milky way

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In an effort to push me out of my comfort zone and try something new, I did something that I never thought I would ever do. I left my house around 8:45 pm and drove all the way to the Shenandoah Mountains ALL BY MYSELF AT NIGHT! 

I’m not sure what got me to do this but I was just craving a new challenge and just a different type of photography than I’m used to. I say that I thought I’d never do it because I never thought I’d have the courage to go into the mountains all by myself AT NIGHT. I don’t know about you, but I get freaked out about all these animal noises I’ve never heard before. But luckily, I pulled myself through it and I am so excited to go back again for another round!

I captured these at the Jeremy’s Run Overlook (I THINK), just a few overlooks away from the Thorton Gap Entrance into Shenandoah Park. Since I got there at night, it was pretty difficult to find out a foreground element. My first idea was to try to get myself in the image. But figured it would need more light, so I had to coordinate my interior car lights with my cellphone acting like I was taking a picture of the milky way with my phone. It was a fun experiment but moved on to the most obvious foreground in front of me, this crazy branchy tree.

night photography, shenandoah national park, tree, branches, virginia, skyline drive, milky way, stars,

I am very happy with the way both of these turned out. I think in all my years of photography, I’ve only tried to capture the milky way a hand full of times. I was not so confident with my focus, but in the end, I think it turned out pretty good. *pats on the back

My camera setting for the self-portrait is F2.8 at 3.2 seconds at ISO 3200 with my Sony A7II and 35mm lens. My camera settings for the tree image are F1.8 at 13 seconds at ISO 3200 with my Sony A7II and 35mm lens.

Also, some exciting camera equipment upgrades coming soon 🙂

 

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Before leaving for this trip, I had made a mental note of the new moon. I was so happy that we would be along the Oregon coast for it. I don’t make enough effort to photograph it in the DC area because we would have to drive at least an hour away to get to a decent place to photograph it. But in Oregon, it was so much easier to photograph the stars and milky way.

This image was taken at the Samuel H Boardman State Scenic Corridor in southern Oregon. We had clear skies all day so I knew this night would be perfect. Right before sunset, Andrew and I scouted different places I could go to photograph the milky way and decided on Meyers Creek Beach. One, because it’s so beautiful with the rock formations in the water. Two, because we would be able to park along the edge of the beach and not go very far to capture images. It was a win-win for everyone.

I had so much fun photographing these star images. I’m going to try to make more of an effort in the future to photograph the milky way.

My camera settings for this image is F2.8 at 10 seconds and ISO 3200 with my Sony A7II and borrowed a 24-70mm lens just for this trip. I wanted to test it out as an everyday lens but came in handy for these night shots because of how fast it is.

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So this was a fail. But I thought it would be a good idea to share it with you.

It did not occur to me that while we were out camping, we would see stars. I don’t know why. It’s just something that completely slipped my mind. I think I was too worried about the actual camping part to even consider anything else.

So after the sunset on our first day in the woods, I was kicking myself for not bringing my 14mm lens. It’s so much faster and I specifically bought it to take more night images like this. *Facepalm x2* So I tried to do best with what I had.

My camera settings for this image is F4.0 at 13 seconds and ISO 5000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm. I did not have a tripod with me so I did my best by balancing the camera on this big log we were sitting on. I think the colors are really cool in the image. I just wish it were sharper and I know I could have done that with my 14mm.

Oh well. Next time!

Which will be soon because Andrew and I will be traveling to Norway next week! I can’t wait. Neither one of us have been there before and I’m really looking forward to capturing the fjords, waterfalls and the night sky! Don’t worry though, my 14mm is the first lens I’ll be packing in my camera bag. We’ve booked places to stay that right along the water and am really looking forward to just checking out the scenery. I’ve been on pinterest like a madwoman planning out this trip and reading other people’s experiences. I couldn’t sleep the other night because I was just so excited. So if you’ve been to Norway, please let me know. I’d love for any tips or advice.

florida, st george, milky way, galaxy, jesse summers, travel, trees, fl, state park

This post is a long time coming. Over a month ago, I went to St. George State Park in Flordia and attended a night photography workshop with Jesse Summers.

Even though my hand swelled to double its size from all the mosquito bites I got, I had a freaking blast! It was so much fun to stay up all night and just watch and photograph the night sky. I had never seen the milky way in real life before. So it was really amazing to have such a clear night to witness it.

I have to admit, I’ve tried to rework this image about 5 times. Night photography ain’t easy! Let me know what you think 🙂