Astrophotography Blog: July 2014

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Canon 60Da Milky Way Tripod Ultra Wide Angle Astrophotography Summer Triangle

This is my first deep and detailed Milky Way photo captured with the Canon EOS 60Da. I took this image in the Catskills, Upstate New York, under much darker skies compared to Brooklyn. The 60Da’s enhanced H-alpha sensitivity and special IR-cut filter reveal far more Milky Way structure than my older Canon 40D ever could.

Using an ultra-wide-angle Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II lens on a fixed tripod, the 60Da captured thousands of faint stars and intricate nebulae in a single wide field centered on the Summer Triangle (Vega, Deneb, Altair).

Canon 60Da Milky Way Ultra Wide Angle Astrophotography Summer Triangle Upstate New York

Canon 60Da Milky Way Ultra Wide Angle Astrophotography Summer Triangle Tripod Catskills Upstate NY New York

Constellations and Deep-Sky Objects Visible

This wide field contains an incredible number of stars — my software detected over 10,000 stars in a single frame. It covers many constellations:

Cygnus, Lyra, Delphinus, Lacerta, Sagitta
Parts of Cepheus, Equuleus, Pegasus, Draco, Aquila

Several famous deep-sky nebulae and clusters are visible, including:

IC 1396 – Elephant’s Trunk Nebula
NGC 7000 – North America Nebula
IC 5070 & IC 5067 – Pelican Nebula
IC 1318 – Gamma Cygni Nebula
IC 5146 – Cocoon Nebula
IC 1311 – Sadr Region
Veil Nebula (supernova remnant)
Dark nebulae: Triple Cave (Aquila), Le Gentil 3 (Cygnus)
Beginning of the Great Rift in the Milky Way
Open clusters: M29, NGC 6885, NGC 6940
Brocchi’s Cluster (Coathanger)

Canon 60Da LCD screen showing astrophotography settings

Canon 60Da setting

Exposure details:
Canon 60Da + Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II
Fixed tripod (no tracker)
f/2.8, ISO 12800, 9 seconds each
Total imaging time: ~20 minutes (stacked in DeepSkyStacker)

Canon 60Da astrophotography tripod setup anti-dew heater remote timer

Canon 60Da Astrophotography - Tripod, Timer Remote and anti-Dew Dew-Not

The daytime photo of the setup shows the full equipment used for this shot: the Canon 60Da mounted on a sturdy tripod, a remote interval timer for consistent exposures, and an anti-dew heating strip (Dew-Not) wrapped around the lens. Dew control is especially important during summer nights in the Catskills to keep the lens clear for long imaging sessions. This simple and portable setup is ideal for wide-field Milky Way photography when traveling without a star tracker.

Canon EOS 60Da Milky Way Astrophotography annotated deep sky wide field Summer Triangle

Wide Field Astrophotography Canon 60Da Milky Way - annotated

The annotated version of the Milky Way image shows just how rich this region of the sky is. By labeling the nebulae, dark clouds, open clusters, and constellation patterns, the annotation helps visualize how much structure the Canon 60Da can capture with only a fixed tripod and a wide-angle lens. It also highlights how well the 60Da’s enhanced H-alpha sensitivity brings out emission nebulae like the North America Nebula, Pelican Nebula, Gamma Cygni region, and Cocoon Nebula.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Milky way over lake and star reflection

Milky Way, Canon 60Da, Canon Lens EF 16 35mm f2.8L II U, Fixed Tripod, panorama 3 photos, ISO 12000, 10 second, f2.8,Catskill Mountains Astrophotography

Milky Way over lake and star reflection Canon 60Da Astrophotography panorama

It is amazing to see reflection of stars in Upstate NY especially after NYC where even on sky you can see only brightest stars!

Star reflection over lake

Milky Way

Wide Field Milky Way over Lake Canon 60Da

Milky Way looming over NY Canon 60Da Wide Field Astrophotography

Milky Way looming over Fireman lake Rock Hill New York

Monday, July 14, 2014

Canon 60Da Star Trail Astrophotography — Night Sky Rotation, Time, and the Direction of Clocks

This star trail image was captured in Upstate New York using a fixed tripod and a series of long exposures. Unlike minimalist nightscapes, star trail astrophotography requires significantly more post-processing. By stacking multiple exposures, it allows the motion of the stars — the rotation of the sky — to become visible.

Canon EOS 60Da, Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
Fixed tripod, dew heater
37 images · 2 minutes each · ISO 400 · f/4.0

Canon 60Da star trail astrophotography showing counterclockwise rotation of the night sky in Upstate New York

Canon 60Da Star Trail Astrophotography - Upstate New York

Instead of a single very long exposure, this image was created by stacking multiple shorter exposures. A single exposure of this total duration would have been far too bright and noisy. To combine the frames, I used StarStax, followed by additional processing in Photoshop.

Screenshot of StarStax software combining multiple exposures into a star trail image

StarStax — stacking multiple exposures into star trails

For the final image I used the Star Spikes filter.

Screenshot of Star Spikes filter applied to a star trail image to show rotation direction

StarSpikes Pro for Startrails

From this image, it is easy to see that the stars rotate in a counterclockwise direction. This naturally raises an interesting question.

Why do the stars rotate counterclockwise, while the hands of a clock move clockwise?

The answer is astronomical — but not in an obvious way. To understand it, we have to look at history. Mechanical clocks were designed to follow the motion of a sundial, but not the motion of the Sun itself. They follow the direction of the shadow cast by the Sun, which moves in the opposite direction to the apparent rotation of the night sky.

In other words, when we look at a clock, we are not “following the Sun” — we are following the shadow of the Sun.

This is why I like astrophotography. Even a technically complex image can lead to unexpected questions — about time, history, human conventions, and how we learned to measure the world.

“The photograph comes first; the philosophy follows — as a way to understand what the image revealed.”

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Canon 60Da Milky Way Astrophotography Catskill Mountains Upstate NY New York

Two simple, minimalistic Milky Way images from my first nights testing the Canon 60Da in the Catskills.
Even single exposures showed a huge improvement over my old Canon 40D.

During my early tests with the Canon EOS 60Da in the Catskill Mountains, I captured two very simple single-frame Milky Way images. Both were taken with the Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM using only a fixed tripod. Even without stacking, the 60Da immediately revealed more detail and sensitivity than my older Canon 40D.

These photos became some of my favorite early 60Da shots—minimalistic, quiet, and very natural-looking. Sometimes a single exposure tells the story better than a complex stacked image.

“Now I know where the Milky Way comes from.”

Canon 60Da Milky Way astrophotography in the Catskill Mountains with rooftop foreground, minimalistic wide-angle night sky image.

Canon 60Da Milky Way Astrophotography Catskill mountains

This first image became unintentionally philosophical. In the lower part of the frame you can see the roof of the bungalow where we stayed in the Catskills. Just above it, the Milky Way rises perfectly—almost as if it starts right from the roof. A small tree is visible on the bottom-right, and the entire scene is extremely minimalistic.

Camera settings were: 9 sec, f/2.8, ISO 12800 using the Canon 60Da and an ultra-wide 16–35mm lens.

A Tree Under the Milky Way

Canon 60Da Milky Way astrophotography in Upstate New York with tree silhouette and bright Milky Way core in minimalistic wide-angle composition.

Canon 60Da Milky Way Astrophotography Upstate NY New York

The second image shows a large tree in silhouette with the Milky Way rising directly above it. Another very simple and minimalistic frame. It beautifully demonstrates how much more detail the Canon 60Da can capture compared to the older Canon 40D—more stars, better color, and higher contrast in the Milky Way core.

This exposure was slightly longer: 15 sec, Canon EOS 60Da, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Lens, F2.8, ISO 12800.

These two early Canon 60Da images became part of two small “visual stories” in my astrophotography. The first story is about the question “Where does the Milky Way come from?” — in the Catskills it seems to rise straight from the roof of our bungalow, and later in Yellowstone it appears to rise from the Old Faithful geyser. Two completely different landscapes, but the same cosmic river flowing upward.

The second story is about trees and stars. The tree in this Catskills image became the first part of a theme I continued years later in Bethel, New York — capturing another tree under the Milky Way and reflecting on the idea that we have more trees on Earth than stars in our galaxy. A simple comparison, but very beautiful in astrophotography.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Canon 60Da fireworks upstate NY Catskill Mountains

Just testing canon 60Da for fireworks photography.

Canon 60Da fireworks upstate NY

Canon 60Da Fireworks

Catskills Firework Canon 60Da

Fireworks Catskill Mountains Canon 60Da

Fireworks photography Canon 60Da Upstate New York

Fireworks Photography Fourth of July

Monday, July 7, 2014

Canon 60Da Lightning Photo during Brooklyn NYC Long Island storm 07-02-2014

I am tried to test Canon 60Da for Lightning Photos. Actually this is my first one. Weather was not good for astrophotography, but was good for Lightning Photos.