No matter how much time you spend outdoors, you will never see the Milky Way like this. Even on the best viewing nights, the galactic bulge is just little more than a smudge in the sky. But with a digital camera, an extended shutter speed, and some patience, you can pull in light and snap pics that will you blow your own bad self away, not to mention your friends. And with a simple method of stitching together still images, you can produce gorgeous little films like William Castleman’s.

In the first, Castleman used a Canon 5D with an EF 15mm f/2.8 lens on a weighted tripod. Exposures were 20 seconds at f/2.8 ISO 1600 followed by 40 second interval.

Until recently, the big problem with shooting digital photos are night was the ridiculous amount of noise produced by high ISO settings (high ISO = better light sensitivity), which made the pictures look mottled and junky. But a new wave of more light-sensitive sensors is changing that. This shot, which you can see bigger at stevecasimiro.com, was taken with Nikon’s D3 in New Zealand 18 months ago; the latest version of the top Nikon, the D3S, has an almost unbelievable ISO capability of 102,400. Canon’s 1D Mark IV also snaps at 102,400. And Sony recently redesigned both camcorders and still cameras, putting the “Exmor R” sensor closer to the lens, and the result is remarkable. I tested the TX1 not long ago and was blown away by its low-light performance.

But shooting for extended periods at night requires commitment. This little video, also from the Mt. Cook area on New Zealand’s South Island, started out with great intentions. I set up the tripod, fully charged the batteries, and settled into the car for a snooze. An hour later, cold and stiff, I bailed. Makes me realize how special Castleman’s short films really are.

Tagged as: astronomy, space