You know what milky way is. You probably have heard you can see the milky way from naked eye in pitch dark sky. There will be a cloud-like patch somewhere in the sky you have to locate and yes, that's our galaxy!
Ever wondered how to capture it as a photograph? Is it even possible?
What if I tell you what you see in this image, a curved shape right above that Thunderbird is milky way, that too I have captured with my Canon 600d with 18-55mm? Sounds interesting?
If you are planning to click any milky way photo, be sure to have a plan beforehand. In fact, being at the correct location at the correct time, with some basic knowledge about night sky is more important than knowing correct settings of your camera. Trust me on this 😃.
Milky way, if try to locate by naked eye in the night sky, will not look as it is looking in any photo. All the photos of milky way you see, be it over Instagram or any social or printed media, are enhanced versions of original photo with some brilliant tricks of photography. By saying "enhanced", they are actually "enhanced" and not "photoshopped". If you know the difference.
If you are planning to click any milky way photo, be sure to have a plan beforehand. In fact, being at the correct location at the correct time, with some basic knowledge about night sky is more important than knowing correct settings of your camera. Trust me on this 😃.
Milky way, if try to locate by naked eye in the night sky, will not look as it is looking in any photo. All the photos of milky way you see, be it over Instagram or any social or printed media, are enhanced versions of original photo with some brilliant tricks of photography. By saying "enhanced", they are actually "enhanced" and not "photoshopped". If you know the difference.
When you plan to click milkyway, it is essential to decide the correct location from where you will do the photography, what time of year it is. How the weather on that night is.
For example, here in India, and precisely Mumbai and its nearby areas, best time for milkyway photography is March and April. The sky is clear, no rains, mostly no clouds. Choose a location which is away from any city or town. You have to search for a place where light pollution is minimal. Try locating places where light is less. E.g. any outskirts of villages away from city.
Here I checked the light pollution map (https://www.lightpollutionmap.info) to locate the suitable areas. Above image is of Mumbai and its surroundings. Look at the patch connecting to Mumbai-Nashik. Off the Kasara highway, the light pollution is very less and are preferable to shoot milky-way.
It is also very important to know the place beforehand. You must first plan your frame/composition of your photos. Milky way always rises in South-East, as seen from India and hence make sure you get the correct background/foreground the way you want. For example, if you want a mountain to be in background, make sure it is in South-East direction from where you'll click. If you plan to have any waterbody in your photo, plan accordingly.
Now once you have decided the location, next important thing is time of day/night you'll photograph. Avoid full moon as you won't be able to see or locate milkyway because of brightness of moon light. So choose a new moon night, or days/nights nearing new moon night. This is will ensure good sighting of our galaxy.
Since we know milky way rises in South-East and we have to look for new moon night, how will you ensure the exact time when it rises, when it is above horizon, when it is exactly at top and when it sets?
I use a desktop application "Stellarium" (http://stellarium.org) to gather this data. Add your location co-ordinates, add date and time and locate the milkway.
In above image, I check when the milky-way rises above horizon for location Vaitarna, above South-East direction, on 14th of April. Its at about 2:00 AM, when galaxy is completely above horizon that we see its stretched across South-East directions.
Once you gather enough data about location, when it rises, where it rises, where to locate etc, keep an eye on weather. Specially on clouds as they can ruin all your experience. More the clouds, difficult to locate and get good picture of our galaxy. I use online cloud maps (https://www.accuweather.com/en/world/satellite) to keep a check if clouds are forming anywhere near the location I have selected.
So you have now gathered all the "must" data and you just have to travel to the exact location just wait till the milky way shows up. I will suggest you to plan your travel in such a way that you reach the desired spot well before sunset. I have done the astro-photography for number of times. The reason to reach the spot before the sunset is that you can plan how you want the setup. Campsite, tents, the framing and composition you will be expecting and lot more. Once sun sets and its dark, it becomes really really difficult to move your stuff around. Better be early 😊
Coming to camera settings, I am Canon guy and use 600d with 18-55mm lens for astro-photography including milkyway. Once you decide the overall composition you want, rest is trial and error clicks. Setup the tripod, connect remote shutter release (if you have), set your lens at 18mm or so, or whatever landscape lens you are using. Open up the aperture to fullest. 18-55mm kit lens supports f/3.5 only. So be it. You want to capture maximum light in your photo.
I have 50mm 1.8d lens as well. Being a prime lens, it provides me better quality of image, however, the milky-way view is cropped compared to what I get at 18mm. So choose the lens as per your choice. Wider the better.
Coming to ISO settings, it is indeed a tricky part. You want to have more light but at the same time you have to avoid grains. More the ISO, more the light, more the grains. For a crop sensor camera like Canon 600d, start with ISO 1600. Click some photos. Move to 3200. Click again. Try 6400 now. Check. It depends. I prefer to have it at 1600 or 3200 only. Never ever at 6400. If you have a full-frame sensor, be more adventurous. Don't restrict to 6400 😜
Shutter speed? I go for bulb mode. mostly 27-29 seconds is pretty good. At 20s or less, you will get almost dark image. If you go 30s or more, you will get "trails" of stars as they move. So again, do some trial-error, and then select what best suits you.
Its upto you how to want to see and capture the galaxy. Its about the composition you choose. However, it is all result of little bit know-how and some good planning 😎
Keep clicking!
For example, here in India, and precisely Mumbai and its nearby areas, best time for milkyway photography is March and April. The sky is clear, no rains, mostly no clouds. Choose a location which is away from any city or town. You have to search for a place where light pollution is minimal. Try locating places where light is less. E.g. any outskirts of villages away from city.
 |
| Light pollution map |
Here I checked the light pollution map (https://www.lightpollutionmap.info) to locate the suitable areas. Above image is of Mumbai and its surroundings. Look at the patch connecting to Mumbai-Nashik. Off the Kasara highway, the light pollution is very less and are preferable to shoot milky-way.
It is also very important to know the place beforehand. You must first plan your frame/composition of your photos. Milky way always rises in South-East, as seen from India and hence make sure you get the correct background/foreground the way you want. For example, if you want a mountain to be in background, make sure it is in South-East direction from where you'll click. If you plan to have any waterbody in your photo, plan accordingly.
Now once you have decided the location, next important thing is time of day/night you'll photograph. Avoid full moon as you won't be able to see or locate milkyway because of brightness of moon light. So choose a new moon night, or days/nights nearing new moon night. This is will ensure good sighting of our galaxy.
Since we know milky way rises in South-East and we have to look for new moon night, how will you ensure the exact time when it rises, when it is above horizon, when it is exactly at top and when it sets?
I use a desktop application "Stellarium" (http://stellarium.org) to gather this data. Add your location co-ordinates, add date and time and locate the milkway.
 |
| Milky way locating in Stellarium |
In above image, I check when the milky-way rises above horizon for location Vaitarna, above South-East direction, on 14th of April. Its at about 2:00 AM, when galaxy is completely above horizon that we see its stretched across South-East directions.
Once you gather enough data about location, when it rises, where it rises, where to locate etc, keep an eye on weather. Specially on clouds as they can ruin all your experience. More the clouds, difficult to locate and get good picture of our galaxy. I use online cloud maps (https://www.accuweather.com/en/world/satellite) to keep a check if clouds are forming anywhere near the location I have selected.
 |
| Cloud cover over Indian Subcontinent |
So you have now gathered all the "must" data and you just have to travel to the exact location just wait till the milky way shows up. I will suggest you to plan your travel in such a way that you reach the desired spot well before sunset. I have done the astro-photography for number of times. The reason to reach the spot before the sunset is that you can plan how you want the setup. Campsite, tents, the framing and composition you will be expecting and lot more. Once sun sets and its dark, it becomes really really difficult to move your stuff around. Better be early 😊
Coming to camera settings, I am Canon guy and use 600d with 18-55mm lens for astro-photography including milkyway. Once you decide the overall composition you want, rest is trial and error clicks. Setup the tripod, connect remote shutter release (if you have), set your lens at 18mm or so, or whatever landscape lens you are using. Open up the aperture to fullest. 18-55mm kit lens supports f/3.5 only. So be it. You want to capture maximum light in your photo.
I have 50mm 1.8d lens as well. Being a prime lens, it provides me better quality of image, however, the milky-way view is cropped compared to what I get at 18mm. So choose the lens as per your choice. Wider the better.
Coming to ISO settings, it is indeed a tricky part. You want to have more light but at the same time you have to avoid grains. More the ISO, more the light, more the grains. For a crop sensor camera like Canon 600d, start with ISO 1600. Click some photos. Move to 3200. Click again. Try 6400 now. Check. It depends. I prefer to have it at 1600 or 3200 only. Never ever at 6400. If you have a full-frame sensor, be more adventurous. Don't restrict to 6400 😜
Shutter speed? I go for bulb mode. mostly 27-29 seconds is pretty good. At 20s or less, you will get almost dark image. If you go 30s or more, you will get "trails" of stars as they move. So again, do some trial-error, and then select what best suits you.
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| Milky way with backdrop of Jivdhan Fort, Naneghat, April 2014 |
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| Milkyway crop photo, Naneghat, April 2014 |
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| Milkyway over our campsite, Vaitarna, April 2017 |
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| Milkyway with Thunderbird in foreground, Dehne, April 2018 |
Its upto you how to want to see and capture the galaxy. Its about the composition you choose. However, it is all result of little bit know-how and some good planning 😎
Keep clicking!
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