08/08/16 Featured Arkansas Landscape Photography–Milky Way over Buffalo Point, Buffalo National River

The Milky Way over the Buffalo River at Buffalo Point, Buffalo National River.

Taken with a Pentax K1 and 15-30mm lens @ 15mm and F 3.2 ISO 3200 for 2 minutes using the Pentax Astrotracer function in camera.

This was my first test for night photography with the Pentax K1, and overall I was pleased with the results from the Astrotracer feature in camera.  This photograph is a combo from a 2 minute Astrotracer shot for the MilkyWay, and several different shots for the foreground at various times.  I used a small lantern down by the bluff to add some local illumination.

Chris Kennedy and I worked for about 2 hours, starting with a very clear night sky and temperatures around 89 degrees with 100% humidity.  2 hours later the temperature was about the same, so I was sweating just standing around waiting on the camera.  But there was little to no wind so I was able to pull a nice reflection of the bluff on the river and if there had been a bit more water or a better angle by me, I might have gotten a Milky Way reflection.

Buffalo Point is one of the more popular spots on the Buffalo River, and the only campground with full electric hookups, so it will always be crowded in the summer months.  You can either reserve a campground in the lower camping loops or you can try to get a spot in loop A, where it is always first come first serve, and loop A is the original WPA worked sites.  I hope to get back to work this place in fall, both for the Milky Way and later on for Star trails.  Star Trails will be a bit more difficult due to the location of the moon and due north.

Paul Caldwell