Back in January I wrote a post about my photography goals for 2017. It is with great excitement that I can say I have accomplished one of these goals – I photographed the Milky Way.

Along with last week’s solar eclipse came a new moon. A perfect window of a few days with extremely dark skies. I decided it was finally time to try and make this happen. Last Wednesday night my boyfriend and I got our cameras ready and drove down to Robert Moses State Park around 9pm and heading to field 2, which is open for stargazing. For anyone who isn’t familiar, Robert Moses is a beach on the south shore of Long Island, New York and a favorite spot of mine.

I had done tons of research to make sure I would be able to see and capture this beautiful sight. The odds are against us here in New York, with NYC’s lights brightening the sky from miles away. At this time of year the Milky Way is usually visible fairly early after sunset in the southern part of the sky. This was perfect because the beach is on the south shore of Long Island, which would place the Milky Way towards the water, over the darkest parts of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.

We made it down to the beach and it was incredibly dark, even eerie being there at night. I stepped out of the car and I’m pretty sure I teared up a little. With the naked eye the Milky Way was faint but clearly visible in the sky. I couldn’t believe what I’ve wanted to see and photograph for so long was a short drive from home, being at the right place at the right time. I set up my tripod and camera along with my wide angle lens and experimented with multiple settings adjusting exposure time and ISO. I took tons of photos and have shared my favorites below. I hope everyone can someday experience seeing the Milky Way and its wonders.

Website – www.ericamengouchian.com

Instagram – @erica_mengouchian