Last month I tried shooting the Milky Way from my backyard in Phoenix and got nothing but orange glow

I live in downtown Phoenix where the light pollution is brutal, and I spent an hour trying to get a decent shot of the Milky Way with my Canon Rebel T7. All I got was this washed out orange mess in every frame. Does anyone have a cheap filter or editing trick that works for urban astrophotography?

3 comments

3 Comments

nelson.wren11d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain. I tried the same thing from my driveway in Tempe last July and ended up with a photo that looked more like a dirty pumpkin than a galaxy. I picked up a cheap NiSi natural night filter for around 60 bucks and it did cut down some of the worst of the orange glow, but honestly the biggest help was just driving 20 minutes out to the Superstitions on a moonless night. No editing trick can fix what the city throws at you.

jordan_hill11d agoProlific Poster

Dude, yes! I had the exact same thing happen from my backyard in Phoenix. That orange glow is brutal. I spent like two hours tweaking the white balance and curves in Lightroom and it still looked like I was shooting inside a sodium vapor lamp factory. The second I drove out to the Sonoran Desert National Monument, it was night and day difference. Even with a cheap kit lens, the stars actually showed up. Those filters help a little but you can't beat getting away from city lights...

karen_carter10d ago

Read that a light pollution filter plus some exposure stacking can help a little in the city.