08.13
Wednesday night I drove out into the mountains east of San Diego with some friends to watch the Perseid meteor shower. We ended up at a spot not far from Lake Cuyamaca called Kwaaymii Point with a nice view of the desert.
The sky was crystal clear and the milky way was visible to the naked eye as soon as it got dark. We were seeing a solid 30-40 meteors an hour. I even spotted a few satellites in between the stars. It was also incredibly windy but thankfully it was warm air from the desert below.
The moon popped up at about 11:00 PM and signaled that it was time to head home. On the drive home I saw some deer (including a fawn), a couple of owls, and I did not get stopped by the Border Patrol. It was a good night!
See more photos in the Gallery below.
Hi!
I live in the San Diego area and am familiar with several of the areas you have photographed. I have done some star photography in the anza borrego area myself. I use a nikon n55 (35mm) which has been nice, but I want to take the leap and get a dslr. May I ask what camera you use, and what lenses for your star shots? Any major cons to using a dslr for time lapse photography?
How did you get that shot of the milky way while watching the perseids? May I ask what ISO and exposure time you used?
Your shots are beautiful! Keep it up!
Hey Regina!
I’m really sorry for the late response but to answer your question I used a Nikon D700 with a 24-70mm lens for my star shots. I jumped straight to digital so I can’t make an accurate comparison to film but I will say for longer star shots (over 30 minute long exposures) amp glow from the sensor heating up and digital noise can be pose a problem with some cameras.
The milky way was visible to the naked eye at the time. I was up in the mountains (elevation of 4600 feet) and about an hour out of the city with minimal light pollution.
The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, ISO 1600, 30 second exposure. The second photograph was taken with the same settings, but taken 3 hours later after a full moon had appeared.