Astro Photography

I had been wanting to capture the ideal star scene photograph so 

off onto the internet to research how to do this. I realized from the 

start that light pollution was going to be a factor but continued on 

regardless.

Below I have listed a few notes when considering a starscape

photo shoot,

1. Clear night - goes without saying but if there's clouds you will

    not see the stars, when I went out on my shoot it was clear but

    a fog rolled in half way through the shoot.

2. No moon - the moon is like a mini sun, if you have the moon in

    the sky you will see less stars so leave it out, a quarter moon will

    help illuminate foreground.

3. Tide - this will be a factor in a coastal photograph.

4. Know what's happening above our head, plan for dynamic

     celestial events, meteor showers, milky way core, moon rise, 

     recognisable constellations and northern lights use an app

     like starwalk to give you an idea where the constellations are 

     located in relation to your position, I was lucky to get Orion

     into one of my photographs.

5. Adjust the position of your camera while the image preview

    screen is on, this will help you compose your shot correctly.

6. Sheltered location far away from any cities or towns as this will

    lead to light pollution in the final photograph.

7. Remote trigger for shutter release, mirror lockup engaged and

    of course a good sturdy tripod is essential.

8. A Good wide angle lens typically around 12-24mm f/1.8 range.

9. Use an aperture 1 stop above the lowest spec on the lens, i.e. if

    your using a 17-40mm f/4.0 lens set your aperture to f/5.6.

10. If your camera has a live view function turn it on as it will help

      you to visualize the final scene in the dark.

11. Torches - shine at ground to protect night vision, lantern type

      for initial set up and a small low power torch or red light to preserve

      night vision for changing camera settings.

12. Typical camera settings - 

      Tv   - 20 - 30 seconds exposure time

      Av   - f/2.8 - f/5.6

      ISO - 800 -  6400 ( typically around 1600)

      WB - 4000 ( early morning/late evening)

      Focus - set to infinity

      Remote shutter release

13. Use the 600 rule - divide 600 by your focal length to get your

      maximum exposure time, help to avoid star trails.

14. For star trails locate the pole start, shoot a series of frames over

      30 minutes, use an interval timer, load final images into a stack in 

       photoshop.

15. Photographing the Milky way, 

        . Location with minimal light pollution.

        . Include eye catching foreground.

        . Photograph from February to October.

       . Best time midnight to 06:00 am.

16 Northern lights, typical settings, 14/24mm, 1.3 second exposure 

      at f/1.8 and iso 8000, use web sites for Aurora forecast example

      www.auroraforecast.com

17. Editing final image in photoshop,

          . Adjust Dehaze

         . Adjust highlights

         . Adjust clarity

         . Noise reduction

Remember to keep the final edit realistic and not over processed.

This was my first star scape outing and I am definitely not an expert 

on the subject but may the above information will help someone else 

who has interest in this type of photography.