# Adirondack Milky Way and Perseid Meteor Shower



## jsecordphoto (Aug 14, 2015)

So last night (the last few actually) was amazing. This spot in upstate NY has been on my to-do list for over a year now, and last night we made the 4 hour/4 mile hike up to Indian Head. PhotoPills is the best $10 I've ever spent as a landscape photographer, being able to plan out (like 5 months ago) the exactly date and time I needed to be here for the composition to line up with the Milky Way is SO awesome. The meteor that streaked through my frame, the brightest one I saw all night, was just the icing on the cake. Being up on this cliff looking down at the lake, with the sound of Loons calling, and countless stars overhead....yeah, not a bad night.


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## tirediron (Aug 14, 2015)

Very nice.


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## Derrel (Aug 14, 2015)

Ohhh, my--that's a NICE one! What a great composition.


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 14, 2015)

Derrel said:


> Ohhh, my--that's a NICE one! What a great composition.



thanks Derrel! As soon as I saw a photo from this spot posted on Instagram, I knew I had to shoot there. It was SO dark.


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## Derrel (Aug 14, 2015)

This photograph needs to be immediately nominated as a Picture of The Month candidate.


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## John Hunt (Aug 15, 2015)

Amazing!


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## bulldurham (Aug 15, 2015)

I've posted a few MW shots but we have almost no way to get to zero dark thirty...short of going into Tate's Hell and I'm not going there at night for anything...scary enough in the daytime.


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## Designer (Aug 15, 2015)

nominated for POTM, August, 2015


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## bulldurham (Aug 15, 2015)

Like the composition, place, etc., but I think the whole image overall is way too light by nearly a full stop in the milky way itself and about a 1/2 stop in the bottom. Just me, I guess.


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## Raj_55555 (Aug 15, 2015)

That is an amazing shot, one of the best milky way shots I've ever seen!


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## OrionsByte (Aug 15, 2015)

Wow, I'm stunned. Beautiful, I love it!


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 15, 2015)

bulldurham said:


> Like the composition, place, etc., but I think the whole image overall is way too light by nearly a full stop in the milky way itself and about a 1/2 stop in the bottom. Just me, I guess.



I appreciate the feedback. Brightness is something I struggle with often, often leaning towards a bit too bright, trying to get it to look ok between different devices. A lot of times it'll look perfect on my monitor, but a bit too dark on my phone, and I know a lot (probably the majority) of my audience will be looking at my photos while browsing FB or whatever on their phones.

edit: Also, I did only the most subtle curve adjustments on the actual Milky Way. Even after shooting at night for a while now, it still amazes me how much the MW core pops when shooting in dark skies.


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 15, 2015)

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the nomination for POTM


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## otherprof (Aug 15, 2015)

jsecordphoto said:


> So last night (the last few actually) was amazing. This spot in upstate NY has been on my to-do list for over a year now, and last night we made the 4 hour/4 mile hike up to Indian Head. PhotoPills is the best $10 I've ever spent as a landscape photographer, being able to plan out (like 5 months ago) the exactly date and time I needed to be here for the composition to line up with the Milky Way is SO awesome. The meteor that streaked through my frame, the brightest one I saw all night, was just the icing on the cake. Being up on this cliff looking down at the lake, with the sound of Loons calling, and countless stars overhead....yeah, not a bad night.


Just amazingly beautiful!


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## Woodsman (Aug 15, 2015)

That is a fantastic image


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## bulldurham (Aug 15, 2015)

For grins and giggles and of course would not post w/o your permission, I tap danced on yours a tad to adjust the tonal range where I think it is too light. I use curves but not in the way you likely do and I do a lot of editing in channels so my results would be much different from your own...

And, when opened in Photoshop, the image is quite a bit brighter than on here..internet compression can be so tricky.


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## sashbar (Aug 15, 2015)

The result was well worth the effort. Great shot.


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 15, 2015)

bulldurham said:


> For grins and giggles and of course would not post w/o your permission, I tap danced on yours a tad to adjust the tonal range where I think it is too light. I use curves but not in the way you likely do and I do a lot of editing in channels so my results would be much different from your own...
> 
> And, when opened in Photoshop, the image is quite a bit brighter than on here..internet compression can be so tricky.



by all means, I'm going to change the settings in my profile saying it's ok to edit my photos.


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## bulldurham (Aug 15, 2015)

Just a thought


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## Tim Tucker (Aug 15, 2015)

Well researched, spotted and taken. I find the MW against the shape of the lake and the repeated detail of the wind on the water (?) fascinating. Maybe the sky needs to be a wee bit darker to accentuate this, maybe this is above my pay grade, either way I enjoyed seeing it.


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 15, 2015)

bulldurham said:


> Just a thought
> 
> View attachment 106516



Yeah, this looks really good. I just ordered a few small 4x6 test prints to check out before I put a few photos on my site, and edited this one a bit to darken up the foreground a touch. Thanks for the feedback!


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## dxqcanada (Aug 15, 2015)

I would like to compliment you on two great shots ... the top and the bottom, both individually make a great image.


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## WesternGuy (Aug 16, 2015)

Fantastic shot.  Just shows what a little planning and effort can create.  This is one of the best Milky Way/landscape shots I have seen in a very, very long time.

WesternGuy


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 16, 2015)

WesternGuy said:


> Fantastic shot.  Just shows what a little planning and effort can create.  This is one of the best Milky Way/landscape shots I have seen in a very, very long time.
> 
> WesternGuy



Thank you, I really appreciate that! Can't wait to see this one printed big


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## RDenhardt (Aug 16, 2015)

Your images just keep getting better.  I was up near this part of NY a few weeks ago and its just beautiful.  Great Capture


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## KmH (Aug 16, 2015)

It's sweet when you can plan ahead.
Nice image.

What town is in the distance lighting up the bottom of the clouds?

I share my observing site with an Owl that chirps away at something all night, and the site is bordered on 3 sides by an enclosed habitat for a small Bison herd.


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 16, 2015)

KmH said:


> It's sweet when you can plan ahead.
> Nice image.
> 
> What town is in the distance lighting up the bottom of the clouds?
> ...



The only town I see on Google earth even remotely in that direction is called Newcomb, still quite far away. The thing that struck me the most about that area is how little light pollution visible even at higher elevations, here in NH if you hike to the higher summits to shoot at night you get a ton of light pollution in your frame


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## kiwi314 (Aug 24, 2015)

I'm in pain because of how beautiful this is.... You are so talented!


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## FITBMX (Aug 28, 2015)

That is a really wonderful photo! It's just incredible!!!


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## FITBMX (Aug 28, 2015)

jsecordphoto said:


> The thing that struck me the most about that area is how little light pollution visible even at higher elevations, here in NH if you hike to the higher summits to *shoot at night you get a ton of light pollution in your frame*



It is like that here to, every farm/ranch, and house thinks they need a few big lights in their yards. I hate then! I don't know why they can't just have some dark around them.


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## Rob5589 (Aug 29, 2015)

Fantastic image

If I ever shot something that good all my family members would get copies for Christmas


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## BillM (Aug 29, 2015)

I've seen really good MW shots, this goes way beyond that. GREAT shot !!!!


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 29, 2015)

Rob5589 said:


> Fantastic image
> 
> If I ever shot something that good all my family members would get copies for Christmas





BillM said:


> I've seen really good MW shots, this goes way beyond that. GREAT shot !!!!



Thanks guys!


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## psreilly (Aug 31, 2015)

I'm a portrait photographer, but after seeing this i'm considering a change lol.. Amazing! photo, very impressive, well done


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## Stormchase (Sep 3, 2015)

I have always heard that a good sky shot starts with a great landscape for the base. Nailed it! Love whatever is going on with the water. Adds a lot to the image. Well planned and executed.


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## jsecordphoto (Sep 3, 2015)

Stormchase said:


> I have always heard that a good sky shot starts with a great landscape for the base. Nailed it! Love whatever is going on with the water. Adds a lot to the image. Well planned and executed.



Thanks! The patterns in the lake are from the wind, they look so cool to me. The wind must get filtered through the valley in a particular way, because my buddy who lives near here says in the fall it looks the same, but with beautiful red and orange leaves in that pattern


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