Milky Way Over Roche Harbor

Today, at Sidney Spit, started very very early in the AM with more attempts at "The Milky Way Shot"! It is getting better, but even with a tripod, it's almost impossible to do a timed shot with the boat on a buoy. There are always little ripples in the water, making interesting little corkscrew designs out of the stars. I did get a pretty sunrise shot and a nice "sunset shot" after we arrived back in Roche Harbor.

Then this evening, I decided to try some Milky Way shots while tied at the dock in Roche Harbor...certainly it would be much steadier! That it was, but the ambient light in the marina, along with anchor lights on almost every boat...didn't help matters. My shots were better and I decided to try some processing using my Ipad and the Photoshop Express App. I was pleasantly surprised the detail it brought out, and although it still is not what I'm hoping for, it's moving in the right direction. I also found that I could up the ISO on my particular camera more than is suggested, as long as I adjust for high noise reduction. I'm confident that with a better lens (will order soon), and more post processing with the proper software, I may be able to get the shot I want.

On the same note...I'm sure learning a lot about the stars, and was able to find the northern cross in my photos of the stars, along with other stars of interest in the Milky Way. I'm intrigued with all of it.