Yesterday I explored a park that is new to me. Observatory Park in Montville, Ohio is part of the Geauga Park District. It's a wonderful educational park with exhibits on weather, seismology and astronomy. At its dedication in 2011, Observatory Park received permanent distinction from the International Dark-Sky Association as a Silver Tier Dark Sky Park. As of May 2016, it was one of only 25 Dark Sky Parks in the U.S. (one of only five east of the Mississippi) and 34 in the world.

I went out to the park in the morning to scout it out during daylight. Took a nice walk through the Woodland Trail. With the clouds clearing in the evening, I decided to go back for stargazing and to try to get some shots of the Milky Way. The sky wasn't quite as dark as I had hoped, especially around the horizon.

I tried star shots one time several years ago, without much success. The camera and lenses I was using at the time were not adequate for night shooting. After upgrading my gear, and learning about the Dark Sky site, i decided to give it a try. I did some internet research to find out the proper settings and technique for shooting, and additional research to learn how to process the photos.

Here's my first real attempt at Milky Way and star photography.