Milky Way take 4

[fishinchicks]

Every time I head out, I learn something new. That's part of what makes photography so intriguing to me. I love the challenge of working on a new technique.

This is part tonight's attempt at photos of the Milky Way. It makes it difficult to get a good shot when it is pretty much directly overhead. It is the view I see when we're working in the yard, or just shutting down the combine during harvest. It's one of my favorite things about working late.

I will gladly take suggestions on how to improve - I know I have a lot yet to learn!

[eyeguy 54]

I wish I could see that when I look up from the yard.

[Dbl]

Looks like a great start to me! You might want to increase your shutter speed to 25 seconds instead of 20. Some post processing magic and you will get the Milky Way to stand out!

The one thing I might change is the silo in the foreground. Try some trees to anchor the shot or a barn. This time of the year you will often be shooting overhead to get the brightest parts of the Milky Way. Great job!

[fishinchicks]

Thanks, Dan! When I had my shutter at 25 seconds, things looked a tiny bit blurry. When I uploaded them, they weren't as bad as I thought. The yard light illuminates the trees and sheds pretty severely, making it difficult to not have a super bright spot.

How about white balance, and post processing? What do you recommend? I think I will have time to run out again tonight and get off a few shots before the clouds fill in too much.

[Dbl]

If you shoot in RAW AWB will work just fine you can adjust it in post. If you want to play around in camera I like to use a Kelvin setting of 3900K to 4800K. If you look at your RAW and adjust white balance those settings are what are pleasing to the eye. There tends to be too much magenta in the Milky Way so cooling it down or a touch of yellow gives eye pleasing results.

As far as processing upping exposure a bit and adding a fair amount of contrast along with black's adjustments are the key to getting more pop. I also add a bit of Vibrance maybe a small amount of saturation. Play around a bit and you will find something that works for you.

Make sure your tripod is keeping that camera still. I would still try and get at least 25s or 30s exposures to help bring out more of the sky. Good luck!