Big Bend and Astrophotography ( Extraterrestrial Expedition)

[kags1969]

I went with a buddy and two of his friends to Big Bend area for 4 nights of Astrophotography. Big Bend is one of the darkest spots in the US and a great place to catch the Milky Way.

This was my second trip to BB for night photography and we brought along some additional lighting tools to play with.

On one of the stops (Just outside Lajitas in BB State Park) we stopped for some pics, as we were packing up I noticed that I was parked in a good spot so I took a few pics of the 4Runner and the Milky Way.

Overall a great trip. Beautiful night sky out there.

 

[TheCrawlFish]

This is really awesome!! I did not know that it was very dark and that you could see the milky way like this. I am planning a long trip for later this year and I planned on going to Big Bend for a couple of days. Now I can't wait to go to BB. Any advice or anything in particular I should see during my visit?

 

[kags1969]

Just to set expectations, the milky way is not this bright to the naked eye. It appears like a cloud of stars. It is visible but not like the photo. The pictures we take are long exposure shots that gather more light. It takes the camera 20-30 seconds to get enough light from the MW to get a picture like this.

It is still a great trip and lots and lots of stars.

Balance Rock is a pretty easy hike, and the Chisos Basin is beautiful, Santa Elena Canyon is great as well. It is a beautiful and desolate place. It gets really hot so plan accordingly. We stayed at the Big Bend Resort and Adventures (think cheap motel), which is in Terlingua and very close. There is camping in the park, but get reservations early if you are coming on a weekend. There is a Big Bend Chat board that will have much more info then I will.

 

[Bumbo]

I have been to Alabama Hills and woke up late at night just to take a leak only to look up and see such amazing night stars and the milky way.

It was the first time I actually saw it in person, milky way was just as you described with the naked eye, but it was late, and cold. I should have probably not been so lazy and pulled out the tripod and 5D and took some shots because that looks amazing.

 

[Deadsloper82]

Love the shot! I'm actually heading to BB the first week of Nov. and want to try and up my Astro skills. Do you typically take two separate exposures? One for the foreground and one for the sky and then blend in post-processing? So far I've only done star trails which are neat but the foreground is never sharp. I really want to set up at the cemetery and see what I can come up with.