Coastal Milky Way in San Diego

Blue Hour Milky Way Over The Tidepools at Windansea Beach

This is a 7 exposure vertical panorama. Each frame was shot at 8 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200 with a Canon 6D and Canon 50mm "nifty fifty" lens. I then stitched the frames together using Hugin. There are some nice tidepools here among the rock formations covered in green algae. The blue hour is the period of twilight (in the morning or evening, around the nautical stage) when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade. While the sky on the coast of San Diego is nowhere near as dark as the mountains and deserts of San Diego County, tonight was about as good as it can get for shooting the Milky Way on the coast. Humidity was around 60-70%, the marine layer was thin, and there were few clouds in the sky.

Milky Waves At Swami's

The Milky Way and a few clouds over the surf and some rocks/tidepools at Swami's Beach in Encinitas (San Diego County). This is a single exposure shot with a Canon 6D and Sigma 15mm EX DG lens. 13 sec f/2.8 ISO 3200. Met up with Brian Jolliffe to shoot the Milky Way here. This was some of the Milky Way shooting conditions I've ever experience in San Diego County. Since the Milky Way core is positioned out over the ocean and away from urban light pollution, it's possible to shoot it here on the coast this time of year. Swami’s Surf Beach is a famous surfing mecca at the south end of Encinitas, CA. The park at Swami’s Beach is a great vantage point for watching surfers and has shaded areas to enjoy a picnic as well.

Lifeguard Tower and the Milky Way at Cardiff State Beach in San Diego

The extremely dry (unusual for the coast) weather brought on by the Santa Ana winds continues to provide good conditions for shooting the Milky Way off the coast of San Diego County. It also helps that the galaxy core was is in the southwestern sky this time of year and away from any urban light pollution. This is a single exposure shot with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens at 15 sec f/4 ISO 4000.

Lifeguard Tower and the Milky Way at Cardiff State Beach in San Diego

The extremely dry (unusual for the coast) weather brought on by the Santa Ana winds continues to provide good conditions for shooting the Milky Way off the coast of San Diego County. It also helps that the galaxy core was is in the southwestern sky this time of year and away from any urban light pollution. This is a single exposure shot with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens at 15 sec f/4 ISO 4000.

Feet Up Friday With the Coastal Milky Way

🎵But first, let me take a selfie. Self-portrait at a lifeguard tower at Cardiff Beach with the Milky Way in the background. The extremely dry (unusual for the coast) weather brought on by the Santa Ana winds continues to provide good conditions for shooting the Milky Way off the coast of San Diego County. It also helps that the galaxy core was is in the southwestern sky this time of year and away from any urban light pollution. This is a single exposure shot with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens at 15 sec f/4 ISO 4000.

Subtle Milky Way Off The Coast Of San Diego During The Warm Pastel Colors Of Twilight.

This year Mother Nature provided an amazing number of nights with ideal conditions for shooting the Milky Way from the coastline in San Diego County. No, the sky isn't as dark as and the Milky Way isn't as intense as it is in the more rural parts of San Diego, but being able to capture something like this not too far from the light pollution of a major city is amazing. First, the galaxy core was situated in the southwestern sky - out over the ocean where there isn't much direct light pollution. Second, the humidity was extremely low for the coastal region. Third, there were many nights were the coast was clear. So often it's humid, hazy, and/or cloudy on the coast in the evening in San Diego. Not such much this year - until November. I shot this on October 26, 2019 but just now got around to processing at posting it. This is a similar composition that I posted a couple weeks ago, but it was shot earlier in the evening at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park in San Diego, California. Shot with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens at 13 sec f/4 ISO 3200.

Milky Way Off The Coast Of San Diego At Sunset Cliffs

I shot these nice sandstone formations from Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. I had never explored THIS particular portion of Sunset Cliffs until tonight - despite living in San Diego since the late 1980's. This is a panorama (though cropped to standard proportions) of 6 individual frames shot at 15 sec f/4 ISO 3200 19mm with a Canon 6D and Canon 17-40mm f/4L lens. Unless we get some dry Santa Ana condition again in the next few days, tonight may have been my final coastal Milky Way shooting session until next year. I have several more shots I took here and Cardiff Beach and will be posting them over the next several days.