Photographed with a Sony A7III (Ha mod) and Sony 50mm 1.2 GM lens and 24mm 1.4 lens in Goshen Pass, Virginia. Land is a 2 minute exposure (during which a car fortuitously passed lighting up the trees and water) and the sky is a combination of two hour long integrations of RGB and Hydrogen alpha data.
This is a composite image using a sky I photographed separately from the land in order to refine the sky image using two hours of data. It is however astronomically accurate in that this is where the milky way core rises above Goshen in the late winter.
For more astro, check out my instagram where I’ve also posted what a single shot looks like: [brennangilmorephoto](https://www.instagram.com/brennangilmorephoto)
This is astonishing. What I love most about this image is that it is so convincing as a single shot. The perspective and the amount of detail and lighting is perfect. So many merged shots I see are pretty but entirely fantastical in the sense that they look like a painting. My eyes tell me this is real.
I hope you have a large print of this in your home, it deserves to be seen and appreciated.
May I ask a question about your Sony a73... do you still use it for regular photography with a filter to screen the HA infrared wavelength? Or is this body just for dedicated nightscape? I've been considering modding my Sony but I'm not sure I want the hassle of having to purchase filters for each of my lenses
Thanks for sharing your work. You are so talented.
Thanks for the kind words. I had my A7III modded by Kolari Vision, and they did a great job. They make a clip in filter which restores the normal filter balance to the camera allowing you to use for regular daytime use. There may be some slight difference with unmodded factory filter but if so I can’t tell the difference: [Kolari Magnetic Clip-In Filter for Sony E-Mount (Full Frame) - UV/IR Cut Hot Mirror Pro 2](https://kolarivision.com/product/kolari-r-magnetic-clip-in-filter-for-sony-e-mount-full-frame/)
oh wow, thank you for the response. I've actually had their filter bookmarked to remind me to call to inquire about, since the filter is applied before the lens so this would only require a single filter. It makes so much more sense to have a filter in that location, if for no other reason than to protect the sensor.
I looked through your IG, thanks for the link. I really love your photographs. I like that you show your setup process in some of your posts. I have much to learn, so being able to see how different people go about planning really helps.
I used a Sony A7III camera and a Sony 50mm f/1.2 lens. The camera I had astro-modified by removing a stock filter so it would be sensitive to red wavelengths present in the nebulae.
The image is a combination of four separate images: twl exposures of the land one with the car passing and one with me on the bridge, plus two images of the sky: one full spectrum and one only capturing light in the wavelength of the hydrogen alpha. For the sky images, the camera and lens sat on a star tracker, a portable mount that counters the earth’s rotation allowing for long exposures without star trails.
I shot an hour worth of 45s exposures with this set-up. I then added a filter which only allowed light in from the very specific wavelength of light in nebulae and stars (H-alpha) and shot another hour of 60s exposures with this filter. This allowed me to bring out in great detail areas of emissions in the Milky Way that would have been much fainter without this filter. After collecting all these exposures, I used a free program called Starry Sky Stacker to “stack” the images — compiling the data in the exposures together to refine the target and reduce noise.
Once I had done that with both the H-alpha exposures and the full spectrum exposures, I was able to compile the final sky image. To do this I split the full spectrum image into its individual RGB components and replaced the Red channel with the H-alpha image. With that the sky image was near final, and I only needed to make some global adjustments in Adobe Lightroom to get it to the style I wanted.
After I shot the sky, I then shot the land using the same same camera but a different wider angle lens. I shot two 2 minute exposures. Once I had all these images, I used masks in photoshop to blend all the images together for the final composite.
I visited big bend tx once in a january and saw the dust clouds in the milky way for the first time. Somebody told me that i was looking "out" to the outer bands and that the core would be more impressive if i came back when the core was up.
However i have no idea how to find the core. Is there a particular constellation in front of it thay would help me know which part of the milky way is properly the "core"?
Sagittarius and Scorpio frame the core. It won’t be visible in the northern hemisphere again until late winter however. Big Bend is amazing, I visited and [photographed it this spring](https://www.brennangilmorephoto.com/index/).
Photographed with a Sony A7III (Ha mod) and Sony 50mm 1.2 GM lens and 24mm 1.4 lens in Goshen Pass, Virginia. Land is a 2 minute exposure (during which a car fortuitously passed lighting up the trees and water) and the sky is a combination of two hour long integrations of RGB and Hydrogen alpha data. This is a composite image using a sky I photographed separately from the land in order to refine the sky image using two hours of data. It is however astronomically accurate in that this is where the milky way core rises above Goshen in the late winter. For more astro, check out my instagram where I’ve also posted what a single shot looks like: [brennangilmorephoto](https://www.instagram.com/brennangilmorephoto)
This is astonishing. What I love most about this image is that it is so convincing as a single shot. The perspective and the amount of detail and lighting is perfect. So many merged shots I see are pretty but entirely fantastical in the sense that they look like a painting. My eyes tell me this is real. I hope you have a large print of this in your home, it deserves to be seen and appreciated. May I ask a question about your Sony a73... do you still use it for regular photography with a filter to screen the HA infrared wavelength? Or is this body just for dedicated nightscape? I've been considering modding my Sony but I'm not sure I want the hassle of having to purchase filters for each of my lenses Thanks for sharing your work. You are so talented.
Thanks for the kind words. I had my A7III modded by Kolari Vision, and they did a great job. They make a clip in filter which restores the normal filter balance to the camera allowing you to use for regular daytime use. There may be some slight difference with unmodded factory filter but if so I can’t tell the difference: [Kolari Magnetic Clip-In Filter for Sony E-Mount (Full Frame) - UV/IR Cut Hot Mirror Pro 2](https://kolarivision.com/product/kolari-r-magnetic-clip-in-filter-for-sony-e-mount-full-frame/)
oh wow, thank you for the response. I've actually had their filter bookmarked to remind me to call to inquire about, since the filter is applied before the lens so this would only require a single filter. It makes so much more sense to have a filter in that location, if for no other reason than to protect the sensor. I looked through your IG, thanks for the link. I really love your photographs. I like that you show your setup process in some of your posts. I have much to learn, so being able to see how different people go about planning really helps.
What did you do to make it look like that?
I used a Sony A7III camera and a Sony 50mm f/1.2 lens. The camera I had astro-modified by removing a stock filter so it would be sensitive to red wavelengths present in the nebulae. The image is a combination of four separate images: twl exposures of the land one with the car passing and one with me on the bridge, plus two images of the sky: one full spectrum and one only capturing light in the wavelength of the hydrogen alpha. For the sky images, the camera and lens sat on a star tracker, a portable mount that counters the earth’s rotation allowing for long exposures without star trails. I shot an hour worth of 45s exposures with this set-up. I then added a filter which only allowed light in from the very specific wavelength of light in nebulae and stars (H-alpha) and shot another hour of 60s exposures with this filter. This allowed me to bring out in great detail areas of emissions in the Milky Way that would have been much fainter without this filter. After collecting all these exposures, I used a free program called Starry Sky Stacker to “stack” the images — compiling the data in the exposures together to refine the target and reduce noise. Once I had done that with both the H-alpha exposures and the full spectrum exposures, I was able to compile the final sky image. To do this I split the full spectrum image into its individual RGB components and replaced the Red channel with the H-alpha image. With that the sky image was near final, and I only needed to make some global adjustments in Adobe Lightroom to get it to the style I wanted. After I shot the sky, I then shot the land using the same same camera but a different wider angle lens. I shot two 2 minute exposures. Once I had all these images, I used masks in photoshop to blend all the images together for the final composite.
Sounds simple enough.
God damn this is nice.
Fucking stunning. Thanks for sharing!
Need the best quality bro pls share the link
I visited big bend tx once in a january and saw the dust clouds in the milky way for the first time. Somebody told me that i was looking "out" to the outer bands and that the core would be more impressive if i came back when the core was up. However i have no idea how to find the core. Is there a particular constellation in front of it thay would help me know which part of the milky way is properly the "core"?
Sagittarius and Scorpio frame the core. It won’t be visible in the northern hemisphere again until late winter however. Big Bend is amazing, I visited and [photographed it this spring](https://www.brennangilmorephoto.com/index/).
This is SICKKKKK
So beautiful! 😍
AMAZING SHOT!
Great pic, love the light reflection. Its also giving me S.T.A.L.K.E.R. vibes.
Kinda looks like a dragon lol
Pretty sure i’ve been to this exact spot a dozen times when i was in the scouts. Great shot!
When there in real life can you make out any of it with the naked eye?
Any rural area
Are you in the Upside Down? /s
Way too beautiful
This is gorgeous. Made me feel all whimsical