Chasing the Milky Way

Portmuck Island & The Milky Way

The Milky Way is something I've never attempted to photograph before, but with the recent push into aerial photography it seems only natural that I am looking to the skies a little more. As luck would have it the Milky Way was visible tonight, so I thought I'd give it a bash.

The first thing that has cropped up is like that scene in Jaws where Roy Scheider says "We're gonna need a bigger boat." Well - "I'm gonna need a wider lens!" That thing is massive. Trying to get a sense of the curvature of it on a 24mm lens is fairly much impossible. What I've ended up with is a shot with LOTS of stars, but no real clue as to the shape of the Milky Way.

For a first attempt it's not bad. Technically correct, but not composed as I would like. 5 out of 10 perhaps. I guess the trick will be to get smarter with the composition and shoot something that doesn't rely on getting the whole arc in shot. Thinking cap on...

Blackhead Lighthouse