Milky and Smoky

A recent vacation which included east Tennessee produced these three images during a a clear night in the Chilhowee foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, about 15 miles southeast of Knoxville. The two Milky Way images above, both shot around 9:19 pm EDT, are 20-second exposures at f/3.5, 2500 ISO and 18mm focal length. The house seen in the foreground was "light painted" with a flashlight for about a second or so. Both images look southwest.

This starry sky scene was captured nearby around 9:00 pm EDT, looks east, and is a 30-second exposure. Nikon D5000 DSLR camera.