Shooting the Milky Way: A Night in the Rockies
Planning, patience, and freezing temperatures
The Milky Way season in the Rocky Mountains runs from roughly April through September. During this window, the galactic core is visible in the night sky, rising in the southeast and arcing overhead before setting in the southwest.
Planning the shot
I use a combination of PhotoPills, Clear Outside, and satellite imagery to plan my shoots. The key factors are: moon phase (I need a new moon or a moon that's already set), cloud cover, light pollution, and the position of the Milky Way relative to my foreground.
The hike in
This particular location required a 4-mile hike at altitude, gaining 1,200 feet of elevation. I set out at midnight to be in position by 2 AM when the core would be at its highest point. The trail was unlit and I navigated by headlamp and GPS.
Camera settings
For this image I used a 14mm f/1.8 lens at ISO 6400 with a 20-second exposure. The key is to keep the exposure short enough to avoid star trailing while collecting enough light to reveal the structure of the galaxy.
The final image is a blend of two exposures — one for the sky and one for the foreground landscape — to manage the extreme dynamic range of the scene.