Astro Photography Dorset, St Aldhelms Chapel Milky Way
This Astrophotograph of the Milky Way was taken at St Aldhelms Chapel at St Aldhelms Head. St Aldhelms Head is located near Worth Matravers in Dorset.
This image is 5 landscape orientated images stitched together.
August evening saw a trip out to St Aldhelms head to capture the chapel with the intention of a quick walk along the coastal path to capture the Milky Way again from the cove of Chapmans Pool and possibly another location.
After this little capture I started the walk ‘Oh the Steps’ I forgot about the steps.
Bumping into 3 other local photographers at the descent to Chapmans Pool who were capturing the Milky Way. I decided not to wander down through their shot with my light so moved elsewhere.
In my view its a fantastic location for astrophotography but it is a Norman chapel on St Aldhelm’s Head in the parish of Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset. This monument is a Grade I listed building that is worth a visit by day or night.
The small square stone chapel is situated within a small circular earthwork, which some suspect may be the remains of a pre-Conquest Christian enclosure.
“Road to Milky Way” captured on a farm track that doubles as a route to the coastal path in Durlston Country Park. This beautiful Country Park near Swanage is just a small part of the Jurassic Coast. Walking the dog here in the evenings I have often seen the converging lines of the path that the farm vehicles have cut. Just had to wait till the Milky Way had moved far enough around. Clear skies and a warm night so a capture of the Milky Way was in order.
All alone. Well apart from the odd deer and fox. In the middle of nowhere the light pollution drops. The the stars really begin to shine brightly making the night sky magical.
Technical Bits
Taken with Nikon D750 Camera and a 20mm lens mounted on a Manfrotto Tripod f3.5 for 22 seconds.
Don’t forget the guide. If you want to try and take shots like this and think that its not possible then check out my beginners guide to Milky Way Photograpy The simple instructions in this will help you start out capturing fantastic shots of the Milky Way and who knows may get you hooked on taking Astro Pictures.
Sometimes photographers can be too serious. All in a row, cameras on a tripod looking at the sunset through a camera but missing the event. The same can be true of any photographic trip. Its always good to take a step back and take in the image of what you are there to actually capture. Especially true of the Milky Way. The scale of the stars just can’t be perceived even through a lens at 20 mm.
With the darkness at Peveril point and some time for the eyes to adjust more stars start to appear. Soon after arrival I knew that a single shot would not capture the whole of the arch. I just had to stand and admire mother nature.
May be a bit of fun with doing a Milky Way Selfie but please check out the Image Gallery for more pictures and as always please feel free to like and share.
If you want to have a go check out a simple guide to photographing the Milky Way. but remember its dark and think about safety.
The Milky Way seen from Priests Way from Swanage to Worth, Dorset
Photographing Milky Way
A few days ago I was asked by someone how do you do it, Take pictures of the MilkyWay that is. so I went through the simple steps with them and off they went. Couple of days later they came back with a great photograph of the Milky Way proving how easy it really is and that you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. This inspired me with the thought that I should try and put this down on paper so to speak and so produced this simple guide to photographing the milkyway.
It was a fun process sitting down and trying to remember how to write anything more than a quick email. Complete with errors and all I have released it as a simple guide to get you started as I am no expert (still working at that). Have a read, share it, ignore it just go out and try it. If you have an questions or suggestions please get in touch and good luck.
Busy times and server problems have resulted in no updates to my photography site in a while but now I have moved the website to a new hosting company, not a task I would like to do again I am able to update again. I have still managed to get out and photograph some of the delightful sights of nature that the Swanage area has to offer such as the Milky Way in the sky above Peveril Point and some fantastic sun rises over Swanage beach. These have now been added to the gallery pages so if you have a moment have a look.
Now the lighter evenings are creeping up on us Sunset landscapes are becoming an option again so really looking forward to that.
Thanks for Looking, Feel Free to Like and Share. Have a moment? Check out the Gallery for more pictures from RoydonsPhotography
Milky Way Priests Way Swanage. Nights drawing in makes it easier on a clear night to photograph the milky way while it is visible. The only real challenge is not to capture the flashing lights of a planes because of the many flights from the UK airports. This capture during an evening walk along the Priests Way near Swanage in Dorset.
