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 p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Milky Way and Foliage nearby Reading, Vermont | |
The milky way is a lot of fun to shoot. I'm becoming a milky way junky.
I imagine you have the necessary camera gear.
You can google for dark sky maps and find sites like this to help guide where you photograph. You will want to plan for southerly views without too much sky glow from nearby towns. Sky glow kills the milky way core. Some people will attach a light pollution filter to their lens or clip it on their rebel dslr, but I have not tried this.
http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/
Reading looks not so great for light pollution. Grand Isle seems worse. There are some state parks to the north of Reading that could be nice. On light pollution maps, green areas are nice but blue and black will blow your mind if you aren't accustomed to dark skies (like me). Your best nearby place for milky way photos would probably be the dark area near blue mountain lake looking south. Find some hills or mountains that hide the worst of the sky glow. Depends how gung ho you are. Some people think I am crazy sitting out in the cold dark for a few hours often by myself with my sky tracker. I love it. It was a real treat in Jasper one night when I actually ran into other people with red headlights. State parks near me require a camping permit in order to stay inside the park after dark. They typically keep the gates open. Even if you don't camp, the pass on your car should give you unlimited park access should the ranger or the resident manager who lives at the campground patrol the grounds.
The photographer's ephemeris helps you to know when the moon will be favorable in addition to sunset/sunrise information. Any light pollution or moonlight will diminish your milky way image, but when the moon does rise, you can capture and include (overlay) a nicely lit foreground element.
http://photoephemeris.com/
Clouds can be nice for astro landscapes, but might mess up pure milky way images. Use the clear sky chart to plan which evening you stay up late.
http://cleardarksky.com/csk/prov/Vermont_charts.html
You don't have to have a sky tracker to stack images and improve your signal to noise ratio. Consider taking a dozen images (25-30 sec with a wide angle lens), then put the cap on your lens and take another dozen - all done with the exact same camera settings. Download the free program Deep Sky Stacker to process them all. It will improve your noise.
http://deepskystacker.free.fr/english/index.html
There has been a lot of aura activity this summer, many times dipping down into the northern usa latitudes. What a treat, but not for Virginia. So while shooting the milky way, don't forget to look behind you! You should google an aura alert site and keep tabs on this nightly while you are on holiday.
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/NorthAmerica/2013/10/03
Be safe.
Now you owe me a nice image! 
David
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