Are you ready for the Perseids? They peak on Thursday AM but the show can be at its best within a couple days of the peak. Several years ago two mornings before was the best…it all just depends on when we pass through the cosmic comet debris from Swift-Tuttle. This year will be extra special because of the new moon, making watching extra bright!

Here are some of the shooters I caught from years past! Can’t wait to hear your experience with the cosmic light show!

FYI, best time is after midnight to dawn; if you’ve never witnessed a show; get a nice lounge chair and just look up, and let your eyes scan into infinity…when one shoots, your eyes will automatically focus on it. If you are a counter like me (it keeps me awake), use your fingers or you’ll likely lose count; or there are cell phone apps for that!

If you are going to take pictures, get a tripod and a shutter remote, switch over to manual exposure mode, set to lowest f-stop/aperture setting, iso needs to be fairly low or it will get noisy, exposure for up to 8 seconds (if you go over 8 the stars will be blurry, my rule of thumb). Zoom out as far as you can go, turn off auto-focus and image stabilization (it moves the mirror and eats battery), and lock on the shutter remote! Oh, and focus, that is the hard part, you can try auto-focus but you should turn it off after you get a good focus, which will likely require some experimentation. Have fun!