First Attempt - Canon 7D

Here is a photo from my first attempt with my Canon 7D at the Milk Way. I live in Southern MN in a small town of 10,000 and 10 miles north of Mankato MN which size is 40,000. So city lights are hard to stay away from.

Canon 7D, Canon EF-S 10mm-22mm, ISO 6400, f4.5, 20 seconds

IMAGE LINK: http://s305.photobucke​t.com …0494_zps19d1135​1.jpg.html

So much light pollution......

You got it and almost there.
Now the challenge is to find that right location and right time.

Next time turn your ISO down to 3200 or 4000 at the highest and shoot at 10mm. Open that aperture up some more if you can or is f/4.5 the fastest? Also exposure for 30 seconds with that 10mm. If you have a remote expose a little longer, but no longer than 37 or 38 seconds. Don't forget your mirror lock and drive a little farther away from your town and you'll see some promising results.

NavyDiver911 wrote in post #16225953
Next time turn your ISO down to 3200 or 4000 at the highest and shoot at 10mm. Open that aperture up some more if you can or is f/4.5 the fastest? Also exposure for 30 seconds with that 10mm. If you have a remote expose a little longer, but no longer than 37 or 38 seconds. Don't forget your mirror lock and drive a little farther away from your town and you'll see some promising results.

At shutter speeds that long wont star trails start to become noticeable?

I start to notice star 'blobs' just higher than 30 seconds.

Here's a shot taken at 36" or 38" seconds. I don't see any trails. Do you? Here's an old adage for all those who are new to shooting the night sky. 600/(focal length) will give you your maximum allowable exposure without noticing star trails. I personally use 500/(focal length) because I like to be a bit more conservative. Now of course if you pixel peak you'll notice them, but they'll be very very small trails.

Thanks for the advice.