Milky Way 30 Minute Exposure
Camera: Canon EOS R8
Lens: Canon RF 28-70mm f2.8
Mount: Star Adventurer GTi
Acquisition Settings: 35mm, f4, ISO 3200
Integration: 60x30s (30 minutes)
Calibration Frames: None
Processing: DSS for stacking, GraXpert to remove background gradients, Lightroom + Photoshop for final processing and editing.
Location: Tucson, AZ (Bortle ~5)
Date: August 16th, 2026
I've been learning astrophotography for a few months now, and this is the first image I've gotten that I feel truly proud of!
That said, it certainly still has room for improvement, so feedback is appreciated!
One new technique I tried for this image was removing the stars in photoshop, so I could stretch/edit the milky way dust clouds separately from the stars. Then I added the stars back to the image (I also shrank the stars a bit). I'm amazed at how much this technique improved the image! I feel like the dust clouds really pop out.