From My Latest Photography Adventure Above Lake Tahoe - Milky Way Shot (and a video)
This Sunday I spent the night above Lake Tahoe getting some Milky Way shots. It's always fun to be out there alone with Mother Nature and in this case, it was a very productive night.
I had done my homework and according to my favorite sunrise/sunset predictor app (My Sunset) the chances of having nice color in the sky during those times was good. I had also checked my favorite Milky Way seeker app (Plan It) so I knew the moon would be setting around 3am, and the Milky Way would be lining up right over a favorite wavey shorline area of Lake Tahoe. My homework paid off, and I ended up with this shot!
This was photographed on a Canon 5Dsr, with a 16-35mm lens set at 16mm. The ISO was set to 2000, a very light sensitive setting. I can go higher with the ISO but with my particular camera, a great deal of digital noise (the grainy look) starts to show up at higher settings. The aperture was f2.8, wide open for this lens so I could let in as much light as possible. The shutter speed was 20 seconds, about as long as I could go before the stars started to look like little streaks instead of little dots (due to the rotation of our planet). The camera was on a tripod and a shutter release cable was used so there was no camera movement or shake.
I normally like to light up my foregrounds in images like this with a headlamp but my headlamp was too bright for this scene. My solution was to use a little led ring light that I purchased for helping me with my vlogging in low light. It worked perfect for providing a little light to the boulder and trees. The image was edited in Adobe Photoshop's RAW image editing feature. Full disclosure: the Milky Way was brought out a bit more in processing and is more visible in this shot than it was to the naked eye. The yellow color on the right is from light pollution of Sacramento. I don't mind a little bit of light pollution and the colors it can create.
The making of this image can be seen in my latest @DTube video that I posted yesterday. You can find this particular shot at the 13:20 mark in the video:
Lake Tahoe Overnight Photo Adventure - Video
If you have any questions about this shot, please feel free to ask me in the comments below or you can ask in the @dynamicsteemians Discord where they have set up a little channel for me to answer photography questions: https://discord.gg/wXch4tp
Thank you for looking, reading, and watching!
Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
Wow!!!
Thanks Larry!!! It was a "wow" scene indeed.
Yeah, I think I am going to change that to my new screen back drop
Sweet! Good call. Nice and dark so any icons will show up great.
This is just absolutely stunning!! What a gorgeous location!
I'm pretty darn lucky I live where I live. I wasn't going to shoot that night but made a last minute decision to pack my bag and GO! Thank you!
Holy moly, my friend!
Looking at that amazing galaxy I can think of just one thing: Theres no way we are alone in this universe.
Any tips on taking a photo of the sky with a cheaper camera? Mine is a 'point and shoot' one =s
It's pretty incredible when the moon sets and all of a sudden the stars look brighter. I'll have to agree with you.
So, if you can set your ISO to a high setting like 2000 or even higher, that can help. You will also need to be able to attach the camera to a tripod and get a long exposure (around 10-20 seconds long). The aperture setting is where you might run into trouble depending on the quality of the lens on the camera. Try to go as wide open as possible (I was at f2.8). Use the self-timer so the camera doesn't shake due to the pressing of the shutter button. Photoshop's (or Lightroom's) clarity and dehaze features can help bring out the Milky Way more. I like to make those changes via the Adjustment Brush so you can adjust just the Milky Way and maybe the rest of the stars.
I hope that helps a bit!
Helps a lot, for sure!
The only big problem is that, from all the options I can change, the aperture is the only one automatic =s or if I set a high iso it dends to blur a lot.
Guess I'll have to find a better camera hahahaha.
But hey, thanks for taking your time. Now I know for when I borrow my brother's camera.
Yeah, a nice dslr makes these kind of shots a lot more doable. Some point and shoots have more manual features, bummer your's doesn't. But lucky you that your brother lets you borrow his camera, I'm not that nice, lol.
Great work! Isn't it fun when the milky way is where they say it'll be? ;)
Thank you and Yes!!! Technology is a wonderful thing for photographers! Just check the app, and 5 minutes later I can have a shoot location chosen. The app Plan It has not let me down yet... Cheers!
Thank you @hyperfundit!!! Looking forward to working with you guys...
Great shot Scott and fun to see the video and how beautiful it is there!
Thank you @sjarvie5! Glad you liked the vid. I hope to do more of those on my little adventures but man was it a lot of extra work, lol.
@jarvie used to do great videos while he was on the road. These are my favorites of his. You guys should chat.
Nice! Yeah, I need to improve my vids... A bit shakey and too many sound fluctuations. Fun work @jarvie!
Yeah i did enjoy doing them. I found it way less stressful to do most everything on my cell phone. (Including the editing of the video) But if you have the disposition it's way better filming with DSLR or something like that.
DTube bro... I'd love to see some fresh ones! I considered bringing my old Canon 5D Mark II and Rode mic but my back begged me not to, it won. I also considered getting a gopro and a gimble but I'm not sure how dedicated I am to producing vids so yeah, cell phone it is. Oh, and I bought a cheap selfie stick and little lavalier mic but I realize that I turn my head while filming a lot, and even that doesn't help with speech/volume issues. Might have to hire my son @enak when he graduates from film school, haha! Hopefully he'll accept steem for payment...
You always amaze me man.. Unmatched photos!!
Thank you @wolfnworbeikood! More from that evening to come... Cheers!
Amazing colors!!
Thank you @asgarth! Yeah, I don't mind light pollution when it's colors fire off like that.
What a very wonderful shot @scottshots!!
Golden glory of the heavens above and the
wonderful wonders below 👍 primo!
Awesome video of the whole experience!!
I love seeing the dark rift of the milky way
and its different shapes :-)
Thank you @shasta!!! Glad you like the shot and video. I wish the Milky Way looked that way to the naked eye but luckily technology helps up see it a bit better.
Breathtaking man!
Thank you @reseller! I love it up here. So much cool scenery.