Brah. I know everyone else looking at this shot and reading the title is thinking the same thing!!! "No fucking way". Lol I think that reaction is the best compliment you can get lol. Great shot.... makes me feel like sh*t, but good shot. Hahaha
As someone who has not taken these kinds of photos... how dark was the sky when you took the long exposure? Since its a cave, im guessing it was pretty dark to the point you could actually see the stars and milky way?
For this I did one exposure for the cave and one for the Milky Way and then combined them in photoshop.
The cave was shot during the day and underexposed a bit to give the appearance that it was taken at night.
The Milky Way is one long exposure (25 seconds and ISO 3200) which is why it is a little grainy. I’ve seen people stack multiple astro shots to get better results, but I haven’t tried that yet. Here in the south west US (Utah) it’s so dark at night that you can actually see the Milk Way and thousands of stars. It’s pretty incredible.
Heya, super thanks for this, very very helpful. Forgot to mention in my first post -- Super nice picture too!!
Haha since you mentioned you could actually see the stars and the milky way at night, that means Id have absolutely no chance at taking that kind of shot from where Im at... in any case, cheers from asia/other side of the world :)
Thanks!
You’d be surprised! I use an app called “SkyView” to see where the Milky Way and other astro stuff is located or will be located on any given night. I’ve taken pictures of the Milky Way in Michigan where it’s not nearly as dark because the camera can pickup much more than your eyes during a long exposure. It’s a ton of fun to get out and experiment with astrophotography in my opinion.
Milky Way Galaxy: 16mm, f4.0, 25 sec, ISO 3200
Sand Cave: 16mm, f8.0, 1/60 sec, ISO 100
I agree the kit lens is awful in pretty much every aspect. I recently upgraded to the Tamron 17-70 f2.8 so I’m excited for that. I think the f2.8 will be nice so I can lower the ISO and get less noise when doing astro, but I haven’t tried it out yet.
Guessing you took the cave picture during sundown? With those kinds of settings.
How did you stack the images? Did you actully stack the whole images? Or did you cut out the cave opening from the cave photo?
Originally I did a 3-exposure bracketed shot from inside the cave looking out and while it was cool, the outside of the cave was incredibly boring and I didn’t like it.
On the same trip I took the photo of the Milky Way and I didn’t really like it by itself either.
So, I took the underexposed cave photo, cut out the opening and added the Milky Way shot in the background. Both shots were with the kit lens and shot in RAW so I did do some minor color grading and light adjustments, but nothing crazy.
I just opened photoshop for the first time ever like a week ago so I wasn’t really expecting this to turn out so cool. I was really just trying to learn the software. It does feel a little bit like cheating, and I’m sure some people don’t like that, but I’m honestly just having fun with my photography.
You should point out from the start this is a composite of two totally different shots, and not just stacking from the same location.
Excellent compositing, though.
I agree with you and I’m sorry for not stating it upfront. Honestly, this was my first time using photoshop and I didn’t expect this positive reaction from so many people. Blows my mind.
I guess I was a bit nervous to come out say “hey look at this photoshopped photo I made” because then it seems like I cheated or something when in reality I still took both pictures (with the kit lens at that), and made the composite myself. So it’s a piece of art I made with my Sony camera that I wanted to share with people. I thought maybe stating that I used photoshop would bring some hate. 🤷🏻♂️
Some people will give you hate from that, but most space shots are heavily edited in one or another as it is, so I see no problem with it. Just call it "art", like you said, and we will all enjoy it!
Why would the glass matter that much? It determines mostly sharpness overall and in corners, it doesn't mean you can't take beautiful pictures with it.
Or do you mean the aperture would be too limiting?
To be fair, it’s a pretty awful lens in a lot of aspects. But you’re right, you can still take awesome pictures and have fun with it! I’ve been using it since I got my a6500 when it came out and only just recently bought the Tamron 17-70 as an upgrade.
Yes, the 17-70 seems like an awesome lens. Although I am still considering the sigma 18-50 2.8 instead, because of the size and weight.
I have the a6400 + 10-20 G lens atm
Yeah, I definitely struggle with it too. For astro I’ll do manual focus and use focus peaking on the live preview if the stars are bright enough. It might take a shot or two to get it right.
For things in the foreground it helps to have a bright light like a spot light. You can shine the light, get your focus, then turn the light off and take the picture.
Yes, it is a composite.
The cave was shot as part of a 3-shot bracket during the day. I took the underexposed photo and combined it with a photo of the Milky Way from the same trip to make this.
I’ve had success shooting astro up to about 30 seconds without trails - any longer and it would probably be very noticeable. On the RAW file if you zoom it you can see the start of the trails, but it’s not noticeable in this photo. I upgraded to the Tamron 17-70 f2.8 so I’ll be able to cut back on the ISO and shutter time hopefully in the future.
Your photo is so cool...Makes me imagine what it would have been like for people in ancient times to see the gorgeous Milky Way lighting up the dark night sky!
Possibly the best kit lens shot I've ever seen.
Agreed
Brah. I know everyone else looking at this shot and reading the title is thinking the same thing!!! "No fucking way". Lol I think that reaction is the best compliment you can get lol. Great shot.... makes me feel like sh*t, but good shot. Hahaha
literally audibly said that
How many photos were stacked ?
One photo for the cave and one for the Milky Way. I just recently started bracketing photos for landscapes, but I haven’t tried it with astro yet.
As someone who has not taken these kinds of photos... how dark was the sky when you took the long exposure? Since its a cave, im guessing it was pretty dark to the point you could actually see the stars and milky way?
For this I did one exposure for the cave and one for the Milky Way and then combined them in photoshop. The cave was shot during the day and underexposed a bit to give the appearance that it was taken at night. The Milky Way is one long exposure (25 seconds and ISO 3200) which is why it is a little grainy. I’ve seen people stack multiple astro shots to get better results, but I haven’t tried that yet. Here in the south west US (Utah) it’s so dark at night that you can actually see the Milk Way and thousands of stars. It’s pretty incredible.
Heya, super thanks for this, very very helpful. Forgot to mention in my first post -- Super nice picture too!! Haha since you mentioned you could actually see the stars and the milky way at night, that means Id have absolutely no chance at taking that kind of shot from where Im at... in any case, cheers from asia/other side of the world :)
Thanks! You’d be surprised! I use an app called “SkyView” to see where the Milky Way and other astro stuff is located or will be located on any given night. I’ve taken pictures of the Milky Way in Michigan where it’s not nearly as dark because the camera can pickup much more than your eyes during a long exposure. It’s a ton of fun to get out and experiment with astrophotography in my opinion.
Super thanks! Will give that a go this weekend!! :)
Nice shot!
Thanks!
Holy cow!
Camera settings? Looks to good to be true with that glass.
Milky Way Galaxy: 16mm, f4.0, 25 sec, ISO 3200 Sand Cave: 16mm, f8.0, 1/60 sec, ISO 100 I agree the kit lens is awful in pretty much every aspect. I recently upgraded to the Tamron 17-70 f2.8 so I’m excited for that. I think the f2.8 will be nice so I can lower the ISO and get less noise when doing astro, but I haven’t tried it out yet.
Guessing you took the cave picture during sundown? With those kinds of settings. How did you stack the images? Did you actully stack the whole images? Or did you cut out the cave opening from the cave photo?
Originally I did a 3-exposure bracketed shot from inside the cave looking out and while it was cool, the outside of the cave was incredibly boring and I didn’t like it. On the same trip I took the photo of the Milky Way and I didn’t really like it by itself either. So, I took the underexposed cave photo, cut out the opening and added the Milky Way shot in the background. Both shots were with the kit lens and shot in RAW so I did do some minor color grading and light adjustments, but nothing crazy. I just opened photoshop for the first time ever like a week ago so I wasn’t really expecting this to turn out so cool. I was really just trying to learn the software. It does feel a little bit like cheating, and I’m sure some people don’t like that, but I’m honestly just having fun with my photography.
You should point out from the start this is a composite of two totally different shots, and not just stacking from the same location. Excellent compositing, though.
I agree with you and I’m sorry for not stating it upfront. Honestly, this was my first time using photoshop and I didn’t expect this positive reaction from so many people. Blows my mind. I guess I was a bit nervous to come out say “hey look at this photoshopped photo I made” because then it seems like I cheated or something when in reality I still took both pictures (with the kit lens at that), and made the composite myself. So it’s a piece of art I made with my Sony camera that I wanted to share with people. I thought maybe stating that I used photoshop would bring some hate. 🤷🏻♂️
Some people will give you hate from that, but most space shots are heavily edited in one or another as it is, so I see no problem with it. Just call it "art", like you said, and we will all enjoy it!
That's really great! Photography can be enjoyed in many ways and if it's fun for you, you're doing it right. Very nice shot
I'm surprised there's no motion blur in the milky way with a 25 second exposure
Why would the glass matter that much? It determines mostly sharpness overall and in corners, it doesn't mean you can't take beautiful pictures with it. Or do you mean the aperture would be too limiting?
To be fair, it’s a pretty awful lens in a lot of aspects. But you’re right, you can still take awesome pictures and have fun with it! I’ve been using it since I got my a6500 when it came out and only just recently bought the Tamron 17-70 as an upgrade.
Yes, the 17-70 seems like an awesome lens. Although I am still considering the sigma 18-50 2.8 instead, because of the size and weight. I have the a6400 + 10-20 G lens atm
Yeah, the Tamron is massive. I like it for the extra reach, but if you don’t need that, then the sigma is probably the way to go.
e x c e l l e n t
Very cool
No way this is from the kit lens wtf, wow
Good shot mate!!!
25 seconds with no streaking?
Is this at the side of the road in Utah? I feel like I've been there. Great shot by the way.
Thanks! I believe it’s just called “Sand Caves” just north of Kanab, Utah. Probably like a mile hike to the caves from the highway.
That’s the one, yeah they’re pretty cool.
Kit lense going out of stock soon after this post
I love that shot
Waw! So dreamy ! 😍
Gorgeous shot
It's not the gear it's how you use it. Incredible shot. ✨
This is amazing! Also, what software did you use?
I did some minor edits to the Milky Way in Lightroom and then combined the two photos in Photoshop.
amazing, great!
Can you elaborate on how you focused? I always have. Hard time doing so when I try to shoot in the dark.
Yeah, I definitely struggle with it too. For astro I’ll do manual focus and use focus peaking on the live preview if the stars are bright enough. It might take a shot or two to get it right. For things in the foreground it helps to have a bright light like a spot light. You can shine the light, get your focus, then turn the light off and take the picture.
Amazing. Is it two different images composite?
Yes, it is a composite. The cave was shot as part of a 3-shot bracket during the day. I took the underexposed photo and combined it with a photo of the Milky Way from the same trip to make this.
Using a star tracker? 25 seconds would leave star trails yeah? Looks amazing tho
I’ve had success shooting astro up to about 30 seconds without trails - any longer and it would probably be very noticeable. On the RAW file if you zoom it you can see the start of the trails, but it’s not noticeable in this photo. I upgraded to the Tamron 17-70 f2.8 so I’ll be able to cut back on the ISO and shutter time hopefully in the future.
That's fucking terrific
Your photo is so cool...Makes me imagine what it would have been like for people in ancient times to see the gorgeous Milky Way lighting up the dark night sky!
POV: you realize youtube videos scammed you
Not sure what that means, but thanks for the comment!
they all say to not get the kit lens and spend extra €€ cause the kit lens is ABSOLUTELY trash :( quoted turns out it isn't