I was bored last night and had been thinking about getting out with my camera. After reading a very interesting blog post about Milky Way Photography, I thought I would give it a try. So last night at about 11:30 PM I headed out. At first the hard part was finding a place that was 100% dark. After driving around for an hour I literally gave up. I was 30 miles from I-35 and could still see the glow from the freeway. Here I was like in a scene from Close Encounters (meaning in a REALLY dark place, out in the middle of absolute nowhere) and just decided to get out and take a picture anyway. I figured after all the driving I had done, I may as well test my settings and see if I can get something. So, I did just that. I got out of the truck, aimed my camera straight up and did a 30 second exposure. When the LCD showed me what I got I had to attempt to compose a “real”picture. Now keep in mind 90% of Texas outside of the big cities is divided off into square plots for farmers. So here I am at now 1am on a stretch of road that is straight as an arrow and five miles long looking for something to take a picture of…. in the dark. Suffice to say, you focus at infinity, aim in a direction and see what you get. So, I sat the camera in the middle of the street on my tripod aimed at about a 30 degree angle. Using 3200 ISO, f2.8 on my 14-28mm Wide angle Nikkor Lens I gave it a go. This is what I got.
Stars Over Texas
I was real happy with the shots I took last night. If it hadn’t been for the street lights about a half mile down the road it would have been perfect. For a test shot I suppose I can live with the orange glow. As far as experiments go this was a good night, I did learn a valuable lesson in "Light Polution" while doing it. Now, I need to pick a real location, get there early and properly compose my shot. Now armed with software for my iPad to show me what stars are visible in what section of the sky, I can not only find a decent landmark or object for the foreground but can know ahead of time what constellations or patterns will be visible in the night sky. Not a bad way to end an evening.
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Wow, great first attempt. I don’t know much about the technical aspects of photography yet, but I do know, and as you pointed out, you need to be in a very, very dark place to get super great photos of space. Something I’ll have to try someday as well, thanks for sharing!
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for taking a look and commenting. I really appreciate it. I had forgotten how nice the night sky is. This was really fun to shoot. I am hoping to do more soon.
- David
David,
Super job! The Stars at Night are Big and Bright…Deep in the Heart of Texas! Now, please consider “arming” yourself with more than ipad software:) Glad to see you were bored, AND getting out! I’ll send you a photo i took from my new perch. theSquare
Hey WT,
It’s always nice when you drop in. Thanks for looking. The entire time I was shooting this I was thinking, “If this was El Paso, I would know exactly where to go” I wasnt thrilled with my foreground in this shot, but again it was an experiment so now I need to find a nice place that works in silhouette and set up a proper shot. Thanks for coming by.
-David
What a treat to have such a clear sky!!
Awesome photo, and the ‘light pollution’ looks like the setting sun!
Hi Harry,
Thanks for coming by and taking a look. Im glad you liked the shot. I havent been shooting as much lately so when I can get anything that is good its always a pleasure. Texas is “Big Sky” country and on a clear night if it is dark enough you can see heaven. It really is amazing. Taking these shots was like developing in a darkroom. You know you are going to get something but not sure what. It was definitely neat to see the LCD come to life and show me what I couldn’t see with the naked eye.
Thanks again for the comments and for coming by.
- David
Hey David. This is a great “first attempt.” I will say that you shouldn’t worry so much about the “light pollution” of astrophotography. It actually makes it more interesting usually!! Just the stars….. boring. Anyone can do it. And I think this is a great shot with how the light looks like sunbeams. I think it did great considering it was ISO 3200. For my photographs I shoot several 30 sec exposures at ISO 640 or 800 and stack them on top of each other because mine get noisy. Or you can stack the same image on top of itself. =D
Hey J-Rae, Thanks for making it over from G+ and leaving the comment. I really appreciate it. I am going to get out and try shooting some more of these. It was an experiment mainly because there was very little thought into the foreground composition. I was more or less looking for a sample of what I could capture. That night out taught me a bit and was fun. Thanks again for coming by and leaving a note. It was great seeing you here. – David
Pretty awesome for your first try! I’ve yet to try this. Can’t wait to see what else you can do with this!
Hi Patricia, thanks for coming by and taking a look. I’m glad you liked the shot. I am a little behind in post and on new shots because of work (I hate it when life gets in the way of my photography) but hope to be back at it soon. Stay Tuned… and thanks gain for coming by. – David