Milky Way #001
My first attempt at astrophotography. Shot from my back yard.
Nikon D7100; 18-105mm @ 18mm; 20.0 sec; f-3.5; ISO 2000.
<em&bt;Copyright AOrth 201...
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My first attempt at astrophotography. Shot from my back yard.
Nikon D7100; 18-105mm @ 18mm; 20.0 sec; f-3.5; ISO 2000.
<em&bt;Copyright AOrth 2014<-em&bt;
Read less
Nikon D7100; 18-105mm @ 18mm; 20.0 sec; f-3.5; ISO 2000.
<em&bt;Copyright AOrth 2014<-em&bt;
Read less
Jul, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from my backyard, on the fringes of the Gold Coast Hinterland. I was lucky the Milky Way was in a good position that night.Time
It was the middle of winter I remember, so it was quite cold... well Gold Coast winter cold, so really probably about 10-12C. I was completely rugged up in my ugg boots, pj's and dressing gown (bonus of only being in my back yard...no one could see me!), gloves and a great beanie that had a little LED torch in it. Shooting in the black of night can be tricky so the torch beanie came in really handy. I think by the time I found the best spot and got all setup it was about 9:30pm.Lighting
To be honest the lighting was perfect, the moon was yet to rise so the sky was as black as it was going to be considering how close I was to the city light pollution. I had to point my camera to the opposite direction to the coastal city, towards the hinterland, which worked perfectly as that was where the Milky Way was starting its arch in the sky.Equipment
This image was shot on my Nikon D7100, with a 18-105mm lens at 18mm. The camera was supported by my tripod and I used a wireless remote to trigger the shutter (extremely necessary when using the long shutter speed)Inspiration
A friend of mine had found an image that he wanted to use as his EP album artwork and asked if I could do something similar. I love a good challenge and decided to do some research into astrophotography. After reading many, many a blog I realised I could totally give that a shot, even with my basic equipment. This photo was actually one of my first attempts at astrophotography. I never realised just how addictive this type of photography could be. After my first photo I was hooked. I've done a couple of shoots since and it always seems to blow my mind just how beautiful nature is. My next goal is to actually setup a time-lapse over a couple of hours and capture the Milky Way moving across the night sky.Editing
As this was one of my first shots I had to do a bit of post-processing. All the raw elements were there, I mainly focused on the colour balance and highlights to really bring the stars to life.In my camera bag
I'm still fairly new in the photography world so I don't have a lot of kit but my bag always has my Nikon D7100 body, a Nikkor AFS 50mm 1.8G prime which is just beautiful to work with and my Nikkor 18-105mm all around good guy. I also keep my wireless remote handy as you just never know when it might come in handy.Feedback
If you want to capture the beauty of the Milky Way, or just the stars for that matter, get as far away from light pollution as possible. At the very least point your camera in the opposite direction. Wait for a night where the moon isn't in the sky, or do it before the moon has risen, this will eliminate some of the light pollution. Use a wide angle to capture as much as you can, open your aperture as far as your lens will allow, set your ISO high enough to capture what little light there is available... between 1600 and 2000 seems to work well (if you have Long Exposure NR and/or High ISO NR, turn them on), and open your shutter for just long enough that you don't end up with star streaking (unless of course that's what you are going for), between 25-30 sec depending on your aperture settings. Use a remote shutter release or at least use your camera's built in timer, this will remove any chance of camera shake in the long exposure. Above all else, try and try again! Research the best positions, find apps that will tell you where the Milky Way is and what the moon is doing. Don't forget to take it all in, we live in an amazing place!
