Been playing around with the DSLR the last couple of nights, think I've now sussed focusing on stars, what shutter speed prevents star trails, exposure etc. but still playing.
Is the Milky Way visible this time of year (southern-central UK)? I thought it was Spring onwards, but no sign of it last night. It was midnight - are the early hours of the morning better?
with the amount of darkness you'll probably struggle this time of year?
This will be a useful bit of software for you.
You'll need a dark sky area and as said this time of year it doesn't get particularly dark so not great for the milky way.
Cheers for the link, very useful. Shows the Milky Way is best at 2-3am.
We're pretty dark here, rural, no streetlamps, so pitch dark and to the South is just the Ridgeway and hills. It is amazing though, how much light is in the sky with these long exposure times (and how much detail the camera picks up).
Just had a tip to use www.photopills.com, which has some impressive AR apps for the phone that shows you what's in the sky on different dates/times.
Also try image stacking, makes a big difference ove simple long exposures.
Another tick for the Photopills app - also see the videos on how to use it, with lots of tips for Milky Way photography.
Also try image stacking, makes a big difference ove simple long exposures.
Also on my list of things to try. My understanding is you set yourself up, take images before dark of foreground, mid-distance etc, then combine with the astro shots?
I live in North Wiltshire, and if I look straight up pretty much any time of year when it’s dark I can see the Milky Way. Get the Starwalk app, that geolocates and will show you the Milky Way for your location.
Image stacking combines loads of images and works out which have moved between images and adjusts them, so you get a long exposure without trails. I gave up before I got anything decent. You need a camera that can take loads of photos without you being there, so set it going and retire to the warm.
Here is a video about how to make a star trail video:
