Best location for the Milky Way

The centre is definitly the best, but Canis Majoris due south now after sunset. Here's a link to my flickr page to give you an idea of what you can achieve

www.flickr.com/photos/79652716@N00/

Keith.

Rory - you won't get much better than Frank and Keith for advice on this subject.

Just one point I'd reiterate - just make sure you're safe. If you can't bring someone with you, at least bring a mobile 'phone and have someone that can call you or you can call on the hour every hour to make sure all is well. There have been (and no doubt will continue to be) some very dodgy activities go on in those remote mountain areas...

We'd hate to lose you after just a handful of posts

Apologies for the change of topic, just had a look at your flicker page Keith, wow! you're setting the bar very high for the rest of us to follow .... great inspiration.

Clear Skies,
Reggy

Hi Rory. There is a convenient site at the Northern end of Lough Tay. There is a small car park there just after a sharp bend in the road from Sally Gap, and immediately to the east a small track runs up onto the mountain. There is a barrier, but it is possible to park one or two cars well above the road, and to set up your gear out of sight and away from headlights of the occasional passing car. The light pollution from Dublin is visible to the North, but the sky to the South is quite dark and there is a very clear view. I've used this spot several times because of its convenience and the relatively short distance from Dublin. Do take someone with you for safety. A fast wide angle lens is a must, as you know. Luckily many modern lenses are very sharp even when they are wide open so you should be able to get nice shots without star trailing. Stacking several shots will make a big difference to the "depth" of the final image.

Here's one of my efforts.
www.flickr.com/photos/45468979@N04/69086...es/l/in/photostream/

That one was taken in West Cork using a 14mm/f3.5 lens (28mm full frame equivalent). The lens is not great so this is a stack and the total exposure time is about 40 minutes. Seeing how modest the result is makes one appreciate Keith's shots all the more. Don't be put off though, the main problem for me is that there are so few nights when I can travel to a dark site, and the sky is clear down to the horizon.

Good luck, have fun, and let us see the results.

Mike

Thanks fellas - the advice and info is much appreciated.

Keith, Mike - excellent shots, if I could get something approaching those I'd be delighted. There's obviously a lot of working going into them.

A couple of questions : can i stack the images in Lightroom or is there anything I need to do while taking the shots to prepare them for stacking ? Can you recommend a tutorial resource for stacking ?. Lastly..would there be any disadvantage to using a fish eye lens ? I could use the 10mm wide angle it offers as well as the depth of field, which can be corrected afterwards if needs be.

Rory