DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Learn how to photograph the Milky Way in less than five minutes

Dec 30, 2019 by John Aldred 8 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Astrophotography is one of the most fascinating genres in photography. It allows us to see the world around us in a way that’s difficult or often impossible to see with the naked eye. For many of us, the issue is simply too much light pollution, but even when we do make the effort to go somewhere dark, we can still struggle, especially if we want to photograph the Milky Way.

In this video, Diana and Ian from Lonely Speck explain the basics of photographing the Milky Way from the gear and planning to the actual process of shooting it.

I’ve not had much chance to have a go at astrophotography. I’ve read up on it a lot and had a bit of a play occasionally, but I’ve never been able to really get anywhere with it, though, due to the light pollution in most of the areas I find myself. Since moving to Scotland, however, it’s something I’ve made more of an attempt to get out and have a proper go at because it’s relatively easy to get to areas with fairly dark skies. I even went camping with a friend in Glencoe over Christmas with one of the goals being to try to shoot the Milky Way.

I borrowed a friend’s Sony A7II and Sigma 20mm f/1.4 lens for a couple of days to take with me on the trip. I’ve definitely got a long way to go , but I was quite pleased with the results.

I wish Lonely Speck’s video had come out a few days earlier, though, and I’d have learned that this is completely the wrong time of year to capture the Milky Way in all its colourful glory. At least we got the right time of the month (the night before a new moon), even if it was the wrong month.

Oh well. I guess I’ll have to go back in the summer. I’m definitely not going to complain about having to go back to visit Glencoe again, though.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Learn The Three Basic Principles Of Light In Less Than 5 Minutes Learn how to use DaVinci Resolve like a pro in 30 minutes or less Five quick tips for making stellar Milky Way photos Learn how to shape light with flags in under ten minutes

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Astrophotography, Lonely Speck, Milky Way, Milky Way Photography

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« This hidden Lightroom trick lets you systematically search for sensor dust in your photos
How we built Bertha – A large format camera that will shoot 1.1×1.1 metre slides »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Sony teases upcoming ZV-E1 full-frame vlogging camera coming on March 29
  • The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is silent, glare-free retouching tablet
  • Fall in love with astrophotography with these 10 space objects
  • Hipstamatic app relaunches as a social network, but only for iOS
  • Instagram now has ads even in search results. Sigh

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy