Interesting Photo of the Day: Milky Way Over the California Desert

Interesting Photos  •  Milky Way Photography

It’s so common these days for people to say they’ve never seen a clear, bright starry night. Never seen the Milky Way, a shooting star, a vast black canvas lit up by billions of stars. How sad is that? Over-population of cities and light pollution make it next to impossible for many people to see the natural night sky, so a trip out to a secluded area, far from any city is their only chance. Here’s a great shot of the Milky Way, taken by photographer Luan Baruti in the desert of Joshua Tree National Park, California, that shows the incredible beauty that has become so unknown or forgotten:

Milky Way in the desert by Luan Baruti (Via Imgur. Click image to see full size.)

Baruti took this shot at Jumbo Rocks Campground in Joshua Tree National Park; you can see some light pollution from nearby cities but the desert setting is still a great place for astrophotography.

This is a single exposure set at 20 seconds, ISO 3200, and f/3.5 at 18mm, using a Nikon D610 and Nikkor 18-35mm lens.

Baruti commented that although you could see the Milky Way with the naked eye that night, it was not as clear as the image.

“It appears like some sort of cloud that stretches through the sky. It’s definitely amazing and incredible to look at, but it’s certainly not as bright and you can’t see the details of the dust clouds the way you can see it on photographs.”