Photo Friday: Milky Way

milky way photography

Two weeks ago I visited upstate Pennsylvania for a cousin’s wedding. Before I left, I had a thought: I’ll be in the middle of nowhere, with no service, surrounded by woods. After a bit of research, I found that the area of Pennsylvania where I was headed was one of the darkest areas in the state. I was beyond excited to try my hand at shooting the Milky Way. I’d tried my hand at star photography in Iceland and Morocco, but hadn’t quite figured it out, so I was bound and determined this time. After stopping to buy my third tripod (I always forget I’m missing a part that connects the camera to the tripod until I actually need a tripod and don’t have time to order a part), I waited for the sun to go down, set up, and was grateful that the moon wasn’t going to be anywhere in sight that night. The sky was mostly clear and I could see the Milky Way with my naked eye, so I was hopeful my photos would turn out. After my first couple of shots, I was thrilled to see the images even before post-processing.

This was one of my four favorite shots from that evening. It took a bit of editing to get it exactly how I wanted it, but I am so happy with the way it turned out and cannot wait to try my hand at it again! What do you think?

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Author: Megan

Megan is an ordinary girl who outgrew her small town and decided to try the world on for size. She's on a mission to travel, photograph, and write about the world.

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  • Beautiful shot! I tried the same thing, dragging my tripod to Zion National Park and then trying to take some night shots. Let’s just say I wasn’t successful. Yours turned out great! Let me know if you have any other helpful tips for capturing a star-filled night sky.

    • Upstate–Sullivan County. I was in Forksville, close to Worlds End Park. It’s supposed to be one of the darkest areas in the whole state, making it ideal for astro-photography!

  • What setting do you have it on?
    I am interested in doing something similar one day but not sure where to begin…other than a tripod. I need to get one!
    Would you use the same setting for the Northern Lights?

    • I think I’ll write posts about how to shoot both! :) I’ve gotten lots of questions, so that should answer everything from equipment to settings to editing.