Winter MILKY WAY ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY in DEATH VALLEY National Park! 💀

[@CapturetheAtlas]

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[@lioneldelannoy4024]

Great video and stunning shots Dan, as always !!!

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thanks, Lio!

[@johnrutterphotography]

Great video mate, I really enjoyed that. And the images are absolutely stunning.

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thanks mate! Hope I can share more adventures like this soon ;)

[@arjundhannyify]

Hey dan!! beautiful video! where did you get your sony a7iii astro modified? I heard that spencer camera people do not do Sony cameras.

[@CapturetheAtlas]

spencers. They do Sony cameras

[@johncallery814]

Great images. Did you end up using the blue hour or the night time foreground shots?

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thanks, John! I used the blue hour images for the cottonballs picture. On the Badwater Basin shot (second pano), I used the night time images for the foreground.

[@Bills_APCh]

Dan, you mention ? nodal base but your equipment does not allow necessarily the nodal point of the lens-camera to centre over the axis of rotation of your tracker ??

[@AngelFux]

Love your work! Keep going!!!

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thank you, Angelica! I appreciate your support! ;)

[@baquezphotography1885]

Excelente Vídeo Dan… Saludos desde Asturias

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thanks amigo!!! Se agradecen tus palabras ;)

[@juliehess2877]

what small light did you have attached to your camera?

[@CapturetheAtlas]

It's a standard RGBP panel

[@gschiffverre]

Hi Dan, I’m going week off April 30 new moon. Will the Arch still be in the right position to photograph?

[@CapturetheAtlas]

The Milky Way arch with the galactic core will be in the perfect position at that time! The winter Milky Way arch will be too high by then though.

[@gschiffverre]

@@CapturetheAtlas what’s the difference between the arch and winter arch?

[@BenjaminBarakat]

Great video

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thanks, mate!

[@Bills_APCh]

Interesting video and superb images there Dan ! However, I could not work out what was attached to the top of your L bracket I think. There is a base bracket which is attached to a rotatable base (with a red section) I think, that then attaches to the camera. The camera has an intervalometer attachment I think as well. Apologies if I misunderstand this. Was there a description in your video what the stuff at the top of the ? L bracket (DPL-08) was - there are at least 2 or 3 parts which I cannot find in the video).....Or have I misunderstand /mishear your video ?

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Bill, There are two nodal slides that allows you to rotate the camera in the two axis.

[@matej.mlakar]

Awesome images. I wish you would vlog more often.

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thanks, Matej! I'll try to share more experiences like this in the future!

[@cherylwilcox9648]

I enjoyed the video! Hoping for clear skies at the end of March when I have two nights on the other side of Telescope Peak in the Panamint Valley to do some night photography - deep sky with my Nikon D7500 on my Redcat 51, outfitted with ASIAIR plus, ASI120mm mini camera with f/4 30mm guide scope, and the ASI EAF automatic focuser mounted on my Star Adventurer tracker during the early parts of the evening, and then later the Milky Way, particularly when the galactic core rises (hoping it gets up high enough to clear the mountains from where our camping spot is). Will use what I've learned from your course to hopefully capture my first panorama. Thanks again, Dan!

[@josephcole3187]

Nice job buddy

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thanks dude, we will be there soon ;)

[@andreaboyle9435]

Oh, my stomach turned when I saw your gear go down! (I was shooting in another area and had two tripods both blow over. Just settled up with Canon & my insurance over that incident.) I loved seeing your tracker set-up and resulting images. Sadly, mine were not that dramatic but I'm working my way through your course which is so helpful and I'm sure I'll be improving this year. Are you using a custom white balance on your modified camera? If you ever have time, it would be helpful to see a video on editing astro-modified images. Thanks, Dan!

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Seeing the camera fall was a nerve-racking experience but, thankfully, the Death Valley floor was soft and nothing broke. 2 months later with a dry floor and it'd have been a different story....haha I am using a custom white balance on the Sony. I am actually working on the next update for the course where I'll have lessons on Astromodified cameras, Winter Milky Way, and advanced post-processing with astro cameras. It's coming very soon so I'll keep you updated! Thanks Andrea

[@andreaboyle9435]

@@CapturetheAtlas Super! I'll be looking forward to that!

[@michaeldavis2818]

Hey Dan! Don't know how I missed this post from a year ago...beautiful! The final image was amazing and loved how you provided a great overview of your set up process! I've never considered shooting the Milky Way in early February and now you've inspired me! I was in Arches this past week and was thinking about when I met you and your wife at Delicate Arch 2 1/2 years ago and spent a great night under the stars for sure. I posted my timelapse from that night on my YT channel. Now that you've used your astro-modified camera for a year, would you recommend making the investment? Do you have to make any adjustments in your post-processing for the extra H-alpha that it captures? Best to you and hoping our paths cross again some day. Michael.

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Hey Michael! Nice to hear from you! Beautiful timelapse from our night at Delicate ;) After two years shooting with Astromod cameras I 100% recommend the investment, the difference is like night and day. It requires some practice and editing techniques but the difference make it worth it! I'm actually running a specific winter Milky Way workshop with Astromodified cameras in Death Valley in February 2024 if you are interested ;) Looking forward to seeing you in another adventure! Dan

[@dilus13]

Great Vlog Dan, planning a Milky Way shoot this year in the UK but with very basic equipment and an amateur behind the lens 😂 your Milky Way Calendar has been invaluable, thanks for that. If I get any reasonable images I will be happy, yours are stunning. Your emails have been a great inspiration to give it a go 🤞Garry (UK)

[@CapturetheAtlas]

Thank you, Garry! I appreciate your nice words and hope you can capture some amazing Milky Way images this season in the UK!

[@davidfong1973]

Thanks for sharing your setup and different sets of shots. I know your long exposure shots would not stitch well together. Maybe try to use the Sony 14mm for your long exposure and get five shots to stitch together. I was there mid Feb and MW didn’t come out until 4am and window closed quickly at 5am 530am with sunrise. I shot off sand dunes as the salt flats were not in good shape on the East side of Badwater Basin. Looks like you went further West of Badwater Basin so that the arch was more easily seen above the tall mountains on the East side.

[@CapturetheAtlas]

David, My pano stitched with no problem. Had some issues with the 35 but with masking and control points in PTgui is also stitchable. In early February you can barely see the Milky Way core so I focused on the winter Milky Way arch right before midnight.