Our Phoenix area exploretographer friends joined us for an evening under the stars. We had scheduled this outing in advance on the one rainy/cloudy day in Phoenix in almost 4 months! We said rain/shine though as we knew the clouds would make for a beautiful sunset and we figured we could do time lapse of clouds or light painting if the milky way did not appear. Fortunately at around 10:30 the clouds started parting way to expose the amazing milky way! We got brave and went exploring in some dark brush to help what we thought was an injured animal to find 2 mating frogs in a storm ditch! Great evening of photography, music, friends and adventure!
Some tips on photographing the Milky Way:
1) Find dark skies. Typically the skies are the darkest surrounding the New Moon phase. You will want to drive away from the city lights.
2) To locate the Milky Way there are several apps that we find helpful, but our go-to app is Photo Pills. In the United States the Milky Way is visible Feb-Sept. It will rise from the west.
3) A full frame DSLR or camera that handles higher ISOs will be your best choice. The wider and faster the lens the better. These pictures were taken with my Canon 24-70 2.8L, because my preferred 16-35mm 2.8 is in the shop. The 24-70 at 24 was not wide enough for my preference. The Rokinon 14mm 2.8 (be sure you choose the one compatible with your camera brand) is widely recommended, especially because it is a more affordable option.
4) Tripod. Be sure and turn off any image stabilization your lens may have while it's on the tripod.
5) Focusing at night can be the tricky part. Usually I set my focus to the infinity marking on my lens. However, you can also turn on live view and try to focus on the brightest star. Others focus prior to darkness then leave it alone (set it and forget it)!
5) For your camera settings start with a high ISO, long shutter speed, and the widest aperture you can. Start at ISO 3200, aperture 2.8, and shutter speed of 20 seconds.
6) Take your shot and adjust the settings as necessary.
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