Photography of the Milky Way in the Night Sky over Cape Cod
Over the past year I have had a strong desire to photograph the Milky Way and the stars in the night sky! As camera technology has advanced, the ability to use higher and higher ISO’s has unlocked the ability to photograph objects in the night sky with a relatively short exposure. These “short” exposures are the key to getting the stars as point of light, rather then as ovals or lines as the stars move through the night sky as the shutter remains open.
The Milky Way
When I say relatively short, this image was taken with a Shutter Speed of 30 seconds which is short for night photography. I shot at ISO 6400 and f/4.0 to get a shutter speed as “short” as 30 seconds.
When I set out to photograph the lighthouse at Race Point with some friends we were hopeful that the clear sky would allow us to make some photographs of the Milky Way itself. I was prepared with a star finding app on my iPhone to help me find it in the night sky, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Race Point is such an isolated spot that there is very little light pollution, and with the crescent moon still very low on the horizon the Milky Way was clearly visible in the night sky with the naked eye.
As I composed my initial shot I did not like the white glow of the airport off in the distance, and decided to move my position to place the glow of the airport behind the small house. For me this helped draw the eye to the small house on the hill, alone and isolated under the Milky Way.
Thanks for stopping by, and checking out my photography. You can view and purchase a fine art print of many of my photographs through my gallery.