The Great Milky Way Chase!
My love for astronomy started my sophomore year at Ohio Dominican. I was in Dr. Young's astronomy class. My most vivid memory was going to the Perkins Observatory. Our class got to look through the telescope and seeing Mars take up the whole frame. Even back home in Ohio, I would love being outside on a clear night to see the stars. I've been fascinated by the stars, simply by the fact we're seeing something millions of miles away. Or, I can be honest, I'm a huge Star Wars nerd.
Then I moved to Colorado. Living way up at 9,280ft above sea level; you can find some of the darkest and clearest skies on the planet. My love for astronomy was in part, a large reason why I got into photography. Now being able to see these skies nightly, I wanted to capture the skies I was seeing.
The very first Milky Way shot I captured was on my Nikon D3400 with a kit 18-55mm f3.5 lens. My settings were; 30' f3.5 and ISO 100. Oh... the noise in the photo is almost unbearable, but I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. I TOOK A PICTURE OF SOMETHING IN SPACE!!! Thought it was so cool, I got it printed on 16x20 metal. It hangs above my bed...
As I am with most things in my life, I wanted to learn more. It's been countless long nights, sometimes till the sun rises for the next day. Lot of coffee and Monster energy drinks destroyed. Photography is something you'll never get better at by sitting in your room watching YouTube videos. You have to take what you learn, and apply it. This is why I'm so attracted to photography; I'm constantly learning and growing. This is why I got that first Milky Way picture printed. I know it's bad; you don't need to convince me. It's for days like today, where I edit all my shots from the night before. I turn and look to see where it all started.
Now, I am armed with a full frame Nikon D610 with the Rokinon 24mm f1.4; and "My Precious" Nikon D500 with the Rokinon 14mm f2.4mm. Gives me the ability to start capturing the Milky Way unlike I've ever done before. Last night was my first time with both cameras, and I'm quite pleased with the results. I look forward to continuing to grow with my new toys!
I hope you enjoy what I captured last night! I have 5 still frames that are all 10 image stacks. Lastly at the bottom, I attempted my first try at a Milky Way time-lapse! Can't wait to get better at these!
