My First Milky Way

[Soulassassin]

Tried a couple of times to get decent astro shots with very little succes. However I was at the lake district this weekend and the clear skies seemed a good opportunity and I managed to get these. Not managed to get much colour into them but its all a bit of a learning curve atm.

This is my favourite atm 18mm 20secs exposure 3200 iso x 20


This one from the second night 18mm 30secs exposure 3200 iso x20 (Andromeda on the bottom left)


And another


This one was with my 50mm @ F1.4 4secs 3200iso x 20, tried harder to get Andromeda but was unfortunately a touch out of focus.

[peterc4]

third one for me where was you in the lakes

[Soulassassin]

third one for me where was you in the lakes

We stayed at the Queens Head Hotel on the Kirkstone pass near Troutbeck, all the pics are just outside the hotel.
First time I've seen the sky so clear I could see the milky way with my own eyes.

[Zoots]

They look great - very well done.

[_Belial]

Great shots fella, with a bit of tweaking you could really make that first one pop. Good job on Andromeda with a 50mm too.

[dpSparhawk]

VERY Envious! Well done... and getting Andromeda also. Superb.

[Soulassassin]

Thanks for the feedback, only problem now is on a clear night here in Newcastle I look up and the sky looks pathetic in comparison. Its a real shame how bad light pollution really is in this country.
Just for the record all these 18mm pics were taken with my Tamron af18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 DiII VC Lens, not exactly a tob brand lens so anybody can do this. I was actually inspired by a picture someone posted on here a while back I think it was a panoramic over Snowdon with the milky way above, can't remember who though.

[_Belial]

Not sure which pic you mean, but if it's a pic of the milky way and in Snowdonia, i'm 99% sure it will be one of mine

[dpSparhawk]

Speaking of Snowdonia, I'm going to be at Coed-y-Brenin on Saturday doing the Howies Enduro Moutain Bike race. That's going to be entertaining..and very muddy I think .

I'm staying at a little B&B in Trawsfynnyd with a couple mates so I must admit I'll be hoping for a clear night too. Will probably try the shots from the B&B whilst we're inside having a few drinks

[_Belial]

Coed y Brenin is superb mate, we've taken the kids there loads for walks and some biking, never tried the big official courses though, but does look damn sweet.

If it's clear then you can get some lovely shots at Trawsfynydd, the power station lights up nicely at night and there's a nice jetty at the lake which gets really misty if it's cold and makes for a great shot to take some shots from. Also head from Trawsfynydd up the A4212 towards Bala and there's some greats places for shots at Llyn Celyn which are definitely worth a go. Then again if you're drinking you'll be in no fit state for driving anywhere. There's nant prysor viaduct on that road as well on the way to the lake which i've done a few night shots at.

Hopefully the weather holds out for you, it's been pretty wet here this week.

[dpSparhawk]

Cheers Carl, yeah I think it's going to be a bit sludgy and mushy.. 600 riders all starting off at the same time - lolol.

To be honest, I believe we're meeting at Dolgellau for drinks tomorrow night in which case, I'll only be having the one beer at the beginning of the night so provided we don't finish up too late, there should hopefully be some scope for a few shots if I can get them. Expecting cloud cover though. It's been pretty wet everywhere hehe.

When winter sets in more, I'll head back down and we can head out up into the mountains ( I know we've talked about this umpteen times lol but I have more leeway to be out late or overnight what with the little guy in school full time now - No up at 7am on my days off in the week, or at least just to take him into school, then I can get a bit of extra shut eye )

Ps.. SoulAssassin, very sorry for hijacking your thread a bit but you've definitely inspired me and I really hope to get a clear night tomorrow.

[darkstar]

Exalent pictures .. I have yet to see the milky way hope one night on my travels I will spot it

[liveseytowers]

Awesome pics. Stupid question, is that what you see with the naked eye or does the long exposure make it more spectacular?

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[dpSparhawk]

Yes, the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye once they have become accustomed to the ambient light conditions and so long as there is as little or no other light pollution. It'll be seen as a band of brighter stars across the sky. By use of a higher ISO, the camera is a lot more sensetive to light that perhaps our eyes are not as good at seeing. This allows much fainter stars to be seen.

I know when I've done trails, I'll shoot at around ISO 800 - 1000. This will enable the camera to pick up the fainter stars and also allows me to take multiple shots at shorter exposure times which prevents image blow out and they can then all be stacked afterwards. Better to see the result of a 30 second exposure than wait 2 hours for a single exp. only to find it's a block of white (or even black).

As I understand it, it's much easier to achieve a "Star field" (as opposed to trails) shot by ramping up the ISO to 3200 or higher. This will not only capture fainter stars but will also guarantee a shorter exp. time lessing the risk of trails.

I believe Carl when he's done his Star Field shots he's taken them at ISO's up to 6400 and stacked multiple shots. Can't remember but Carl will be able to confirm/correct me


Ps. As shown in Soul's excellent shots above, the Galaxy Andromeda can even be seen with the naked eye. As soon as I can, I'm taking my son to as dark a spot as I possibly can and show him the night sky as it should be seen.

[Soulassassin]

Not sure which pic you mean, but if it's a pic of the milky way and in Snowdonia, i'm 99% sure it will be one of mine

Just done a search and can't find it. I know it was a panoramic of snowdon though and I think it was with a Nikon camera as I recall. While searching milky way I noticed a lot more pics you have posted of it that I've not seen before, absolutely awsome, how do you get so much colour into yours?

[Soulassassin]

Awesome pics. Stupid question, is that what you see with the naked eye or does the long exposure make it more spectacular?

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As dpSparhawk said, it was just a narrow band of more stars to the naked eye.