The Milky Way - Baobab Ridge, Kruger National Park, South Africa

On my first trip to Africa in 2019, I was amazed at the night sky and the incredible view of seemingly every star and planet in the universe. On my second trip to Africa, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to capture it with my camera.

In my research on darksitefinder.com, I found out I would be visiting one of the world's best regions for stargazing, with minimal light pollution and maximum dark sky, Kruger National Park.

To photograph the Milky Way, you need to be in total darkness. Not so scary if you’re in Yosemite or Joshua Tree, but when you’re in Africa surrounded by predators, it is Stephen King-level creepy! Once I got my tripod and camera set up and turned off my flashlight, every grunt, snarl, or twig snap I heard in the bush induced hair-raising fear. But I had a job to do.

Fortunately, the exposure for the Milky Way is relatively quick, 2 seconds at 10,000 ISO, with my 20mm f1.8 lens wide open. If you want to try your own night sky photography, these are good base settings for you if you have a professional camera and can manually adjust your settings. ProTip: Be sure to turn your “High ISO Noise Reduction” OFF as your camera will read the stars as noise and remove them!

Printed on METAL the definition is so incredible, every star and planet is visible, with the colorful sunset adding a nice splash of color to the brilliant Milky Way sky. 

For sizes and pricing: MILKY WAY