Evening Everyone - Is it hot enough yet for everybody? It was just a rhetorical question. Last April I wound up driving out to Lost Dutchman State Park to do some night shooting - star trails. It wasn't planned, just after dinner - I went for a drive and wound up out there. I had been thinking about the O-GPS unit for a couple of years and that basically drove me to put in an order.
To cut to the chase - I have been back there twice, again spur of the moment, to capture some images to work with. In doing some research on post processing (Milky Way with the GPS unit). I found that the best time for shooting the Milky Way is February through September, with the best month being July (the other half of the year, its not too visible). I am really planning to use June as a test (its view is also very good). The best time is during the New Moon. In both June and July during the New Moon, the Milky Way should be arching over the top of Superstition Mountain from about 10pm to 2am. So that puts the schedule at...
- June 24 through the 29 with the 27 being the new moon - Tuesday through Sunday
- July 24 through the 29 with the 27 being the new moon - Thursday through Monday
I am thinking about either Friday or Saturday nights June 27 or 28. The best times would be....
- 10 pm SSE for shooting towards the SE - with the main area being towards the south.
- 12 pm Overhead - North to South with the main area being on the southern end
I have worked all of this out with Stellarium and TPE software programs. - both of these programs are free down loads.
Also, in terms of location, the Lost Dutchman State Park has a perfect view of the Superstition Mountain. It is far enough from Phoenix to cut down the light pollution, but there is still some - but very acceptable. The downside is that the day picnic area closes at 10pm and the camping area has too many trailers and campers with lights and 52" TVs. The day picnic area is really a prime location (tables, water, rest rooms), parking right there and its very dark (as in no lights). A couple of weeks ago, I closed the place when the park ranger came around at 10pm. She told me about another location about a 1/2 mile up the road - called First Water (its a service road) - which is all public property (open to the public) for horse back riding. There is a parking area (dirt) about 200-300 feet in from the Apache Trail (Highway 88). Anyway, it has the same view. I made the mistake of driving in too far (about 2 miles last time - it was dark, and found a second parking area) and the view of the Superstition Mountain was not as good as the day picnic area.
I have been posting to a thread on the forum about chasing the Milky Way images and its located at the link below, if you want to take a look. I am still not very good at post processing, but learning.
I am thinking of going back out either Friday or Saturday, June 27 or 28. Would anyone be up to join me? Now, that I am actually doing some advanced planning - the next shoe to drop. After 4 years on the same project at work, it came to an end last Monday (as originally scheduled). I have been writing a new proposal last week and extending into this next week. But, I may need to go back to Boston to help out on another project (3 weeks back there, and 1 week back here, wash & repeat). I don't know anything about my schedule, so this may be for naught - at least for me.
For the location that I am thinking about (First Water), the view of the Superstition Mountain should consume a 30mm lens (side to side). Here are some ideas about shooting. Also, via google earth, there appears to be a good shooting location - with some good foreground about 300-400 feet to the south of the parking area (through a "gate/opening" in the fence).
- A kit lens at 18mm, f4 would work just fine, and you should be able to capture really fine star trails.
- A K3, K5, K30, K50, K500 and a K-01 should produce excellent results. A K20, K10 or even a K100 might be a tad noisy, but stacking 20 second shots should produce some wonderful images, especially at lower ISOs. There is also free stacking software available.
- I am planning to bring a Sigma 8-16/f4.5-5.6, DA 12-24/f4, Voightlander 20/f3.5, Zeiss 25/f2.8, Contax 28/f2.8 and a 31 Ltd. I'll probably toss in an A50/f1.7, too. I can only use one lens at a time. I also have a second tripod with a leveling head (will point +/- 10 degrees up/down).
I can drive, and I would have room for up to two in the truck (front seat, and a small back seat) plus gear. I can toss a cooler in the bed for water and soft drinks. We can arrange to meet some where and car pool. I was thinking about heading out around 8pm. It takes about an hour to get there. I will also say, that at First Water, I was "visited" by a family of Coyotes (the four legged variety) - a mom and her pups, practicing their signing.
So now, that I am actually planning something, Murphy will be along any time now to screw things up.....
