Olympus OM-D E-M5 II + Rokinon 12mm f2.0 + the Milky Way

Back in May this year I found myself enthralled by the amazing images I was seeing of the Milky Way captured in a style known as landscape astrophotography. So I began reading about the many ways these photos can be made and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they can be taken in a single exposure using a regular camera mounted on a tripod. No telescope or other astronomical gear was necessary. As I explored several on-line sources (Lonely Speck was especially helpful), I learned that the bulk of these photos seemed to be taken with full frame Nikons, Canons, and more recently, Sonys. However, APC and micro four-thirds cameras had been used successfully to capture such images, too.

One potential obstacle was that none of the photos I saw were taken in my part of North America. I live in mid-Missouri, which is right in the middle of the USA, and Missouri summers—summer is the peak of the Milky Way season in the northern hemisphere—are known for their high humidity. Because clear, dark skies are key to this type of photography, I was dismayed at the possibility that these photos could be captured only in arid locations with very dark skies (e.g., Utah, parts of Texas, etc.). I posted an inquiry about this on dpreview’s astrophotography forum and several responses indicated that this type of photography ought to be possible in Missouri in certain dark sky locations.

So I bought a Rokinon 12mm f2.0 lens for my Oly OM-D E-M5 II (to which I had upgraded in the spring by trading in my Mark I for it), headlamp with a red bulb, and a Sirui T-025X tripod with a ball head. Using the Dark Sky Finder site and app, I discovered that Arrow Rock State Park, which is 40 miles from my home, has very dark skies. Then checking on-line sources for moonrises and settings as well as the end of astronomical twilight, I identified August 11 and 12 as the days that would work best for me to drive to the park and have my first go at this type of photography. The Sky Guide app showed me exactly where to look for the Milky Way. I did some practicing with my equipment on my rear deck to become more familiar with it in the dark, too.

At the park I found a nearly perfect location in which to set up, and after about 9:00 p.m. began taking photographs. I set the E-M5 II to a shutter speed of 20 seconds, ISO to 1600, and the aperture to f2.0. I also set the self-timer to a 12-second delay to allow plenty of time for the vibrations to dissipate (didn’t use the WiFi remote with my phone because I was concerned about battery life in both phone and camera). And for the next 15 minutes proceeded to photograph the inside of my lens cap! (Geoffrey and Guy are rolling on the floor LOLing right now.) I guess I was pretty excited and rationalized away the LCD view of a black field with blue sparkles even though I knew from practice that I should have been seeing something else.

Switching to the time-honored technique of removing the lens cap before clicking the shutter, my results improved considerably. The photo below is from the evening of August 11 and was accidentally taken with a 25-second exposure. I apparently moved the shutter speed control when I shifted the camera from landscape to portrait orientation on the tripod. This would increase the star trailing, but I think you have to pixel peep to see that. And the increased amount of light gathered probably improved the photo otherwise. I converted the raw file in DXO and then sent it to Lightroom for more processing, including the use of a preset from Lonely Speck.

The second photo is from the evening of August 12, and it is actually two images merged vertically to create a “panorama.” I was trying to capture more of the Milky Way by doing this, but I don’t think I really got any more of it than with some of the single exposures. I pp’d it in the same two programs as the first, but with more blue than the first one to see how that effect worked. Still not sure which way I like better.

I know there have been inquiries in this forum from time to time about using m43 cameras for this type of photography, so I thought it could be helpful to those thinking about it if I posted my experience and results. It certainly looks like this kind of photography can be done with m43 cameras—and in places like mid-Missouri.

And remember to remove that lens cap!

Al

f2.0, 25 seconds, ISO 1600  Taken at 9:43 p.m. on August 11, 2015

f2.0, 20 seconds, ISO 1600, two merged images taken at 10:50 & 10:51 p.m., respectively, on August 12, 2015