Jupiter over Wildcat Cove by abirkill

Jupiter over Wildcat Cove

Not the best night for star photography last night, but that didn't stop me from taking some shots!

The beach at Wildcat Cove is part of Larrabee State Park in Washington, which closes at dusk, so I had to park outside and sneak back in to take this shot. It was low tide, so climbing over the slippery rocks to get to the waterline in the dark was an interesting experience!

The bright object dead centre is Jupiter. Also visible are Orion's Belt, Aldebaran, Rigel, Capella and many others! Some of the banding of the Milky Way is very faintly visible, but there was too much moisture in the air to allow the structure to show well without heavy processing.

The glow of Victoria on Vancouver Island is very clearly visible on the horizon, as well as some lights on the nearer islands. Some very faint reflections of the brightest stars are just about visible on the water.

30 second exposure at 16mm, f/2.8, ISO 1600 for the stars, and 5 minute exposure at the same settings for the foreground rocks (lit by the light of a house to my right), manually blended.

Needs to be viewed large!

Click here for more of my star photographs: http://365project.org/abirkill/tags/astrophotography
Spectacular image.
March 10th, 2013  
Excellent; I'm beginning to be able to identify your photos without a name.
March 10th, 2013  
gorgeous!
March 10th, 2013  
Love it , love it, love it. Love the clarity of the stars....trying hard to do this myself but its hard to find a focus point when its this dark.
March 10th, 2013  
How fantastic! Fav.
March 10th, 2013  
@dreams Thanks Karen!

Have you tried live view for focusing? On my camera I'm able to see the brighter stars/planets in live view, and zoom in to them while adjusting the focus to get it perfect. I'm not sure if the D60 has a sensitive enough live view mode though?

If you can't do this, the easiest way is to adjust it by trial and error -- set the camera to maximum sensitivity (to make the shutter speed as short as possible, it doesn't matter about noise as you won't use these shots) and take a shot of around 5 seconds. That should pick up enough detail to let you see the brighter stars when you review the photo on the screen and zoom in. From there you can adjust the focus slightly, take another shot, and check it again to see if it's better or worse -- it can take up to 5 minutes to dial it in perfectly, but then it's set for the night.
March 10th, 2013  
@abirkill Thanks Alexis for your awesome knowledge in this regard. Unfortunately the D60 does not have live view mode...in fact I have not heard of it before. I did manage to get a focal point from Jupiter also but the shot also produced some orbs from the fairy lights in the area I was shooting also. I will persist and hopefully get a good shot soon. Thanks for the handy hints...so appreciate it.
March 10th, 2013  
great shot :)
March 10th, 2013  
Beautiful.
March 10th, 2013  
another great shot!
March 10th, 2013  
A spectacular photo, and I always appreciate your explanations. Especially when you describe your escapades of how you had to work to get the photo!
March 10th, 2013  
Stunning! Your photos are really out of this world.
March 10th, 2013  
stunning shot ~ I have been reading up on your blog about star shots ~ very informative thank you ~ I will hopefully [when we get clear skies be hoping to try] ... FAV
March 10th, 2013  
Insanely magnificent. Fav
March 10th, 2013  
Magnificent! Thank you for explaining all about the settings! Fav
March 10th, 2013  
Superb shot as always...FAV!
March 10th, 2013  
WOW. Fav. Amazing night shot
March 10th, 2013  
a stunning shot and a FAV. This sort of shot is on my 'to do' list when we finally get some descent weather/clear skies so your explanations are a great help.
March 10th, 2013  
Gorgeous! :)
March 10th, 2013  
Breathtaking. Fav
March 10th, 2013  
I love your night shots and its cool that you know what your looking at.
I don't know how to put two photos together a 30 second exposure and a 5 minute exposure.I have lightroom 4 and taught myself how to use it kind of ....Maybe I need somthing else to do it?
March 10th, 2013  
gorgeous!! big fav!!
March 10th, 2013  
Now that's cool! Love the vibrant blues.
You've got some very cool place names over there - although this one makes me think of Enid Blyton ('Five go to Wildcat Cove') ;)
March 10th, 2013  
Breathtaking!
March 10th, 2013  
WOW!
March 10th, 2013  
Stunning shot! :)
March 10th, 2013  
Pretty amazing. a fav.
March 10th, 2013  
I am speechless. It is so stunningly beautiful!
March 10th, 2013  
Jo
A truly incredible shot, really fabulous. FAVtastic.
March 10th, 2013  
Simply gorgeous!!!! FAV!!!!
March 10th, 2013  
Wonderful image!
March 10th, 2013  
A beauty. The smooth water really adds
March 10th, 2013  
A beautiful shot.
March 10th, 2013  
Beautiful!
March 10th, 2013  
Amazing shot!
March 10th, 2013  
Excellent shot.
March 11th, 2013  
This is stunningly! I always appreciate the tips on how you achieve your results! FAV :)
March 11th, 2013  
stunning colours, great composition, love it
March 11th, 2013  
Beautiful shot!
March 11th, 2013  
Fav! This is other worldly!
March 12th, 2013  
Totally stunning! I need to try night shots this summer. I wouldn't have the patience with the current cold nights while fumbling with the camera! ;)
March 14th, 2013  
Beautiful night exposure.
March 20th, 2013  
This is breathtaking!!
March 27th, 2013  
Your night sky shots are so amazing. Fav.
April 12th, 2013  
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