I woke at 2:30 am and the Aurora Borealis was shining bright!
Tag Archives: dark skies
Last week I was up late and had a great opportunity to photograph the Milky Way. It was absolutely lovely. And once my eyes adjusted, it was not truly dark at all. I love that my camera captured the air glow caused by ‘the light of excited atoms’! I also love how the clouds flirted with the Milky Way and I love the reflections of the night sky on the lake. It was a really lovely night and I was lucky to be there.
The Aurora Borealis put on a terrific show last night. I hope everyone got to go outside and see it!
The stars put on a good show too. I had hoped to make a blue hour blend but the app I had in hand, gave me incorrect information. It said the Milky Way would rise over the lone pine tree looking west across the lake but that is not how it happened. It appeared almost due south instead. I started making images around 8:00 and continued til 11:00 pm when the Milky Way was getting dimmer and air glow was increasing. Still lovely. And I had a warm campfire I shared with Luna. Sky prefers to go to bed early.
I probably need lessons in learning the night sky apps. They are not intuitive for me. Most night sky photos you see are blends or composites well planned out with the help of an app. Maybe I am too spontaneous to ever use one effectively.
I have been working on my night photography skills for a couple of years now and finally, have made my first successful panorama of the full Milky Way arch! I’ve watched videos, gone to classes, read articles and ebooks, trying to learn as much as possible. Many things I learned meant I needed another piece of equipment but I think now, I have it all put together. This is not perfect, that’s for sure but it makes me happy.
And I did it from my own home. I did not have to drive somewhere a long ways away to find the needed dark skies that makes seeing the stars possible. Of course, the foreground is not all that attractive. There are all the lights on the hills from the ever increasing populations of our valley, the local airport, some cars on the dirt roads after midnight, lights from the nearby church and a power pole. It is where I live and I am happy to be here.
This image is made from eight images stitched together and represents about 180° to capture the entire arc of the Milky Way.
I have more to learn but I feel like this is a big step forward!
My Everyday Photos 