Tag Archives: Milky Way

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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

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Paul Kozal photographed the second new moon in September, also called a Black Moon. Of course Paul didn't just photograph the new moon - he photographed the Milky Way, a glorious sight in the autumn skies.

black-moon-9-30-16-by-paul-kozalA nice wet storm came in last night and gave us 1.65 inches of the wet stuff at our place in Anchor Bay. More is to come. To have early rain is a blessing.

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 this link to his website: http://www.paulkozal.com/

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Professional photographer, Paul Kozal, wouldn't miss the opportunity to photograph the night sky this week. The Perseid Meteor Showers, the absence of the moon, and the Milky Way shining bright in the sky was too tempting to resist. A meteor streaks across the sky to the right of the Milky Way, an incredible sight.

Perseid Meteor Shower and the Milky Way by Paul Kozal  I asked Paul how he took this photo. He wrote, 'One exposure, 30 seconds with light painting on the oak tree, taken off of Tin Barn Road."

  Paul stopped along Highway One to capture this photo.

The Milky Way as seen from Highway One by Paul KozalAmazing photos of a beautiful sky. Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share them with you. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.paulkozal.com/

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Here on the Mendonoma Coast we celebrate our lack of light pollution. That allows for some wonderful night sky views. Allen Vinson is the latest coast photographer to try his hand at photographing the Milky Way and he got a bonus "shooting star." Allen said this first photo was a 20 second exposure.

Milky Way by Allen Vinson

Allen took another photo which shows some of The Sea Ranch.

The Milky Way over The Sea Ranch by Allen Vinson

I asked Allen how he photographed this. He wrote,

"The Sea Ranch Lodge is in the lower left.
The photo info is:  ISO 3200, f/2.8, 15 second exposure, 14 mm lens.
I read up on how to photograph the Milky Way, and on a dark night, a 30 second exposure is recommended.  Here, the moon may have been getting close to rising.
Rather than time lapse, which I have used to record the changing clouds every 20 seconds over a 3 hours period so it plays back in just a couple of minutes, this is a long exposure."

Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his beautiful photos with you here. To see more of Allen's nature photography, here is the link: http://allenvinson.smugmug.com/