milkyway plus clouds

Milkyway timelapse as seen from near Sonora Pass, California.
Looking south-ish, from 11:15pm to 2:45am or so.
The light flashes on the trees are from a car. The lasers in the sky are planes flying by.
5d2,24mm f1/.4,iso3200,10 second exposure. Every 20 seconds for 574 frames.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• milkyway
• stars
• timelapse
• yt:quality=high

[vwlover94]

Also do you need to see alot of stars with the naked eye? such as the center of the milkyway? and no haze from any direction right? all ink dark skies?

[mschilder123]

@vwlover94 Yeah, being able to tell where the milkyway is w/ the naked eye is a good indicator of atmospheric conditions. But best and easiest feedback is to take shot and look at the camera's lcd.

When conditions are good those previews tend to draw a wow! since the camera exposure accumulates a lot of light over time.

[WrongLover]

I hate myself doing it :(

I have the 5D and 50mm 1.4 and I can't get to see more than 4 stars in the sky :S

anything I need to know?

I set it to Bulb mode and the iso to 3200 f/1.4 and hold it for 10 sec.

help...

[mschilder123]

@WrongLover I have the 50/1.4 and did a test shot at iso 3200, f/1.4, 10 seconds at a moonless night in a remote area. Plenty stars.

So the trick is remote area, as high in elevation as possible. Any pollution / haze / fog / cloud layer in the sky kills stars. From a city, or any populated area really, no chance of milkyway sightings, sadly.

No need for bulb mode, use manual for up to 30 second exposures. And a tripod ;-)

[vwlover94]

@mschilder123 (my camera has noise issues of course small sensor)F2.8 24mm wide, 45sec shutter, iso 400 and manual focus, but i got the L.A and San Fernando valley haze and got horrible results , so do you recommend a better camera, a better darker location ? Or both :D

[mschilder123]

@vwlover94 Don't forget a faster lens ;-)

L.A. smog is good for dramatic sunsets in Joshua Tree, not so much for stargazing.

[RedMoonIllich15]

in



[RedMoonIllich15]

before i die i want to see this with my children win the future

[SVTcoolguy]

it's so cool, it's like we're we're sittin on a natural sightseeing spot for the cosmos.

[vwlover94]

@mschilder123 Ok thanks, ill go somewhere darker next time, and ill probably get a wide angle lens, and ill probably go to bakersfield,ca or very near, i remember one time i drove their and as the other cars where passing by the opposite way, i was still able to see the center of the milkyway even though lights from the cars where hitting my eye, thats how dark it is over their, :D

[vwlover94]

@mschilder123 and i have a highend point and shoot and shoot at raw, from my panasonic lumix fz100,. but here is my problem, last night i went to Castaic lake,CA and the level of darkness is orange from the white to black chart (google it) and i barely barely saw the cygnus constellation and put my tripod on the floor look up and snap away using these settings

[vwlover94]

@mschilder123 wow that was even helpfull information for me!!!