Sea Isle City, N.J. Photography Areas

Where to Do Photography & the Milky Way

Sea Isle City, N.J. Photography Location

The city of Isle offers a plethora of subjects for photographers to capture, whether it is day, night, or Milky Way photography. No matter which genre you choose, there’s bound to be something that will pique your interest and satisfy your creative vision. While it can get crowded during peak summer weekends, the atmosphere in this town is laid back and friendly compared to other nearby shore towns filled with bustling hotels, restaurants, and bars. Most accommodations here are weekly or summer rentals, but The Colonnade Inn, mentioned in our article, offers shorter stays and is highly recommended as a fabulous place to stay.

AVALON is right next door. You can photograph the Milky Way here and in the neighboring towns. Avalon, N.J., is also a Milky Way photography hot spot.

The Colonnade Inn – The only place we stay when we are in town.

4600 Landis Avenue Sea Isle City, N.J.

609-263-8868

HOW TO SHOOT MILKY WAY & WHAT GEAR YOU NEED


LIGHT POLLUTION MAP:

Check out a Light pollution map before you pick your dark sky location where the Milky Way is visible.

CAMERA:

You will need a camera to manually control your ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.

LENS:

A fast, wide-angle lens of 1.4 – 2.8 is ideal. If you use a 3.5 or higher (slower lens), you must increase the ISO. The higher the ISO, the more grain or digital noise or grain in your photos.

TRIPOD:

A good, sturdy tripod is essential for night photography. If it gets windy, you will need a sturdy one. Remember that when you buy one, it should be sturdy enough to withstand the wind but small enough to fit in your suitcase.

SKY-MAP:

Sky Guide is available through the iTunes Store for $1.99. It has a 5 out of 5-star rating on both the current (3.2) version (1200+ ratings) and all previous versions (8600+ ratings).

FLASHLIGHT:

Our choice is Coast brand for flashlights. The ideal flashlight will have high lumens, and you can zoom in and out on the light emitting from the flashlight. Get the HP7, PX45, or the G50. Ideally, go with the  HP7.

MOON PHAZE MAP:

The best time to go is during a new moon; you want to be in the darkest area possible. The week before the new moon, when the moon has not risen, is a perfect time to go, so check the moonrise chart to see when the moon will be up.

REMOTE SHUTTER RELEASE:

When painting with light and you want to go over a 30-second exposure, you must have a shutter release to use your bulb mode. You can use the remote release or your camera’s built-in two-second timer when exposing your pictures.

HOW TO FOCUS:

Use live view. Use your camera’s live view to focus in the dark, hit the zoom button, and focus on a bright star. You can also use the infinity setting on your lens, but do several test shots to determine accuracy. It can be off a little on some lenses. You can also light it up with a flashlight, focus, then gently, without touching the focus ring, put the camera in manual focus so it will not search for the focus. You must do this each time you move your camera to take your next angel.

Camera Settings


ISO:

Start with ISO 1600 – 3200. This is a common starting point, and you will adjust from here.

SHUTTER SPEED:

Remember, the earth is rotating. If you leave the shutter open for too long, you will see star trails that will not make for a crisp image. We want crisp, non-star trail images. Here is the formula to avoid star trails—the 500 rule – Divide 500 by the focal length of your lens. So, if you have a 24mm lens on a full-frame camera, you will set your shutter speed to 20 sec. (500/24 = 20.83). If you are using a crop sensor camera, first do the math of the crop sensor to find the focal length. Cannon is 1.6, and Nikon is 1.5. Convert to full-frame focal length, then use the formula. Nikon 18mm x 1.5= 27mm – 500/27 = 18.51 seconds.

APERTURE:

Depth of field isn’t critical in these shots, but letting light into the camera is; therefore, you should shoot wide open. If the depth of field is essential to you, try not to go too high. (Wide open =the lowest aperture your camera will allow.) You will have to increase the ISO some, which will cause digital noise.

WHITE BALANCE:

Use live view mode to change your white balance settings and see what they look like. You can also shoot in shade or cloud mode as a standard setting and adjust things later.

The best hotels while doing photography

HOTELS

THE COLONNADE INN

The only place we stay

4600 Landis Avenue Sea Isle City, N.J.

609-263-8868

Add your hotel here!

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost hunting friends to your hotel for their photography or ghost hunting trip? Put your hotel information here. We will put pictures of your hotel, the website link, the phone number and your information on your hotel.

Would you like to be a featured hotel like this article or this one?  Please send us an email.  You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.

area information - photography

AREA

INFORMATION

BEACH ENTRANCE FEES: 

Beach Tages –300 JFK Blvd. • 263-8687, Ext. 106
The Beach Tag Office is located inside the Welcome Center and is open from April through Labor Day.
Fees – 2017
Beach Tags are required for ALL BEACHES from Memorial Day Weekend
to Labor Day, 9 am to 5 pm. Tags are required for everyone 12 years and older and can be purchased on the beach.
Daily – $5 • Weekly (Sat.-Sat.) – $10
Season – $20 if purchased by May 15, then $25

Beach tags are non-refundable.
UPDATE!! 
  • Daily $10

  • Weekly (Sat.-Sat.) $15

  • Season $25 if purchased by May 15, $30 if purchased after May 15.

  • Wednesdays are FREE BEACH DAYS, except on July 4.

Wednesdays are FREE BEACH DAYS, except on July 4.
Beach Tag Office Hours
April through Labor Day, 7 days a week, 9 am-4 pm
Additionally, beach tags are on sale at the City Hall Tax Office, 233 JFK Blvd., 2nd Floor, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except holidays.
Beach Tag Vending Machine
Seasonal Beach Tags are on sale now at the season rate of $25.00 in the Beach Tag Vending Machine (vending machine accepts cash only) located in the lobby of city hall, which is accessible 24/7.
Active Military and Veterans
Beach tags may be provided at a 100% discount to qualifying active military
personnel and veterans of the following branches of service.
GOOD CAMPING

CAMPING

Add your campground here!

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your campground to stay during their ghost-hunting trip? Put your campground information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number and your information on your campground to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you. They are really good at getting there in the dark.

Would you like to be featured in an article as a place to stay while doing photography or ghost hunting? If so, please send us an email.  You will be surprised at how affordable our prices can be.


FOOD & DINING

FOOD & DINING

 

Add Your Sea Isle City Restaurant Here!

Do you want us to send our photography and ghost-hunting friends to your restaurant after their ghost-hunting trip? Put your restaurant information here. We will put a picture of your establishment, the website link, the phone number and your information on your restaurant to make it easy for our photographers and ghost hunters to find you. They are really good at getting there in the dark.

 

WEATHER

 WEATHER

Don’t forget that you can use a rain sleeve on your camera if it is raining. If it is bright and sunny, you want to use a low ISO such as 100.

If you are doing photography along with your ghost hunting on cloudy days, you can do running water or waterfall photography to avoid the glaring sun. You can also use an ND filter to get a long exposure for dramatic effects, even in the sunshine. If you ghost hunt indoors in abandoned places be careful!

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