Jackson Lake Milkyway
Milkyway over Jackson Lake in the Grand Tetons.
Milkyway over Jackson Lake in the Grand Tetons.
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Feb, 2021Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 22
Judge Favorite
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 66
Spring 21 Award
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Emotions
Impressed
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I travel extensively during the summer. This trip took me out west to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. This image was taken from the campground on the north shore of Lake Jackson with the Teton Range in the Background.Time
Timing is everything in astro-photography. With Milky Way photographs a lot goes into planning (hint: use an app like Photopills.) This image was captured around 10:30 pm just as the moon was rising behind me.Lighting
With the moon rising just enough to light the mountains, you have to work fast or the moonlight will wash out the sky and obscure the stars. Since I am on the road I sometimes don't have the luxury of waiting days for "just the shot." In Milky Way photography you normally wait for the new moon, but that is not always necessary. Here I used the moon to light the scene.Equipment
A fast lens is always helpful. I use a Sigma 14mm f1.8 for most of my Milky Way images. This lens was mounted on a Nikon D850 and a RRS tripod and ball-head to provide a stable platform for this 30 sec. exposure.Inspiration
I am always looking for beautiful scenery for my Milky Way photos. With astro-photography you are highly dependent on the weather. I try to get imagery at most of the iconic places I visit but I am not there for long periods of time. Cloudy nights are the bane of astro-photographers. Fortunately, this night was crystal clear and lakes always make great foregrounds.Editing
Milky Way images require a good bit of post-processing to get the real effect of being there. Color is the most important because you want to bring out the color in the core of the Milky Way, while keeping the sky that midnight blue and not letting the horizon lights wash out the colors in the foreground. I also had to balance the warm light of the rising moon with the cool light from the night sky.In my camera bag
I am rather an eclectic nature photographer. I shoot everything from Macro to Wildlife. My bags are quite large. For astro-photography I use fast prime lens. Usually I use a Sigma 14mm f1.8 but I also use a Nikon 24mm tilt/shift lens when I want to keep the horizon straight with the camera tilted up. I carry a Nikon D850 and D5 for bodies and lens out to 300mm. For stable platforms I pack a RRS tripod with a ballhead or panorama head. I also have a Bento tripod with a gimbal head for wildlife.Feedback
Milky Way photographs are relatively simple, although most people think they are too complicated to try. The hardest part for most is seeing the Milky Way to begin with. The first piece of advice is to get out of civilization. Find a location with a dark sky and no moon and use an app to locate the Milky Way from where you are located. These apps tell you more than where to look, they also tell you WHEN to look. When is more important than where, because the Milky Way is not always visible and the core is even less visible. Once you find the shot, technique is not hard. Make sure you have a platform stable enough to support your camera for a long exposure. Exposure times will vary depending on focal length and foreground illumination. The stars themselves require enough exposure to see them (the longer the exposure the more stars will be seen) but not so long as to cause the movement of the earth to cause them to streak. There are rules for this, but those apps I mentioned are more accurate. Shooting a poorly lit foreground is a little more difficult as you may need to blend two or more images together or use "light painting," but that's another subject.
