1 TO 1 ONLINE ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY COURSES
Overcome anything that prevents you from capturing the magic of the night sky.
Location selection
The right location is key in landscape astrophotography.
Light pollution dramatically reduces our ability to capture this magic that gallops over our heads at night.
Choosing a location to photograph far from the city dramatically increases the clarity of the celestial bodies in your photo.
You also gain access to a greater variety of landscapes, which brings us to the next chapter:
Composition
Undoubtedly, our home galaxy is an impressive subject, the protagonist in this kind of photography.
But don't forget that the celestial bodies have been essentially the same for billions of years. So how can your composition stand out?
It's the landscape you put in your frame that makes the difference.
Even if it is a landscape photographed to death, you always have the option to introduce your own perspective by carefully choosing where you stand, the direction you face and the angle of view.
Equipment
Apart from the creative part, there is also the technical part. In other types of photography this may not be the case, but in landscape astrophotography, photographic equipment is crucial.
Camera, lens, tripod, star tracker, everything plays a crucial role.
Yes if you know what you're doing you can get a good result with inferior equipment but at what cost? You will spend more time during the shoot and afterwards to overcome the weaknesses of your equipment.
It should be noted that competent equipment does not necessarily mean expensive. The general rule is indeed that, but as with any rule, there are exceptions.
Shot
Perhaps the most enjoyable part for many photographers. For me, certainly. So much so that I have made the mistake of running around at the location I chose and photographing anything that caught my attention.
Nice recipe for ending up with images on your memory card that you'll look at later on your computer and wonder what the hell was in your head.
As good as it feels to work spontaneously, and no doubt sometimes this makes us more creative, it is very important to have a plan in advance of the possible compositions in your chosen location and what techniques you need to use to achieve the result you want.
Keep in mind that astrophotography is another front in the primordial battle of light versus darkness: You are in the darkness, struggling to collect the scant light from celestial bodies.
Techniques such as long exposure, frame stacking, mosaic stitching and star tracking are valuable to get sufficient image quality on your desired composition.
Processing
Good. You got the shots you wanted, went back to your warm and cozy home and hoping that everything has gone smoothly so far, you have on your computer clean raw files filled with the beauty you met out there.
This is where the long road of processing these files begins. Processing that is necessary to bring out the textures, colors and details of the celestial bodies.
Statistically, processing is more time-consuming than the downloading process itself and requires you to be well aware of the programs of your choice. Of course, the more you practice, the faster you will be able to reach the final result, ready for presentation and printing.
How do I help you with all this?
The vast majority of people at the mere hearing of the process of astrophotography landscape photography feel a strange combination of awe and revulsion.
If you're still reading me, you may not belong to this category of people.
Maybe you too feel magnetized by that otherworldly magic that's out there while people go about their business indifferently.
Maybe you want to go out there and meet with it. Experience it with your whole being.
But you haven't done it yet because there are all sorts of technical hurdles that seem like a mountain.
I have spent endless nights out there struggling with the scarce light, the elements of nature, the weaknesses of my equipment and my own weaknesses.
Sometimes with company, sometimes all alone without any distraction.
Everything I learned I learned on my own, experimenting and studying carefully the work of other astrophotographers.
You don't have to learn everything on your own. I'd be happy to help you with anything that keeps you from capturing the magic of the night sky.
Send me a message and tell me what's the #1 hurdle in your astrophotography.
