Ignacio Fernández is a full-time photographer, dueling between wedding photography and astrophotography. “When I discovered nightscapes 10 years ago, I knew I had to capture the Milky Way myself,” he says. “What I didn’t know was that it would completely change my life. When I’m not working at a wedding, curiously enough, the moon and clouds decide the plan for the night.” We came across this awe-inspiring Milky Way image he created with a powerful combination of Sony Alpha cameras and sharp Sony prime lenses and had to learn more. Keep reading as he shares his story behind the shot.
Product Preview – In This Article You'll Find:
–Sony Alpha 7 IV
–Sony Alpha 7 III
–Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master
–Sony 20mm f/1.8 G
Photo by Ignacio Fernández. Sky: Sony Alpha 7 III (astro-modified). Sony 20mm f/1.8 G. Foreground: Sony Alpha 7 IV. Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master.
Finding A Granada Nightscape
Taken in Granada, as it is where I live and my usual workaround, I went to Cumbres Verdes. It’s relatively dark, good enough to capture the full arch of the summer Milky Way. What I do is search for places with a dark sky and an interesting subject in the foreground that aligns with the sky in reality. Even though our eyes can’t capture this much light, the camera can, and the photo is astronomically correct. Sometimes I go to a new location and improvise, looking for something like a rock or structure with the sky above. But for this shot, I had imagined it this way beforehand, as I had planned it for three years.
The Essential Gear For Astrophotography
For this photo I used two different cameras and two different lenses. For the foreground, I used the Sony Alpha 7 IV with the Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master, as it’s a powerful combination of a super wide lens and a body that handles noise excellently. And for the sky – here’s the interesting part – I used a Sony Alpha 7 III astromodified with the Sony 20mm f/1.8 G. An astromodification means that the UV/IR cut filter that every camera has has been removed to allow the capture of Hydrogen-alpha (all the red nebulae).
My astromodified camera also has an Astronomik L3 filter, which makes it even better for astrophotography, as it can slightly block the light pollution coming from the nearby cities. The 20mm is my favorite lens to take these kinds of photos, where the panorama is wide and the arch rises high in the sky. With it, I can capture the entire arch in a single row, having enough space both below and above the Milky Way band.
Photographer Ignacio Fernández and his astropanorama setup
Crafting The Perfect Composite
As I wanted to enhance the foreground with the car trails, I coordinated with my usual photography partner. He was driving the car while I handled the camera and the exposure. The challenge was getting a properly illuminated foreground without blowing out the lights. To achieve that, I set my camera to bulb mode, stopped down the lens to f/7.1, and took an HDR with three different exposures. It’s a single panel with the camera in a horizontal position.
As for the sky, I almost always take panoramas, since they have multiple advantages. With the bright monitoring function, I can see the Milky Way’s position in real time. Using my astropanorama setup, I took five shots of 60 seconds each, using a star tracker to avoid trails. It’s five shots of 60 seconds at ISO 640 and f/1.8 per panel, because in astrophotography, stacking is a must. This way, by taking multiple exposures with the exact same settings, the noise in the sky is reduced and the structures appear stronger. The more it's stacked, the less noise and the more signal there is to work with. (Editor’s Note: Learn more about capturing the night sky in How To Capture Sharp Stars For Stunning Astrophotography.)
I was using the Sunway 3640CM tripod, as it’s capable of handling a lot of weight without shaking, even under windy conditions.
Advanced Editing Techniques In Astrophotography
The sky takes the most time to process. I use a combination of PixInsight and Astro Pixel Processor, both astrophotography software, along with the well-known Photoshop. I treat my sky images like a deep sky photo of a nebula or a galaxy to get the most detail I can out of them.
The foreground is simpler to edit. I start in Lightroom and finish in Photoshop. Once both parts are complete, it’s time for the blending—a tricky stage where the sky and the foreground become one, and they need to match in both color and light. This is where we can get a bit more creative, and every astrophotographer has their own style.
See more of Ignacio Fernández’s work on Instagram @igneis.nightscapes.
Explore more stories behind the shot HERE.
