Everglades Astrophotography

This summer I recently stumbled across a website on Astrophotography and thought it might be a fun thing to try.  Unfortunately, since I live so close to Miami there is too much light pollution in my area to successfully take any astrophotography photos.  Therefore, I took a 40 mile trip out into the Everglades to find a dark enough spot.  I ended up at a place called Mahogany Hammock and had a good view of the Milky Way.

I never realized how many stars there were in the sky until I went on this adventure.  It was quite an amazing expierence.  It took me a few tries to figure out what I was doing but after awhile I was able to capture a few decent shots.  One of the techniques I used was to take my flashlight and paint an object in the foreground to make it stand out during the exposure.  I got lucky in one shot and captured a shooting star going through the Milky Way.

I had a great time taking the photos but now do not know what to do with them.  I tried printing one but it did not have the same effect printed as it did on the computer screen.  The computer screen back lighting makes the stars stand out.  Printed they are flatter and the photos loose there appeal.  I will hopefully find a way to effectively print them but until then they will remain screen savers only.