Milky way in the Sonoran desert of Arizona
I took this picture on one of my recent trips to Arizona, in the middle of the Sonoran desert.
I took this picture on one of my recent trips to Arizona, in the middle of the Sonoran desert.
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Aug, 2019Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this picture from the middle of the Sonoran desert, around Florence, AZ, USA. It is one of my personal favourite spots to travel to and shoot photos. The sunsets there are amazing!Time
I remember waking up close to midnight and going out into the desert to get this shot. The exact time of this photo is June 25th, at 12:15 am. Keep in mind it was June, and the rattlesnakes were out and there was a high risk of encountering them!Lighting
I wanted to make the stars to be the photo's main highlight.Equipment
This was shot on a NIKON D3300 with a 24-85mm lens on a lightweight travel tripod. I had a battery grip to extend the shooting time and used a built-in timer to get this shot. No other equipment were used.Inspiration
This is one of my favourite photos so far I have shot. I have been wanting to take this photo for ages ever since I finished my photography course. The perfect opportunity arose when I went on a trip to Arizona, USA. Once you find the perfect day when it is not cloudy and there is no moon, the view of the stars is amazing! So of course I went on and took this photo.Editing
I have done some basic post-processing in Lightroom, but the majority of the work was already done on the spot when I took the photo.In my camera bag
I usually have my trusty NIKON D3300 with the 24-85mm lens in my bag, along with a GoPro and a Gorillapod strapped to the side of the bag. Also I take a couple of SD cards with me just in case I run out of memory on my camera.Feedback
The key to taking a good shot of the stars is to have the right place and the right atmospheric conditions. Once you have found a good, minimal light polluted spot from which you can clearly see the stars, set up your camera's aperture to be as open as possible and make the shot to be no longer than 30 seconds. Otherwise the stars would leave a trail behind.
