Tag Archives: Milky Way

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On July 13th,  Paul Thompson photographed the lovely sight of Saturn glowing a golden color next to the larger Jupiter, with the Milky Way splashed across the sky.

Paul wrote, “Two planets from our solar system can be seen, the brightest is Jupiter, and Saturn a bit to the left. We also see the distinctive shape of the Milky Way, actually our own galaxy viewed from the middle outward. This photo was taken down-coast from the North end of Sea Ranch, the yellow glow is from Santa Rosa street lights.”

The Mendonoma Coast is known for its lack of light pollution, giving photographed and star gazers a chance to see such a beautiful sight.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Another foggy day on the immediate coast, pulling back in the mid-afternoon. Must be summer!

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Paul Kozal is an amazing photographer. He enjoys photographing the night sky and recently took this photo of the Milky Way, shining bright over Black Point Beach on The Sea Ranch.

The flowers in the foreground are non-native ice plant. They are quite beautiful in bloom in the spring and summer.

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

Sunny and warm today, with breezes to keep it from being too warm!

Spring doesn't know...

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Paul Kozal's photograph of the Cypress trees near Stengel Beach at The Sea Ranch and the Milky Way is simply beautiful.

Paul told me it was a 30 second exposure and during the exposure he used a flashlight to light up the Cypress trees in the foreground. Enjoy, enjoy!

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.paulkozal.com/

Happy New Year!

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Paul Brewer photographed this majestic sight - the Milky Way. See the setting moon on the right.

We are lucky to have a lack of light pollution on the Mendonoma coast. May it ever be so!

I asked Paul how he photographed this. He wrote, "Simple answer, long exposure (20-30 seconds) at high ISO and maximum aperature available on a wide angle lens, with tripod."

For those interested in a more detail explanation, Paul wrote, "Two parts to the answer. To shoot the milky-way like this you need to gather light for an extended time. The time depends on the aperature of the lens. Fast lenses with F 2.8 or faster is preferred. Mine is only
f/4 and would benefit with a faster lens. The faster the lens the
shorter the exposure or lower the ISO to obtain good results. Low ISO
and short exposure time both reduce the noise in the photo. The wider
the lens the longer you can expose without the stars becoming streaks
instead of points. Rule of thumb is divide 500 by the focal length of
the lens. In my case 500 divided by 16mm allows a 30 second exposure
which is what I used. My settings were ISO 4000 F/4 for 30 seconds.
You also need to be locked down on a tripod for those long
exposures, preferably shooting with mirror up on a DSLR to reduce
vibration. It is also helpful to shoot with long exposure noise
reduction turned on."

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with  you here, and for the photography lesson. To see more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

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Sarah Wagner was at the Navarro River when she captured this magical sight.

The Milky Way, in all its glory, is shining brightly in the night sky.

Thanks to Sarah for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Sarah took another photo of the Milky Way while on a night kayak trip on Big River. The stars are reflected in the river. That photo will be in this week's Independent Coast Observer. Don't miss it! Here's the ICO's website: www.mendonoma.com