Photography

You’re spinning through our solar system on a gorgeous blue marble which offers jaw dropping views of an astronomical phenomenon we call The Milky Way. Wait for our marble to line up just right, and you’ll have a perfect opportunity to create awe inspiring images that harness that galactic chandelier hovering over your head.

My students are often delighted to learn that capturing spectacular images of The Milky Way is easy, once you know a few essential tips. Planning when and where to do Milky Way photography is just as important as the techniques and equipment you’ll be using.

If you want to get truly majestic shots of The Milky Way you’ve really got to consider your location and timing. I’ll tackle that first, before we move on to the shooting technique.

1 – Where and when to see the galactic core

The full galactic core is only visible during certain months, at certain locations. You can see the rest of The Milky Way throughout the year, but for truly eye-popping results it’s the galactic core that you’ll be hunting for, so let’s discuss the best times of year to see it in all its glory.

Northern Hemisphere

Parts of The Milky Way are visible all year round but the galactic core is present only from late April to late July and can be seen in the southeastern to southwestern sky. That’s when you’ll get to see what I call The BIG C. As the summer progresses, you’ll see the core move west so that by the end of summer it appears to rise in the southwestern sky.

You have no chance of seeing the galactic core in winter.

Southern Hemisphere

Photographers who live in the southern hemisphere are lucky because they get to see the core from February right through to October, with peak visibility being in June and July. I’m rather jealous.

Don’t forget lunar phase

For super clear Milky Way photography you’ll need minimal light pollution, which means you’ll want to avoid a bright moon. However, I’ve actually captured good shots of The Milky Way even with a first quarter moon in the sky (so don’t feel like it’s not worth shooting when the moon is present) but obviously a full moon is to be avoided.

The other thing to consider is the position of the moon in relation to The Milky Way. For example , a first quarter moon isn’t such a problem if it’s way off in the west while your Milky Way appears in the southeast. But, if the moon lines up dead centre in the Milky Way, it could be too bright, right where you don’t want it.

How do you know where The Milky Way is going to be?

There are a multitude of phone and desktop apps that can help you to plan your Milky Way shoot but my favourite is the free app called Stellarium. There’s a phone and desktop version, I prefer the latter to plan my shoots.

You can enter a location and time to see when and where things are going to line up. You’re mainly looking to see where the galactic core is present during a darker lunar phase. Stellariumwill show you a picture of The Milky Way, and its position, at the times you specify. You can also see where and how bright the moon will be.

Check out some of the other popular apps like; The Photographers Ephemeris and Starwalk.

2 – Find a dark location

Purists will say that you MUST be in a dark sky area and of course that will give you a much clearer shot, but don’t let a little bit of distant light pollution stop you from shooting The Milky Way. If you can see it, you can shoot it. The image I shot below in Death Valley shows light pollution from two large cities and I honestly think it adds to the contrast in the image. That glow on the horizon adds a great separation of earth and sky.

If you want to discover the best dark sky locations, the International Dark Sky Places site is a great resource.

3 – Wait for clear weather

Most landscape shooters love clouds and hate blue skies. Once you get into shooting nightscapes, you’ll quickly reverse that thinking.

In this shot of Mono Lake the small clouds actually added a little interest to the shot, without obscuring too much of the galactic core.

A blanket of cloud is bad news if you want to get clear shots of The Milky Way, but don’t be put off by the presence of light cloud cover. Sometimes a few clouds can add drama and framing to a Milky Way shot so it’s still worth shooting if the clouds aren’t completely blanketing the entire sky.

4 – The Milky Way is only half the shot

For me, the most awe inspiring Milky Way images are those that show the galactic core in relation to earthly locations and objects. Something as mundane as a person on a camp chair can look really dramatic when framed by the phenomenon of The Milky Way.

Think hard about what you’d like to put in the foreground of your Milky Way shot. If you get perfect conditions and execute perfect technique you’ll still get a boring shot if you don’t put something else in your frame to ground the viewer. Pick an interesting foreground feature and maybe try a little light painting to make your Milky Way shots truly awesome.

That could be anything from an interesting rock formation like a sea stack or arch, right through to a derelict shed, or an interesting tree. Think about locations that feature a point of interest and then consider how that place lines up with The Milky Way.