those. I’ll be posting them soon. I also make huge efforts to keep pricing affordable. All of these PhotoSafaris will be near the first week of the month from June forward to September.
There are some things you will need to Photograph the Milky Way. One of the most important is a rock steady tripod, preferably Carbon Fiber. Why Carbon Fiber? Because they are lighter in case you need to hike a bit, but they also reflect less vibrations. A good ball head is also essential.
My personal choices here are the Slik Pro 834 CF and the Benro B-3 Ball Head. Both can be had on sale, keep your eyes pealed for the announcements. Typically a cable release is not necessary, but they’re cheap and not a bad thing to have on hand. A good Head Lamp with both white and red light is also a necessity.
Some Final Thoughts…
Milky Way and/or night sky Photography is a lot of fun! Photography is about light… but what if there isn’t any? Night Sky Photography can be intimidating as well. Some people get a might concerned by what can go bump in the night.
Personally the ‘ol country boy that I am, being in the middle of nowhere in the dark, is how I was raised. I’m far more uncomfortable in the seedy parts of a city at night, than I’ll ever be outdoors. But I understand how people that do not venture out of civilization very often can be concerned.
This is a great reason to attend a Milky Way PhotoSafari with me and our group. I never book more than 8 people in my groups so you get a lot of personal attention. I will also put you in some pretty awesome locations for night sky Photography.
In addition you will be around some other people with the same goals that you have. To have fun, photograph some very cool night images, and to do so safely. Are you going to join us? My Milky Way PhotoSafaris sell out fast. Especially if I advertise them back east.
The very best way to make sure you get a spot on one of these PhotoSafaris is to get on my interest lists. Simply email me letting me know you want a spot. Let me know what months you would like to attend, and how many people.
I will be doing Milky Way PhotoSafaris near the first week of the Month from June till September. We are lucky for planning this year because the New Moon is in the first week of every month. May, June and July I’ll be based on the Oregon Coast. August and September I’ll be in Southern Utah.
In June I’m doing a PhotoSafari to the location above, Thors Well, on the coast of Oregon. I only have four spots left to this PhotoSafari so let me know ASAP if you’re interested in this one!
