Capturing the Cosmos: My First Decent Night Sky Photo!
Living in rural Southern Oklahoma, I've always been blessed with breathtakingly clear night skies. For a while now, I've wanted to try my hand at capturing this beauty with my camera. Recently, I decided to finally dust off my wife's never-used Nikon D3500 and see what I could create.
My initial attempts were a bit frustrating. I soon realized that the camera's auto-ISO setting was overriding my manual ISO adjustments, resulting in very dark, underexposed shots. It was like looking at a black void with faint twinkles! However, tonight, I had a breakthrough! I figured out how to disable that pesky auto-ISO and started experimenting with my settings. The results were night and day... literally!
This is one of my favorite shots from the evening. Seeing the stars come alive through the lens was incredibly rewarding. I'm eager to go back out tonight and capture more of what this beautiful dark sky has to offer.
The Journey Ahead
I'm already planning my next steps to improve my astrophotography game. A steady tripod is definitely on the shopping list, and I'm also looking to invest in a wider aperture lens, perhaps something with an f/2.8 rating. The advice I received about starting with a wide aperture lens was spot on, and I'm excited to see how much difference it makes!
Stay tuned for more celestial adventures!
