First crack at Milky way

This spot is not far from my parents house and I'd been eyeing off this spot as a potential photo location since I bought the O-GPS a couple of years ago. Finally in late May when visiting my parents things (time of year, weather, new moon, remembered tripod, not too much alcohol) finally fell into place and I was able to have a first attempt at photographing the Milky Way. For a first attempt I'm relatively pleased so I thought I would share and invite some C & C.

At ISO 3200 the noise is pretty bad, I've given them a run through Topaz Denoise 6 but I was pretty conservative to avoid loosing too much detail and ending up with a smooth mess.

First is with the Pentax DA*16-50mm @ 16mm f4 30s

[IMG]http://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/3698/large/1_160528_IMGP3119.jpg[/IMG]

Next is with Sigma 8-16mm @ 8mm F4.5 30s

[IMG]http://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/3698/large/1_160528_IMGP3135.jpg[/IMG]

Last also with Sigma 8-16mm @ 8mm F4.5 30s

[IMG]http://www.pentaxforums.com/gallery/images/3698/large/1_160528_IMGP3139.jpg[/IMG]

I learnt a few lessons along the way: don't go into a dark cow paddock at night in canvas shoes; don't point the lens straight up if you want to avoid condensation settling; windmills often have big puddles of water near the base; and it takes a long time to remove thistles and burrs from your trousers.

A martyr to your art. But worth it for the viewer

I think they are excellent!!

Good job!

Second two are very well photographed. Great work.

Best regards

You failed to say that you also learned how to photograph the starry sky

The shoes soon dried out but it took some time for my feet to defrost.

Thanks, I'm hoping to try again in the same spot next autumn/winter with a bit more practice under my belt

Thanks.
It was a learning experience. Both in terms of composition and technical details. I like the result of the wider shots better but the Sigma is significantly slower than the DA* 16-50.

I also learnt how to convince myself that the cows I could hear at the other end of the paddock

Lovely images

Thanks.

I think they're very good, I'd certainly like to get something anywhere approaching that kind of quality.

Really good images of a difficult to take subject. Well done.