Photographing the Milky Way
/Check out my new article on the Canon USA website, Into the Night: Photographing the Milky Way and Night Sky!
Happy Photographing!
Jennifer
Check out my new article on the Canon USA website, Into the Night: Photographing the Milky Way and Night Sky!
Happy Photographing!
Jennifer
First: Read this blog post on Tips for Photographing the Stars as Points of Light for more description then follow these steps.
http://blog.jenniferwu.com/blog/quick-tips-to-photograph-the-stars
• Wide Angle Lens. 14-35 full frame, 10-22 for crop sensor cameras.
• Shutter Speed 15-30 Seconds. Example settings no faster than listed:
o Full frame: 14mm at 30 seconds, 16mm at 25 seconds, 24mm at 20 seconds, 30mm at 35mm at 15 seconds.
o Crop sensor: figure out the actual focal length for you lens and use the shutter speed numbers above. For example if you have a Canon Rebel camera and you are using the 16-35mm at 16mm. Multiply 16mm x 1.6 = 25.6mm. Use the number of seconds for a 24mm lens. If you are using a lens that tells you the actual focal length, you do not need to apply the multiplication factor.
• Wide open aperture. F/2.8 or faster.
• Set ISO. At f2.8 on a dark night ISO 6400. f/1.4 at ISO 3200.
• Set White Balance to Kelvin temperature 3400 to 4400.
• Set the lens to the focusing point or just backed off from infinity
• Focusing on the stars
• Tape the lens
• Turn off auto focus on the lens
• No filters
• Use the lens hood
• Take Photo and review on LCD screen
• Check histogram and sharpeness
• Check the white balance. Change Kelvin temperature to what you want
• Turn off Long Exposure Noise Reduction
Focusing Method 1
• Focus on the moon with auto focus. I use the center focusing point for focusing on the moon or star. Then turn the lens to manual focus.
Focusing Method 2
• Focus on a distant subject, such as a mountain, or say 100 feet away. Look at your lens and check to see where it focuses at for that focal length. Remember that or mark your lens. Turn lens to manual focus.
Focusing Method 3
• Focusing – place a bright star in the center of the frame (use the center focusing point to find it). Use the magnify button to zoom in to the star. Manually focus on the star using a loupe. The star should look small.
Check Out the Book
Photography Night Sky: A Field Guide for Shooting After Dark.
Print edition and Kindle or More Info
Photography Resources
Here are some of my favorite apps, sun and moon information, space weather and more!
I hope you find this useful!
Happy Star Trails,
Jennifer
Sun and Moon
Apps: Sun Seeker, Sky Safari, LightTrac, Photographer’s Ephemeris, LightTrac, Clinometer
Sunrise and Sunset Times: www.thetimenow.com or www.timeanddate.com
Golden Hour: www.golden-hour.com
The Photographer's Ephemeris as an app or computer: stephentrainor.com/tools
Date Services: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data
The Old Farmer's Almanac - Click on Sun or Phases of the Moon:
Weather
7 Timer: http://ftp.astron.ac.cn/index.php?lang=en and click on Cloud Cover: http://ftp.astron.ac.cn/wchart.php?lang=en
Clear Sky Chart: cleardarksky.com/csk/
Space Weather: www.spaceweather.com
Auroras
App: Aurora Forecast
NOAA: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov
Aurora Forecast: www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/
Astronomy North: http://astronomynorth.com
Spaceweather solar flare activity: www.spaceweather.com
Ovation Auroral Forcast NOAA: http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/
Eclipses & Space & Moonbows:
Astronomy Picture of the Day http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Eclipses: eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html
Yosemite Moonbow: https://sites.google.com/site/olsontxstate/workshops
Camera Operations
Canon Digital Learning Center: http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=HomePageAct
Crop Sensor Calculator: http://www.sweeting.org/mark/lenses/canon.php
Dark Skies:
Light Pollution Photographs: http://www.lightpollution.it/dmsp/
International Dark-Sky Association IDA: http://www.darksky.org
Stars and Milky Way
Starry Nights is what I use and showed in class: www.starrynights.com
Apps: Star Walk II- I showed this in class, Heavens Above, PhotoPills, Sky Guide: View Stars Night or Day
Free software for viewing the location of the stars for both windows and Mac. www.stellarium.org
Meteors
Stardate: stardate.org/nightsky/meteors
Apps: Meteor Shower Calendar
Star Trail Stacking Software
Startails free software: www.startrails.de/html/software.html take a dark frame with the same exposure, put lens cap on the camera, and it can use that to reduce noise.
http://www.schursastrophotography.com/software/photoshop/startrails.html www.tawbaware.com/imgstack.htm
StarStaX free software http://www.markus-enzweiler.de/StarStaX/StarStaX.html
Long Exposure Calculator Apps: there are a number of free apps, as well as others for a fee. PhotoPills
Depth of Field Calculator
DOFMaster.com and app
PhotoPills App
Focus Stacking Software:
Helicon Focus: Can use RAW files and saves as DNG file. http://www.heliconsoft.com
Zerene Systems: Very precise with macro fine details.
Check Out the Book
Photography Night Sky: A Field Guide for Shooting After Dark.
Print edition and Kindle or More Info
Jennifer Wu Photography Blog - Jennifer Wu, a professional photographer since 1992, is best known for her nature, landscape and night photography. Jennifer was named by Canon USA to the elite group of photographers, The Explorers of Light.
Jennifer Wu is a leading nature and landscape photographer specializing in photographing the night sky. She is the co-author and photographer of the book, Photography Night Sky: A Field Guide to Shooting After Dark (2014, Mountaineers Books). Jennifer was named in 2009 by Canon USA to the elite group of photographers, The Explorers of Light.