Bioluminescence & The Milky Way
Blue glow on the coast of Maine
Bioluminescence and the Milky Way along the cliffs of Acadia National Park.
One of my favorite shots from a few years back on the coast of Maine.
To my naked eye the glow in the water was a dim white, but the camera had no trouble capturing the real blue color of the bioluminescence.
This is a blend of 10 exposures for the sky and 2 foreground exposures.
Ten shots for the sky were each taken at ISO 10,000, 10 seconds, f/2.8, and then stacked with Starry Landscape Stacker for pinpoint stars and low noise. You can also do this in Sequator on Windows. You can learn more about this in my free webinar or my book Night Sky Photography: From First Principles to Professional Results.
The two foreground exposures were taken at lower ISO and longer shutter speeds for a cleaner foreground, 1 at ISO 1600 for 20 minutes and another at ISO 6400 for 2 minutes, both at f/2.8.
The exposures were then blended in Photoshop to create a single image with low noise and sharp focus. All shots were taken with the Nikon D810A and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens at 14mm.
Join my Maine Milky Way workshops to learn how all this is done!
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.
I’m holding my first ever winter workshops! These are also held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.
Jan 12-15, 2026 (3 nights)
Feb 11-14, 2026 (3 nights)
The Jan/Feb workshops are my first ever fully winter workshops where we will focus on lighthouses, landscapes, and fishing boats. Hopefully we will have snow and sea smoke! This is for hearty folks who can stand being out in the cold! Dress warm! See the workshop page.
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!
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!
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.