Milky Way photography is becoming an ever popular genre of astrophotography that involves capturing the majestic and awe-inspiring Milky Way galaxy in the backdrop of a stunning natural landscape. This type of photography is often done in remote and dark locations with minimal light pollution to capture the night sky's stunning beauty. Acadia National Park is my pick as the best location that affords perfect natural landscapes to go along with dark skies.
Acadia is the fifth most visited National Park with 4 million visitors in 2022. Most of the park is closed to motorists until May, but you can still drive the two mile stretch from the pay booth by Sand Beach to Boulder Beach. When I am in the park at 3 in the morning photographing the Milky Way I am mostly alone and feel very fortunate to have much of the park to myself.
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy that contains billions of stars and is visible from Earth as a faint, cloudy band of light that stretches across the night sky. To capture the Milky Way I have to often position myself to capture the galactic center or other interesting elements of the Milky Way.
To capture a great Milky Way photo, I will usually use a wide-angle lens - [which for me is the Sony 14mm F1.8 GM lens] to capture as much of the sky and surrounding landscape as possible.
It is safe to say that most of the Milky Way shots you view on the internet are actually two or more photographs blended together - one for the foreground and another for the sky. Based upon the lens I use the sky is typically exposed between 15 and 20 seconds and the foreground is a much longer exposure, typically between 3 and 6 minutes.
To enhance the image in post, I use various editing software and editing techniques such as adjusting the color balance, contrast, and brightness to bring out the details and beauty of the Milky Way and the landscape. The result is often a breathtaking and stunning image that showcases the beauty of the night sky and the natural world.