• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Summer/Fall 2022 Milky Way Season

Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
585
Location
Macomb, IL
Figured I would start another thread this year for Milky Way stuff. The last couple nights have been clear here which has been rare this year. Not to mention last night we dropped down to 51 and had clear skies and dry conditions, which were perfect for viewing the Milky Way galaxy. I shot several frames with my wide angle and then several with my 135mm F/1.8 G Master showing deeper into the Milky Way. These were shot on July 27-29, 2022 N of Brooklyn, IL in Schuyler County:

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July 27, 2022 N of Brooklyn, IL shot with my Sony A1 at ISO 12,800, 5" shutter speed, and F/1.4 at 24mm.

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Shot on July 28, 2022 around 11:30pm with my Sony A7SIII and 135mm F/1.8 G Master lens at 1.3 second shutter speed and ISO 6400. Pretty much straight out of camera, no crops.

Milky Way 135mm G Master.jpg
Same area as above except 6 images at 135mm stitched together for a wider field of view

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Testing out the Sony 35mm F/1.4 G Master on my Sony A7IV. Pretty impressed with the results. This was at ISO 12,800 and 4" shutter speed N of Industry, IL

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Same as above except I used the 24mm F/1.4 G Master lens.

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Final shot of the evening just N of the town of Brooklyn, IL looking due south. The lights are likely from Rushville.

I should hopefully have more to post over the next month or two pending clouds and lunar cycles...
 
What's the milky way?? we don't have that here .LOL.LOL.

Beautiful pic's! love seeing night-sky photos like that.
 
A few more shots from likely the last night of viewing before the next lunar cycle. Shot last night south of Colchester, IL with my Sony A7SIII + 135mm F/1.8 GM lens and 35mm F/1.4 GM lens:

July 30 Milky Way Pano 135 GM.jpg
Panoramic of the Milky Way rising above the trees south of Colchester last night. Shot at ISO 25,600, 1" exposure, F/1.8, 135mm (8 photos stitched together).

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Tighter view of a single frame of the above image, same settings

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Tighter shot using my Sony A1 and 135mm F/1.8 lens on APS-C mode (effectively 203mm at F/1.8 and cropped some).

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Vertical shot of the milky way with a meteor going through it. Shot NE of Industry, IL.
 
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