Paul Brewer has been photographing the night sky. Just look at this beautiful photo of the Milky Way and the starry skies, with a fog bank hovering over the Pacific Ocean.

And if that wasn't beautiful enough, a few nights ago Paul photographed the Milky Way with the setting moon.

I asked him how he was able to get photos like these. This is what he wrote, "Basically, and most important you need to be looking for
opportunities and have a camera ready. It is really nice to have all
these opportunities where you live so you can run out the door and take
a shot.

"When stars are involved, you have to shoot with a big aperture,
little number, like f/2.8. The shots also are long exposures but not to
long or the stars become streaks instead of points. The rule of thumb is
no longer than 500 divided by the focal length of the lens. Example 500
divide by 20mm lens equals 25 second exposure maximum. Focusing at
infinity is also difficult at night so I use live view plus trial and
error to get it sharp. You have to then adjust your ISO up high enough
to expose the stars/milky-way.

"In other words you really need to know
your equipment which takes practice. It is essential to shoot off a
solid tripod using a remote shutter release so camera shake is minimized.
"Milky-way shots are best achieved in summer months within a couple
of days either side of a new moon. Having a friend like [photographer] Craig Tooley also helps as yesterday he advised that I turn on the Long exposure noise reduction feature in my camera and shoot with the mirror up. It really made a difference."

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share these beautiful photos. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link to his website:  http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/