Hey Everyone!

This Milky Way season I’ve added StarNet2 to my collection of tools for editing Milky Way photos to bring out detail in the sky without over-cooking the stars.

StarNet2 is an amazing free program created by Nikita Misiura that uses machine learning (AI) to remove stars from images, generating a starless file and a star mask file, allowing you to edit the starless file (sky) without affecting the stars, then add the stars back later (or never, your choice). (Note that StarNet2 is not generating fake stars in the star mask file. That file is a copy of the original stars.)

Editing the sky without the stars allows you to bring out detail in nebulosity without causing the stars to blow out to pure white and “grow” in size. You can use a simple curves adjustment to really make the Milky Way pop without destroying star color or making the stars blown out to pure white with harsh distracting edges.

In Photoshop you can stack the stars layer on top of the starless layer, then set the stars layer to either the “Linear Dodge (Add)” or “Screen” blending mode. If using Screen you may need to brighten the stars a bit. If using “Linear Dodge (Add)” it may subtly affect the overall brightness of the image. Experiment and see what works for you.

Before editing the sky to bring out detail:

After editing the sky with the help of StarNet2 to protect the stars:

StarNet2 is very popular with deep space astrophotography, but it works great for landscape astrophotography as well. Because of its popularity with deep space, the most common way to use it is as a plug-in for PixInsight or Siril, which are deep space processing programs. For my landscape astrophotography workflow I wanted to be able to use StarNet2 without Siril or PixInsight, and the command line version works great but it is not very user friendly. There is a Windows GUI (graphical user interface), and I wanted to bring that same GUI ease of use to Mac users, so I created a macOS GUI version of StarNet2. It is a wrapper around the StarNet2 command line program.

Here are links to the various versions of StarNet2, these are all FREE!

• My new macOS GUI

• macOS command line interface (for direct use or with Siril)

• Everything else (Windows GUI, Windows CLI (direct or with Siril), PixInsight plugin, do not use the old macOS zip file on that page)

Before editing the sky to bring out detail:

After editing the sky with the help of StarNet2 to protect the stars, and exposure blend of a brighter foreground exposure:

Basic Workflow

Check out my StarNet2 GUI for macOS page for details on how to use the new macOS GUI and examples of the starless and star mask files, but here is a quick overview of how I use StarNet2. The same approach would apply whether you are using the macOS GUI, Windows GUI, or the command line interface. Eventually I will create a video showing how I use StarNet2.

1. Star stack the sky exposures like normal (if you’re doing stacking) using Starry Landscape Stacker (macOS) or Sequator (Windows).

2. Prep your star stacked result for further editing (fix chromatic aberrations, noise, etc).

3. Prep your foreground exposure (if you have one).

4. Export your star image as a 16-bit ProPhotoRGB TIFF file.

5. Load that TIFF file into StarNet2 and process it, you will end up with a “-starnet” file (image with stars removed) and a “-starnet-mask” file (image of just the stars).

6. Load the 2 starnet files and your foreground (if you have one) into Photoshop.

7. Inspect the starnet layers for any issues. There may be artifacts from the star removal process, you can fix them with the regular tools — clone stamp, healing, etc. Sometimes you might need to do some more pixel surgery.

8. Move the “-starnet-mask” layer to the top. You may want to turn it off to see more clearly what you’re doing with your sky edits, but make sure to turn it on periodically to check how the stars will look on top of your edits.

9. Edit your image as normal from here — exposure blending, bringing out details in the sky, etc. A simple curves adjustment will often bring out an enormous amount of detail in the Milky Way without blowing out the stars, since they’ve been removed from the “-starnet” layer!

10. Bring back the stars! Set the stars layer (top layer, the “-starnet-mask” image) to either the “Linear Dodge (Add)” or “Screen” blending mode. If using Screen you may need to brighten the stars a bit. If using “Linear Dodge (Add)” it may subtly affect the overall brightness of the image. Experiment and see what works for you.

Before editing the sky to bring out detail:

After editing the sky (and rest of the image) with the help of StarNet2 to protect the stars:

My Milky Way Master Class has not been updated to show StarNet2 (or using modern AI noise reduction tools like Lightroom’s Denoise) but you can still use the class to see the rest of my editing workflow. You can also see my workflow in my book.

Workshops

I only have 3 spots left on my Maine Milky Way workshops this summer! And only 2 spots left on my Fall Colors in Nova Scotia workshop this October.

Nerdy Details

StarNet2GUI for macOS is a Swift wrapper around the starnet2 CLI binary. The starnet2 binary and needed libraries and ML weights files are included in the download, no setup required, just copy the app from the dmg and you’re good to go. You need an Apple Silicon computer (M1 or newer). Source code for StarNet2GUI for macOS is available on GitHub.

Hi Everyone!

My 2026 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, fall colors photography workshop is almost sold out! I only have 2 spots left.

I’m also offering a lodging package that includes 5 nights of private oceanfront cottages at two locations. With my discounts you save around $500! For the last two nights you have the option of a cottage with an outdoor hot tub!

See the 2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop page for details.

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — Only 2 spots left!

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Why tour Cape Breton with me? I’ve been going there for 10 years and know the best views, waterfalls, and off the beaten path gems.

With a max of only 5 students, this is an intimate workshop with lots of my time available to you!

Oct 18-23, 2026 — 6 days, 5 nights

• 3 nights on the west side of the Cabot Trail based out of Cheticamp

• 2 nights on the east side of the Cabot Trail based out Ingonish

We’ll do the gentle hike out the Skyline Trail to the view above for a sunset shoot!

Unfortunately, due to Canadian immigration laws, I cannot accept Canadian citizens on this workshop. I’m not a Canadian citizen, so if I accept Canadian citizens on the workshop I’m required to have a work permit in Canada, and the cost of setting that up would require the workshop price to be much higher.

For more details, hiking info, airports, schedule, lodging info, photos, and pricing check out the workshop page!

Learn More!

Also, heads up, I only have three spots left on my Maine Milky Way Workshops for summer 2026.

This was a beautiful night along the coast of Maine. One of those crystal clear nights where you can see amazing detail in the Milky Way with your naked eye.

Nikon Z 7, Mount Adapter FTZ, NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 18mm, f/2.8 for all shots.

Sky: Star stack of 20 exposures, each at 10 seconds, ISO 6400. Stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker. Processing raw files in SLS makes the workflow a bit easier, and also gets around the fact that you cannot disable built-in lens profile corrections in Lightroom Classic for some lenses, which cause major problems on dark images with warping artifacts. If you’re on Windows you can use Sequator for star stacking landscapes at night, which also supports raw files.

Foreground: Single 10 minute exposure at ISO 1600.

Check out my book or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking and separate foreground exposures. Or join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops. Learn about my editing techniques in my Milky Way Master Class.

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops — Only 3 Spots Left!

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights) — Sold out (waitlist)
Aug 11-14 (3 nights) — Sold out (waitlist)
Sep 8-11 (3 nights) — 3 Spots open

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Fall Colors in Nova Scotia Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 3 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Free Milky Way Crash Course Webinar

My free Milky Way Crash Course webinar is back up for viewing! Many of you have seen this already, but if you haven’t it can get you up and running with Milky Way photography pretty quickly. It covers camera gear, camera settings, shooting with stacking and exposure blending in mind, and planning basics.

View Webinar

Milky Way Master Class Video Tutorials

In my Milky Way Master Class videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars.

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Milky Way Master Class

A lot of light pollution, haze, and some green airglow made this a tricky one to edit and get the colors vaguely reasonable, but it was worth the challenge and bumpy ride down a long dirt road.

Nikon Z 7 with NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S lens @ 14mm (cropped a bit in post) and f/2.8 for all shots.

Sky: Star stack of 20 exposures at 10 seconds and ISO 6400. Combined in Starry Landscape Stacker (macOS) for low noise and pinpoint stars. Use Sequator on Windows.

Foreground: Single exposure at 10 minutes and ISO 1600.

The sky and foreground are then blended in photoshop to create the final image. All shots taken in the same spot on the same night.

Not sure what all that means? Check out my book or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking and separate foreground exposures.

Learn my editing techniques in my Milky Way Master Class, or join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops!

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights)
Aug 11-14 (3 nights)
Sep 8-11 (3 nights)

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Newfoundland Iceberg Workshops!

I only have one spot left on my May 2026 Newfoundland workshop!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime on the Canadian island of Newfoundland during peak iceberg season. Each spring icebergs from Greenland and Labrador show up along the northern coast of Newfoundland after making the two year journey. We’ll also photograph dramatic landscapes, iconic fishing villages, puffins, and more.

Twillingate - Fogo Island - Bonavista
May 25 - June 1, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
5 spots total, 1 spot remaining
This workshop will start in Twillingate, one of the regular hot spots for icebergs in Newfoundland. We’ll then spend a couple nights on Fogo Island capturing more icebergs and iconic red fishing sheds, then head over to Bonavista for a lighthouse, icebergs, and puffins that can be photographed from land!
Learn more here!

See All Workshops

2026 Fall Colors in Cape Breton Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Milky Way Master Class Video Tutorials

In my Milky Way Master Class videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars.

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Milky Way Master Class

My 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops are almost sold out!

Here’s the current availability:

• July 14-17 — 1 Spots Left

• August 11-14 — Sold Out (Waitlist)

• September 8-11 — 3 Spots Left

All workshops are 3 nights and are all equally good for the angle of the Milky Way.

Join me under the darkest skies on the East Coast in Lubec, Maine, just two hours east of Acadia National Park.

These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets, with lobster boats, lighthouses, harbors, and rugged coastline as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

We will also drive over the bridge to Campobello Island, part of Canada, for a sunset trip -- so bring your passport (or driver’s license and birth certificate)!

You’ll get 10% off lodging at Cohill’s Inn as part of the workshop (or pick your own lodging).

Learn More & Register

Nova Scotia Fall Colors Workshop & Lodging Package!

I’m excited to announce a lodging package for my 2026 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, fall colors photography workshop!

This package includes 5 nights of private oceanfront cottages at two locations. With my discounts you save around $500!

See the 2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop page for details!

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 3 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Nova Scotia Workshop Info

Young sunflowers follow the sun through the sky each day, turning back east during the night to greet the sun again the next day, but when they mature they stop that and only face east. This makes it a little challenging to find a composition with sunflowers at least somewhat facing the camera when the Milky Way is in the south/southwest, but I liked this angle with the road going by the field, leading toward the Milky Way core, which lined up nicely late in twilight when the sky still had a lot of blue. I really love shooting during twilight because of the blue tones, and of course it makes getting foreground exposures quite a bit easier, especially with flowers that could move with any little hint of wind. And with enough ambient light, I can stop down the lens for greater depth of field without the exposure taking an eternity.

Nikon Z 7 with FTZ lens adapter and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 14mm and f/2.8 for all shots.

Sky: Star stack of 20 exposures, each at 10 seconds and ISO 3200.

Foreground: Focus stack of two exposures, one at 2 minutes and one at 1 minute, both at f/5.6 and ISO 1600.

This one took quite a while to process, which isn’t unusual for my night landscapes, but I was trying a few new techniques.

When I was out shooting, I made the decision to skip long exposure noise reduction for the foreground shots, which gets rid of most of the hot pixels at the expense of the exposure taking twice as long, since I wanted to move onto the next shot while there was still good ambient light during twilight, and/or capture the Milky Way before it moved too much.

Because this meant I would have to deal with hot pixels later, I decided I would try editing the raw files in Capture One, instead of Lightroom, because Capture One has much better hot pixel reduction than Lightroom. Not only does it reduce hot pixels much more effectively as part of its normal default raw processing, but it also has a “Single Pixel” slider in the noise reduction panel that you can use to eliminate the more stubborn hot pixels. I had tried it in the past and found it worked amazingly well, so I figured I could skip long exposure noise reduction and just rely on Capture One to get rid of the hot pixels, and it did (your mileage may vary, I didn’t have that many hot pixels to begin with).

After doing basic adjustments in Capture One on the two foreground shots, I exported them as TIFF files for focus stacking using Helicon Focus, which often works far better than Photoshop for complex focus stacks, such as a field of flowers. It worked well here but I still had to spend quite a bit of time cleaning up the blend.

The sky shots were star stacked using Starry Landscape Stacker for pinpoint stars and low noise.

Star stacking is a method of taking multiple short exposures to get pinpoint stars and then stacking them in software to average out the noise, resulting in a low noise image. You can learn more about this in my free webinar or my book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results.

Check out my Milky Way Master Class to learn how all this is done! Join me on a workshop (see below) if you’re ready for action.

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights)
Aug 11-14 (3 nights, Sold out — Waitlist)
Sep 8-11 (3 nights)

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Newfoundland Iceberg Workshops!

I only have one spot left on my May 2026 Newfoundland workshop!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime on the Canadian island of Newfoundland during peak iceberg season. Each spring icebergs from Greenland and Labrador show up along the northern coast of Newfoundland after making the two year journey. We’ll also photograph dramatic landscapes, iconic fishing villages, puffins, and more.

Twillingate - Fogo Island - Bonavista
May 25 - June 1, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
5 spots total, 1 spot remaining
This workshop will start in Twillingate, one of the regular hot spots for icebergs in Newfoundland. We’ll then spend a couple nights on Fogo Island capturing more icebergs and iconic red fishing sheds, then head over to Bonavista for a lighthouse, icebergs, and puffins that can be photographed from land!
Learn more here!

See All Workshops

2026 Fall Colors in Cape Breton Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 3 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Free Milky Way Crash Course Webinar

My free Milky Way Crash Course webinar is back up for viewing! Many of you have seen this already, but if you haven’t it can get you up and running with Milky Way photography pretty quickly. It covers camera gear, camera settings, shooting with stacking and exposure blending in mind, and planning basics.

View Webinar

Milky Way Master Class Video Tutorials

In my Milky Way Master Class videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars.

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Milky Way Master Class

Hi Everyone!

I’m excited to announce a lodging package for my 2026 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, fall colors photography workshop!

This package includes 5 nights of private oceanfront cottages at two locations. With my discounts you save around $500!

See the 2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop page for details!

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Why tour Cape Breton with me? I’ve been going there for 10 years and know the best views, waterfalls, and off the beaten path gems.

With a max of only 5 students, this is an intimate workshop with lots of my time available to you!

Oct 18-23, 2026 — 6 days, 5 nights

• 3 nights on the west side of the Cabot Trail based out of Cheticamp

• 2 nights on the east side of the Cabot Trail based out Ingonish

We’ll do the gentle hike out the Skyline Trail to the view above for a sunset shoot!

Unfortunately, due to Canadian immigration laws, I cannot accept Canadian citizens on this workshop. I’m not a Canadian citizen, so if I accept Canadian citizens on the workshop I’m required to have a work permit in Canada, and the cost of setting that up would require the workshop price to be way more!

For more details, hiking info, airports, schedule, lodging info, photos, and pricing check out the workshop page!

Learn More!

I’ve also got spots available on my Maine Milky Way Workshops for summer 2026, and there is one spot left on my Newfoundland Icebergs workshop in May 2026.

The lunar eclipse from March 3rd, about half way through totality as the moon sets at Mulholland Lighthouse on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada. This was during twilight before sunrise, giving the sky a nice blue color.

To plan this shot I used PhotoPills and the web app version of The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) to work out the angle of the setting moon and figure out if there would be a place to get the angle I wanted without trees blocking the view. TPE was especially useful here because the web version has an eclipse simulator that shows exactly how much of the moon is in shadow at any given time. I went out the day before to scout the location and check the angles in person, and see roughly what the elevation of the moon would be to get it next to the tower. Knowing that, I could look at the web app version of TPE and see how much of the moon would be eclipsed.

If you’re looking to learn how to use PhotoPills, I have a complete training lesson about PhotoPills in my Milky Way Master Class.

Getting detail in the very bright non-eclipsed part of the moon required blending two exposures, otherwise the moon would have been completely blown out, or the rest of the image would have been very dark and noisy.

Nikon Z8, NIKKOR Z 180-600mm lens @ 310mm, f/8. The non-eclipsed part of the moon was at 1/8th sec, with the rest of the image at 1/2 sec.

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops — Only 4 Spots Left!

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held under the darkest skies on the East Coast in Lubec, Maine, just 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights) — 1 Spot open
Aug 11-14 (3 nights) — Sold out (waitlist)
Sep 8-11 (3 nights) — 3 Spots open

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Fall Colors in Nova Scotia Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Milky Way Master Class Video Tutorials

In my Milky Way Master Class videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars.

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Milky Way Master Class

From a few days ago, this is a bit of a “reprise” of the shot I took a couple weeks ago at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse where I had the Milky Way directly behind the lighthouse. This time I wanted to try a vertical composition with the Milky Way beside the tower, putting the focus on the iconic red and white stripes. At 35mm the tower has real presence in the frame compared to shooting at 14mm, so it worked well for making the lighthouse the subject with the Milky Way in a supporting role.

Like last time, I wanted to shoot the lighthouse when the beacon was off. When the beacon is on it blows out the lantern room. West Quoddy Head has a blink pattern of 2 seconds on, 2 off, 2 on, 9 off, for a total cycle of 15 seconds. I used the built-in intervalometer of the Z8 (many cameras have this now, finally!) set to 15-second intervals so each exposure landed in that 9-second dark window. For some reason the Nikon built-in intervalometer has a 2-second delay after you hit Start, so I had to start the intervals at the beginning of the last 2-second blink rather than the start of the dark period.

Note that there is a regular light on in the tower somewhere, so the lantern room still has a warm glow even when the beacon is off.

I didn’t need a separate foreground exposure because there was enough ambient light that the star stacked result was very clean in the foreground.

After stacking the 36 exposures in Starry Landscape Stacker (macOS only, use Sequator on Windows) I did some basic edits in Lightroom Classic, and then ran the result through StarNet2 (I used the command line version on Mac), a free program that removes stars giving you a starless image and a star mask. This allows editing the sky without affecting the stars (blowing them out, losing star color, etc), and then you add the stars back by putting the star mask as the top layer in Photoshop using the Linear Dodge (Add) or Screen blending mode.

Technical Details

• Camera: Nikon Z8

• Lens: NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S

• Settings: f/1.8, 6 seconds, ISO 2000

• Exposures: 36 frames, star stacked

• Intervalometer: Z8 built-in, 15-second intervals synced to lighthouse blink cycle

Want to learn more?

Check out my book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking, camera gear, and more techniques.

Learn about my editing techniques in my Milky Way Master Class (Note I do not yet have StarNet2 included in my Master Class, but stay tuned for a future webinar where I will go over how to use it).

Ready for action? Join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops, for icebergs in Newfoundland, or fall colors in Nova Scotia.

The Milky Way rises over snow covered cliffs on the coast of Maine after the recent blizzard.

Nikon Z8 with NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S lens.

Sky: Star stack of a bunch of exposures, I took 55 and I may have used all of them but I don’t remember! All shots at f/2.5 (for sharper stars), 8 seconds, ISO 6400.

Foreground: Single exposure at f/2.8, 4 minutes, ISO 1600.

All images were taken in the same spot on the same night. After stacking the star exposures in Starry Landscape Stacker (Mac only, use Sequator on Windows) I did some basic edits in Lightroom Classic, and then ran that result through StarNet2, a free program that removes stars giving you a starless image and a star mask. This allows editing the image without affecting the stars (blowing them out, losing star color, etc) so that you can really bring out detail in the sky, and then add the stars back later by putting the star mask as the top layer in Photoshop using the Linear Dodge (Add) or Screen blend mode.

I also did basic edits on the foreground image in Lightroom Classic before bringing that into Photoshop to blend with the sky image.

Check out my book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking, camera gear, and more techniques.

Learn about my editing techniques in my Milky Way Master Class.

Ready for action? Join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops, for icebergs in Newfoundland , or fall colors in Nova Scotia.

My 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops are almost sold out!

Here’s the current availability:

• July 14-17 — 2 Spots Left

• August 11-14 — Sold Out (Waitlist)

• September 8-11 — 3 Spots Left

All workshops are 3 nights and are all equally good for the angle of the Milky Way, with September having earlier nights (more sleep).

Join me under the darkest skies on the East Coast in Lubec, Maine, just two hours east of Acadia National Park.

These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets, with lobster boats, lighthouses, harbors, and rugged coastline as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

We will also drive over the bridge to Campobello Island, part of Canada, for a sunset trip -- so bring your passport (or driver’s license and birth certificate)!

You’ll get 10% off lodging at Cohill’s Inn as part of the workshop (or pick your own lodging).

Learn More & Register

Sometimes plans just don’t work out. I’d been thinking of doing a Milky Way shot with these little tidal islands for a long time, and I finally tried it the other night but the foreground just didn’t work out. I used a 35mm lens to have the close island and Milky Way Galactic Center be prominent, but the foreground just isn’t what I was hoping. I like the leading line of the sandbar, but something just doesn’t click enough for me.

Remember that the stars look the same every night. Aside from airglow and light pollution, the Milky Way you see tonight is the same Milky Way you’ll see tomorrow night. It’s the landscape that makes each shot unique. The foreground is what tells a story, creates a sense of place, and gives the viewer something to anchor the scene. Without it you just have a sky photo, and while sky photos can be impressive at first, they all start to look the same pretty quickly.

When I’m scouting a location during the day, I’m thinking less about the sky and more about what’s on the ground. What foreground elements could work with the arc of the Milky Way? Is there a leading line, a rugged coastline, a river, or an interesting rock formation that could tie the composition together? Some of my favorite shots have come from visiting a spot during the day, seeing something interesting in the landscape, and then coming back months later when the Milky Way lines up with it. That planning process — matching the right foreground with the right sky position — is where the real work of landscape astrophotography happens.

In this case, I had the tidal islands in mind as a foreground subject for a while. In theory it seemed like it would work, but once I was out there at night the islands just didn’t have the visual interest I was imagining. I tried bringing out detail in the foreground instead of keeping it more of a silhouette, but it just didn’t really click for me. Sometimes you have to try a shot to find out it doesn’t work. That said, I like that the image documents an area at night that I visit frequently during the day.

Nikon Z8 with NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S lens. Star stack of 40 exposures at f/1.8, ISO 6400, 5 seconds, stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker for pinpoint stars and low noise.

To bring out detail in the sky without overdoing the stars, I removed the stars using StarNet2, then in Photoshop I edited the sky layer then added the stars back at the end using the Linear Dodge (Add) or Screen blending mode with the stars mask file that StarNet2 generates.

Check out my book or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking, camera gear, and more techniques.

Learn about my editing techniques in my Milky Way Master Class.

Ready for action? Join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops, for icebergs in Newfoundland , or fall colors in Cape Breton. I promise we’ll take better photos than this.

The Milky Way rises over West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Maine very early AM this morning, just before the start of astronomical twilight.

I used a 35mm focal length to really focus on the Galactic Center of the Milky Way to make it pop, and 35mm was wide enough to get the entire lighthouse building in frame.

This is a star stack of 28 exposures with the Nikon Z8 and NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8 lens @ f/2, 8 seconds, ISO 3200 for all exposures. I didn’t need a separate foreground exposure because there was enough ambient light that the star stacked result was very clean in the foreground.

I used the built-in intervalometer of the Z8 (many cameras have this now, finally!) to time the exposures so they were only taken during the 9 second gap between blinks of the lighthouse. This avoided blowing out the lantern room and flooding the snow with light. There is a regular light on in the tower though somewhere, so the lantern room is lit up from that. This lighthouse has a blink pattern of 2 seconds on, 2 off, 2 on, 9 off. That’s a total of 15 seconds, so I set the intervalometer to have 15 second intervals and started the first shot right as the 9 second off period started. Although for some reason the Nikon built-in intervalometer has a 2 second delay before it starts the intervals after you hit Start, so I had to actually start the intervals right at the start of the last 2 second blink. That took a bit to figure out.

You could do this by hand, just hitting the shutter button every time the 9 second gap started, but I wanted to set it up to run for a long time. I think I let it go for over 30 minutes or so and selected a sequence of 28 exposures when the Milky Way was in the position I wanted but not too close to twilight where the sky was getting very blue.

After stacking the 28 exposures in Starry Landscape Stacker (macOS only, use Sequator on Windows) I did some basic edits in Lightroom Classic, and then ran that result through StarNet2, a free program that removes stars giving you a starless image and a star mask. This allows editing the image (I used Photoshop) without affecting the stars (blowing them out, losing star color, etc) so that you can really bring out detail in the sky, and then add the stars back later by putting the star mask as the top layer in Photoshop using the Linear Dodge (Add) or Screen blend mode.

Check out my book or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking, camera gear, and more techniques. Or join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops. Learn about my editing techniques in my Milky Way Master Class.

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops — Only 5 Spots Left!

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights) — 2 Spots open
Aug 11-14 (3 nights) — Sold out (waitlist)
Sep 8-11 (3 nights) — 3 Spots open

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Newfoundland Iceberg Workshops!

I only have one spot left on each of my May 2026 Newfoundland workshops!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime on the Canadian island of Newfoundland during peak iceberg season. Each spring icebergs from Greenland and Labrador show up along the northern coast of Newfoundland after making the two year journey. We’ll also photograph dramatic landscapes, iconic fishing villages, puffins, and more.

I have two different workshops scheduled:

Twillingate - Fogo Island - Bonavista
May 25 - June 1, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
5 spots total, 1 spot remaining
This workshop will start in Twillingate, one of the regular hot spots for icebergs in Newfoundland. We’ll then spend a couple nights on Fogo Island capturing more icebergs and iconic red fishing sheds, then head over to Bonavista for a lighthouse, icebergs, and puffins that can be photographed from land!
Learn more here!

Iceberg Chaser RV Trip
May 11 - 18, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
2 spots total, 1 spots remaining
For the truly adventurous, follow me around in your own RV or rent one! We’ll have an open schedule and go wherever the best icebergs are and catch some amazing landscapes. We will likely visit the Great Northern Peninsula, Gros Morne National Park, and probably Twillingate or other spots on the north coast. Maybe we’ll even head over to Labrador for a night or visit the massive gannet colony in Cape St. Mary’s!
Learn more here!

See All Workshops

2026 Fall Colors in Cape Breton Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Free Milky Way Crash Course Webinar

My free Milky Way Crash Course webinar is back up for viewing! Many of you have seen this already, but if you haven’t it can get you up and running with Milky Way photography pretty quickly. It covers camera gear, camera settings, shooting with stacking and exposure blending in mind, and planning basics.

View Webinar

Milky Way Master Class Video Tutorials

In my Milky Way Master Class videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars.

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Milky Way Master Class

It’s Milky Way season again! I went out a couple nights ago to capture the Milky Way rising during early astronomical twilight over snow covered ocean cliffs on the coast of Maine.

The highlights in the snow on the cliffs are from many Canadian scallop fishing boats. They were miles away but their very bright lights lit up the cliffs like car headlights. At one point I counted 18 lights in the distance that I could see, probably more beyond the horizon.

The sky is blue, with not as much detail in the Milky Way, because this was taken during astronomical twilight, about 80 minutes before sunrise.

Nikon Z8 with NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8 lens.

Sky: Star stack of 19 exposures each at f/1.8, 5 seconds, ISO 6400. Combined in Starry Landscape Stacker (macOS) for pinpoint stars and low noise. For Windows you can use Sequator.

Foreground: Single exposure at f/5.6, ISO 1600, 5 minutes. I used f/5.6 for greater depth of field with the 35mm lens.

Both shots were then combined in Photoshop to get low noise and sharp focus from the foreground to the stars. I used StarNet2 to remove the stars from the sky so that I could edit the colors and contrast in the sky without blowing out the stars, then added the original stars back. StarNet2 is free and generates both a starless image and an image that is just the stars. I used the starless image for all sky edits and blending with the foreground, and at the very end I added the stars back by using the “just the stars” image as a top layer in Photoshop set to the Linear Dodge (Add) or Screen blending mode.

Check out my book or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking and separate foreground exposures. Or join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops. Learn about my editing techniques in my Milky Way Master Class.

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops — Only 5 Spots Left!

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights) — 2 Spots open
Aug 11-14 (3 nights) — Sold out (waitlist)
Sep 8-11 (3 nights) — 3 Spots open

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Newfoundland Iceberg Workshops!

I only have one spot left on each of my May 2026 Newfoundland workshops!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime on the Canadian island of Newfoundland during peak iceberg season. Each spring icebergs from Greenland and Labrador show up along the northern coast of Newfoundland after making the two year journey. We’ll also photograph dramatic landscapes, iconic fishing villages, puffins, and more.

I have two different workshops scheduled:

Twillingate - Fogo Island - Bonavista
May 25 - June 1, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
5 spots total, 1 spot remaining
This workshop will start in Twillingate, one of the regular hot spots for icebergs in Newfoundland. We’ll then spend a couple nights on Fogo Island capturing more icebergs and iconic red fishing sheds, then head over to Bonavista for a lighthouse, icebergs, and puffins that can be photographed from land!
Learn more here!

Iceberg Chaser RV Trip
May 11 - 18, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
2 spots total, 1 spots remaining
For the truly adventurous, follow me around in your own RV or rent one! We’ll have an open schedule and go wherever the best icebergs are and catch some amazing landscapes. We will likely visit the Great Northern Peninsula, Gros Morne National Park, and probably Twillingate or other spots on the north coast. Maybe we’ll even head over to Labrador for a night or visit the massive gannet colony in Cape St. Mary’s!
Learn more here!

See All Workshops

2026 Fall Colors in Cape Breton Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Free Milky Way Crash Course Webinar

My free Milky Way Crash Course webinar is back up for viewing! Many of you have seen this already, but if you haven’t it can get you up and running with Milky Way photography pretty quickly. It covers camera gear, camera settings, shooting with stacking and exposure blending in mind, and planning basics.

View Webinar

Milky Way Master Class Video Tutorials

In my Milky Way Master Class videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars.

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Milky Way Master Class

Hi Everyone!

I only have one spot left on each of my May 2026 Newfoundland workshops!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime on the Canadian island of Newfoundland during peak iceberg season. Each spring icebergs from Greenland and Labrador show up along the northern coast of Newfoundland after making the two year journey. We’ll also photograph dramatic landscapes, iconic fishing villages, puffins, and more.

I have two different workshops scheduled:

Twillingate - Fogo Island - Bonavista
May 25 - June 1, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
5 spots total, 1 spot remaining
This workshop will start in Twillingate, one of the regular hot spots for icebergs in Newfoundland. We’ll then spend a couple nights on Fogo Island capturing more icebergs and iconic red fishing sheds, then head over to Bonavista for a lighthouse, icebergs, and puffins that can be photographed from land!
Learn more here!

Iceberg Chaser RV Trip
May 11 - 18, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
2 spots total, 1 spots remaining
For the truly adventurous, follow me around in your own RV or rent one! We’ll have an open schedule and go wherever the best icebergs are and catch some amazing landscapes. We will likely visit the Great Northern Peninsula, Gros Morne National Park, and probably Twillingate or other spots on the north coast. Maybe we’ll even head over to Labrador for a night or visit the massive gannet colony in Cape St. Mary’s!
Learn more here!

See All Workshops

2026 Fall in Cape Breton!

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops — Only 5 Spots Left!

I only have 5 spots left on my summer Milky Way workshops!

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights) — 2 Spots open
Aug 11-14 (3 nights) — Sold out, wait list
Sep 8-11 (3 nights) — 3 Spots open

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Workshop Details

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Free Milky Way Crash Course Webinar

My free Milky Way Crash Course webinar is back up for viewing! Many of you have seen this already, but if you haven’t it can get you up and running with Milky Way photography pretty quickly. It covers camera gear, camera settings, shooting with stacking and exposure blending in mind, and planning basics.

View Webinar

Milky Way Master Class Video Tutorials

In my Milky Way Master Class videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars.

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Milky Way Master Class

Join me LIVE at the 2026 Night Photo Summit! It starts TODAY, Friday Feb 13 and goes thru Sunday, Feb 15.

This is the premier virtual conference dedicated to all things night photography, back for its sixth year! It is produced by the fine folks at National Parks at Night and features presentations from dozens of photographers.

My talk will feature a number of my 50mm Milky Way landscape photos along with how I got each shot, technical details, lens considerations, planning, and more! I’ll be speaking on Sunday, February 15, at 11:30am US Eastern. You can watch the recording if you can’t make it live.

The summit features 45 speakers and over 50 hours of inspiring talks! Everything from basic night photography to deep space astrophotography will be covered.

By joining the summit you get access to all of this:

• 3 days, 45 speakers, 50 talks, image reviews, and more

• 1 year of access to re-watch all of the courses on demand

• A live image review session

• Exclusive glow-in-the-dark summit T-shirt

• Personal access to product experts from manufacturers and developers sponsoring the event

• Dozens of giveaways throughout the duration of the summit

• An unprecedented opportunity to connect with like-minded photographers passionate about the night

Presenters include myself, Angel Fux, Chantal Levesque, Dan Zafra, Erik Kuna, Fiona Otway, Forest Chaput, Geoff Decker, Gordon Lau, Ian Lauer, Jacob W. Frank, Jason Page, Jenna Dixon, Lori Grace Bailey, Marybeth Kazinsky, Mike Shaw, Mikko Lagerstedt, Or Graur, Dr., Pete Mauney, Prince Berkoh, Rachel Jones Ross, Richard Tatti, Russell Brown, Stephanie Vermillion, Susan Magnano, and Vincent Ledvina, and more.

See you at the summit!

Learn More

My Milky Way Master Class video tutorials are available again!

In these videos I show you how to create stunning Milky Way photos with pinpoint stars and low noise, in focus from the foreground to the stars. (Many of you already have these videos, see the info at the bottom of this post.)

Step by step videos will guide you through the entire editing process, from star stacking, to exposure blending, to creative edits. Plus there are bonus modules for Milky Way Panoramas and Planning with PhotoPills.

Topics Include

• Star Stacking

• Raw Image Prep

• Focus Stacking

• Exposure Blending

• Hot Pixel Removal

• Creative Edits

• And a lot more!

You also get two bonus modules!

Milky Way Panoramas

Learn everything you need to photograph Milky Way panoramas! Including camera settings, shooting techniques, panorama hardware, and a complete demonstration of PTGui, the best stitching software available.

Planning with PhotoPills

• Using the PhotoPills app for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, and Milky Way photos

• How to tell the size of the sun or moon in relation to an object (like a lighthouse)

• Searching for a date when the moon or sun will line up with an object (like a lighthouse)

• How to tell where the Milky Way will be, how high in the sky it will be, and when it will work as an arc for a panorama

• Augmented Reality for day or night planning

Check out the Master Class web page to see all the details about what is included in the download.

Master Class Details

Many of you already have these videos. If you own them but can’t find them please send me all the email addresses you may have used when purchasing them in the past and I’ll look for your order.

The Master Class covers editing, if you are looking for information on what gear to use, camera settings, etc, then check out my free webinar or my book, Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results.

If you’re ready for action you can join me on a workshop where I go over all the details in person.

Join me LIVE at the virtual Night Photo Summit starting THIS FRIDAY! I’ll be giving a talk on 50mm Milky Way Landscapes.

Another night in the office, taken while teaching a workshop.

Jupiter is the large bright object in the left-center, and Saturn is much smaller but visible to the right and down a bit from Jupiter. The slight green color in the sky is from airglow, a natural phenomenon that occurs in our atmosphere and can be seen anywhere on the globe. The red glow in the bottom right is from a nearby antenna array used by the Navy, they all have blinking red lights on top of the towers.

As with almost all my night photos, this consists of multiple exposures blended for low noise and dynamic range. I used star stacking for the sky for low noise and pinpoint stars, and a separate exposure for the foreground with a much longer shutter speed to capture detail in the dark.

Technical Details:

Nikon Z 6 with NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 14mm and f/2.8 for all shots.

Sky: Star stack of 20 exposures at ISO 6400 and 10 seconds each, stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker (Mac) for pinpoint stars and low noise. On Windows you can use Sequator for the same process. This gives you the best of both worlds -- pinpoint stars (or near pinpoint depending on your shutter speed and lens) and low noise in the sky.

Foreground: Single shot at ISO 1600 and 10 minutes.

The star stacked result and the foreground image were blended in Photoshop to create an image with detail from the foreground to the stars. I intentionally kept the foreground a bit dark in editing to keep the feeling of a night scene.

Check out my book or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking and separate foreground exposures. My Milky Way Master Class teaches the editing techniques I use. Or join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops.

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops - ONLY 5 SPOTS LEFT!

I only have 5 spots left on my summer Milky Way workshops!

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights) — 2 Spots open
Aug 11-14 (3 nights) — Sold out, wait list
Sep 8-11 (3 nights) — 3 Spots open

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Newfoundland Iceberg Workshops!

I only have one spot left on my May 2026 Newfoundland workshop!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime on the Canadian island of Newfoundland during peak iceberg season. Each spring icebergs from Greenland and Labrador show up along the northern coast of Newfoundland after making the two year journey. We’ll also photograph dramatic landscapes, iconic fishing villages, puffins, and more.

Twillingate - Fogo Island - Bonavista
May 25 - June 1, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
5 spots total, 1 spot remaining
This workshop will start in Twillingate, one of the regular hot spots for icebergs in Newfoundland. We’ll then spend a couple nights on Fogo Island capturing more icebergs and iconic red fishing sheds, then head over to Bonavista for a lighthouse, icebergs, and puffins that can be photographed from land!
Learn more here!

See All Workshops

2026 Fall Colors in Cape Breton Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

Free Milky Way Crash Course Webinar

My free Milky Way Crash Course webinar is back up for viewing! Many of you have seen this already, but if you haven’t it can get you up and running with Milky Way photography pretty quickly. It covers camera gear, camera settings, shooting with stacking and exposure blending in mind, and planning basics.

View Webinar

The Milky Way, Jupiter, and Saturn reflect in a cove on a calm night on the coast of Maine. The lack of wind made for some amazing mirror-like reflections. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but I’m actually standing on a cliff about 20 feet above the water.

Nikon Z 6 with FTZ lens adapter and NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 14mm and f/2.8 for all shots.

Sky: Star stacked result of 20 exposures each at 10 seconds and ISO 3200.

Foreground: Focus stack of two exposures each at 5 minutes and ISO 3200.

Star stacking is a method of taking multiple short exposures to get pinpoint stars and then stacking them in software to average out the noise, resulting in a low noise image.

Check out my book or my free Milky Way Crash Course webinar to learn all about star stacking and separate foreground exposures. Or join me in person on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops.

2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops

Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held under the darkest skies on the East Coast in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.

Jul 14-17 (3 nights)
Aug 11-14 (3 nights)
Sep 8-11 (3 nights)

Come explore the Bold Coast of Maine! These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets with rugged coastline, lighthouses, and lobster boats as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

You’ll get 10% off lodging as part of the workshop.

See Maine Milky Way Workshops!

2026 Newfoundland Iceberg Workshops!

I only have one spot left on my May 2026 Newfoundland workshop!

Join me for the adventure of a lifetime on the Canadian island of Newfoundland during peak iceberg season. Each spring icebergs from Greenland and Labrador show up along the northern coast of Newfoundland after making the two year journey. We’ll also photograph dramatic landscapes, iconic fishing villages, puffins, and more.

Twillingate - Fogo Island - Bonavista
May 25 - June 1, 2026 (7 nights, 8 days)
5 spots total, 1 spot remaining
This workshop will start in Twillingate, one of the regular hot spots for icebergs in Newfoundland. We’ll then spend a couple nights on Fogo Island capturing more icebergs and iconic red fishing sheds, then head over to Bonavista for a lighthouse, icebergs, and puffins that can be photographed from land!
Learn more here!

See All Workshops

2026 Fall Colors in Cape Breton Workshop

2026 Cape Breton Fall Colors Photography Workshop

October 18 - 23 — 6 days, 5 nights

Max 5 students — 4 spots currently available

Join me for a photography adventure in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada during peak fall colors! Cape Breton is a magical place in the fall, with foliage covered mountains meeting the ocean, valleys of orange and red leaves, and beautiful waterfalls. We will tour the famous Cabot Trail along the coast and through the mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Cape Breton Workshop

Night Sky Photography Book

My book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results is an Amazon best-seller and has almost 500 ratings! Thanks everyone!

Buy the Book

My 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops are almost sold out!

Here’s the current availability:

• July 14-17 — 2 Spots Left

• August 11-14 — Sold Out (Waitlist)

• September 8-11 — 3 Spots Left

All workshops are 3 nights and are all equally good for the angle of the Milky Way, with September having earlier nights (more sleep).

Join me under the darkest skies on the East Coast in Lubec, Maine, just two hours east of Acadia National Park.

These workshops focus on Milky Way photography but we will also capture dramatic sunsets, with lobster boats, lighthouses, harbors, and rugged coastline as our foreground. There are also opportunities to photograph wildlife including bald eagles, seals, porpoise, and whales.

We will also drive over the bridge to Campobello Island, part of Canada, for a sunset trip -- so bring your passport!

You’ll get 10% off lodging at Cohill’s Inn as part of the workshop.

Learn More & Register