Improvement is a process. Some of you may remember the picture below from two years ago. I had put a lot of effort into learning as much as I could about astrophotography and capturing the Milky Way in an image. The lens that I used to get this shot was new to me at the time, and I hadn’t quite figured things out, resulting in this image. I like the composition, but it is slightly out of focus, and the stars are elongated in the corners (especially visible in the upper right corner).

One of the tools that I use to plan photography outings is an app on my phone called PhotoPills. It has a long list of uses and functions, but one that was added since I took that first picture is called “spot stars.” What it does is, with information about your camera and lens, help you figure out what settings to use for astrophotography. Armed with the information it gave me and more experience with my 14mm lens I went back to this location and got this shot.

The Milky Way is fainter in this image, most likely due to the time of the year and lighting (there were no clouds in the sky this time). Even with the more subtle Milky Way I’m pleased with this image and prefer it to the first one. Coming back years later and giving this composition another try was a great exercise!

If you’d like to join me on the night I retook this image then check out the video below. Bye for now.