Jupiter, Saturn, and the Milky Way on the Coast of Maine
Just another night at the office
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.
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!
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.
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.