Astrophotography
Earlier this week, I ventured out to photograph the Milky Way. My comrade-in arms, Harv Emter picked me up at home at 11:00 pm and we travelled about 20 km south along the Smith-Dorrien Trail to our destination at the north end of Spray Lake. This was our first night shoot from this location and it proved to be a good choice. Photographing the Milky Way in mountain surroundings has its challenges, primarily the visual barrier to sighting the galaxy.
I attempt to achieve two things when shooting the Milky Way. Firstly, I want the picture to include the galactic centre (aka the galactic core), a massive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. It is the hub that our solar system slowly orbits. It’s much easier to photograph it on flat ground, without mountain peaks to obstruct the view.
Secondly, I want to create a total picture, made more interesting by the surroundings.
In this case, our position at the head of the lake is sufficiently distant from the mountain at the far end to allow us to see over it and photograph the gc ( the dense, orange-coloured mass at the bottom end of the Milky Way in this scene). The mountains framing the subject and the lake in the foreground present a far more interesting composition than a picture of the MW alone.
I credit Harv for recognizing the potential of this site. We visited it in daylight a couple of days earlier to confirm that the gc would indeed be visible. This is achieved using an iPhone app that locates the Milky Way’s galactic centre in the sky, on a chosen date and time, for a given location.
Our chosen location, not surprisingly is very dark at night, free of light pollution from Canmore and Banff behind us and Calgary to the east. The only potential problem remaining was the risk of an overcast sky on the chose night for the shoot. The weather cooperated!
The following picture was taken at 12:44 am. We had considered staying longer to follow the Milky Way’s trajectory across the sky, but it was pretty darned cold by then. So, satisfied with our raw images, we went home.
The best time of the month to photograph the Milky Way is the date of the New Moon (+/- two days), when moonlight is not a factor. Moonlight is very bright and will overwhelm the light of the Milky Way at other times in the lunar cycle. The next opportunity to photograph the MW will be in early July. Presuming that weather cooperates, I hope to do it all again, in a new and interesting location.
WOW!Awesome!
So dramatic with the reflection in the lake!!
Woo Hoo Peterrrrrr!!! The best 12:44am anywhere!!!
Very well done.
Paula
Amazing Peter! I think you have accomplished your objective for this cold nite of photography. It’s soooo beautiful!!
Valorie
Stunning….so peaceful! Love it!
Thanks
Helen