Road to Nowhere

I bought a new lens to take some astro photography and the Milky Way. Little did I know there were so many things to astro. First clear sky, which stopped me the first few times walking out the door. Then you find out about light polution, bortle sky scales, then Milky Way season which is spring to summer if you want a picture of the core. So no core in this one. This one is my second shot where things kinda came together.

OK bud, this is a very impressive shot!

This galaxy shot is impressive. The beautiful road and its warm color made it very dramatic. 

Alex wrote: OK bud, this is a very impressive shot!

Thanks for the kind comment Alex!

Thanks Daryl

Wow! Really impressive shot. I love the title as well.

Thanks Jenny. this road runs into Palmer lake which ends up by monument then Colo Sprs. The bright light is Colorado Springs. So sometimes you can shoot in to a bright area and still get a decent milky way shot

This may be a dumb question; but when you shot that image, could you actually see the detail of the Milky Way or does the lens pick it up better than the eye. I see pictures like this, but never see it in real life. Then again, I've never been anywhere that I would get that chance.

So, When I am in a super dark area. This is measured by bortle light polution map.
www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=10.00&l...0FFFFFFFTFFFFFFFFFFF

I can see the milky way in Bortle class 2 to 3  the gray to blue area. There are some places in class 4 or more you can sometimes see it if you know where and what to look for.

I use an app on my cell phone called photo pills. It has a virtual sky program where you can overlay your phones camera image and the sky. So I can locate the milky way by spinning around with phone in hand and it will show the direction and altitude it is in the sky. I then point my camera to that area and start shooting. Once in camera if it is properly exposed you can see the milky way and adjust your camera as necessary. So between those two things, you can photography it with pretty good accuracy. Photo pills allows you to move back and forward in time. So you can see where it will be at a certain time period tomorrow or a week from now . It also shows where the moon will be and how big it is. Photo pill is a great app for photographers worth getting. It has a depth of field calculator for hyperfocal distance for landscape. Field of veiw calculater to show what your lens will dispaly. It shows what time golden hour and blue hour is so you get to your location in time to shoot. It has a planner that tells you where the sun or moon will rise or set in any location so you can plan your times when you want to be at a certain location to shoot. I think there is a free version but $9 is pretty cheap and if you are going to shoot the milky way the one feature virtual sky is worth the price of admission.

FANTASTIC information. I just went on PhotoPills website - Swiss Army Knife for photographers. I'll be buying it later this afternoon. Also, I bookmarked the Light Pollution map website. THANK YOU so much for the heads up, r1ch; I appreciate it.
I see what you're saying about the Bortle class. At my current location here at home, it's Bortle class 6. Lol. So this is going to be a big help. I'm going to a local lake tonight at sunset that's kind of out of the way. I just checked it out - it's a 4. Only trouble it's a heavily wooded area; so we'll see. r1ch, thank you for taking the time to post all this information. How'd your model shot go on Sunday?

If the milky way is high enough in the sky, you can shoot the trees as a foreground. The photoshoot did not go as well as I expected. I had to use others equipment and there were a lot of people there, some of them would hang onto a particular model or light for a long time so I didn't get to use those models/lights, there were models and setups that were more desirable and I got the less desirable. I started working with natural light and a reflector. I had brought all my lights but was told that everything was there that the needed and not to use them. Later I seen others get out there stuff and shoot outside. Some setup continuous lighting inside which I had also. I was not smart enough to just bring it in an just shoot. By the time I seen this it was too late. (Continuous lighting is super easy/fast to set up compared to flash) So, I am complaining, but it was a great shoot, because of my inexperience and stupidity, it could have been a great shoot for me, but I did not think outside the box. One of my lenses was not working well, it is a very old Sigma 1.4 and does not work well with the R5 (it works fine for everything except model where fast AF is required although I did get a few good shots from it). I will have to buy a new lens and I am not happy about that either Next time it will be different. We learn by doing.

I'm looking at the photos you post and thinking how easy it must be for you to take them. LOL! Everything you described is EXACTLY what I experience and think about myself. Thanks for being so open and honest about it all. I really appreciated hearing about your experience and your thoughts throughout the process.How do you get these jobs? Are you on a FotoFetch type site? I just signed up for FotoFetch. There aren't any jobs available right now. We'll see if it's worth my time. As you said, "... we learn by doing." It is beautiful out today in both sunshine and temperature. Hoping to get some good shots tonight and to use that app and the light pollution page. Thanks again for your description of your experience. If anything, it helps to know that I'm not the only one.

My plan was to shoot sports then shoot the people and I know that is a good way to do it. You can do it that way, but I never tried it.

Shooting with these groups gives you experience.

Another thing. I have never shot guys. I thought women were hard to pose. Then do you photoshop their skin to remove imperfections like you do with women. Back to the books or videos rather. I feel like I spend too much time just trying to learn the ins and outs.
Here are my first two images.

Hello r1ch! Had to laugh when you said, "I thought women were hard to pose ..." If you're saying what I think you are, I always have trouble getting a guy to follow directions to pose correctly. Some are hopeless. Personally, I like to edit guys with as much texture and blemishes that are not distracting. That's one of the reasons I like taking pictures of guys because of the texture and flaws you can leave in for character. I love the photos you took. The first one looks timeless actually with the lighting, color, and even the model himself. The second one is such a natural pose and expression with great light. You did a good job, r1ch! My first husband passed away 5 years ago from cancer. That second picture looks nearly exactly like him! Very weird. So, how do you get these jobs? What are they for? Hope you are well!

I think the guys were harder to pose. Not that they are unwilling but sometimes unable. I am still working on the other images. This was not a
job but a meetup group. I paid $20 to help subsidize the studio rental
which is quite cheap, the meetups can cost more if a dedicated
instructor is there
www.meetup.com/Portfolio-Building-for-As...ls/events/284452204/
I am sorry about your loss. It take time to overcome these things.
It is snowing again today. I will try and get out and shoot if it keeps on
snowing, fog has rolled in too which is good. No astro, clouds block
the stars.