Well, sort of…. Before everyone gets all upset…this is a composite photo. I took a photo of Pittsburgh and merged it with the Milky Way photo. We, of course, have this type of sky in Pennsylvania, we just can’t see it due to light pollution. So, it is “art” created by me, just not “art” captured via one photo.
So, before you get upset, remember it’s the Holiday Season and just enjoy it for what it is…. Happy Holidays.
During our trip to Peru, I had a chance to take some photos of the night sky. Luckily, the timing was right….meaning the moon cycle was perfect and it wasn’t cloudy. On top of that, the Milky Way is about 70% bigger in the southern hemisphere….but don’t ask me why.
This photo shows you about 30% of the Milky Way that was visible that night. You could see the entire arch (like a full rainbow). It was an amazing sight. Sorry I couldn’t get the entire Milky Way in my shot. It was just way to big.
By the way, the orange glow at the bottom is the city of Puno Peru in the distance, which created light pollution in my photo.
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I’ve been talking about doing some star trails and Milky Way photos for a while. Why I haven’t tried it before, I don’t know for sure. I guess it’s just like other things people put off doing for no reason. So last night, I just got the bug to go do it. The moon was right, it was a clear sky, I wasn’t tired, and I tracked the Milky Way using Stellarium software. Once I decided to go, I quickly threw my stuff in the truck and drove south looking for the darkest spot I could find. Ideally, I should have used a light pollution map to find a spot that was perfect. The problem is that “perfect location” really doesn’t exist on the east coast of the United States. The best places are all out west.
Because of the hills and valleys around my area, I needed a spot on top of a tall hill or mountain. So I found a cemetery on a hill about 15 miles south of my house. Yes, I stood in a dark cemetery in the middle of the night photographing the stars.
After getting back home, I spent some time researching how to process the images. So the photo I’m sharing with you tonight is my first attempt at photographing the Milky Way. I’ve got a lot to learn about this type of photography, but I don’t think it is terrible. What do you think?
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