From a personal point of view, photographing the night sky is one of the most difficult, frustrating yet ultimately rewarding aspects of photography. It requires perseverance and ultimately commitment, not least because any sane person would be in bed at 2am, rather than scrambling around in the dark with a load of camera kit. Here are a few tips to get you started on capturing the stars...
Great article James. Concise and straightforward. I was wondering though: Is there any chance of getting anything like these shots without a lens/using a compact (in this case an RX1)?
Fantastic, that's confirmed that I need to put more effort into taking night-time photos. A recent forum discussion helped and this has given me an extra boost. Some of those shots are incredible. A 14 mm lens is going on the 'to buy' list...
Excellent article James and great to see some of your other photography. I will file this info away for future reference. At least now with digital we don't have the hassle of reciprocity failure to consider these days.
Thanks Alex. You can get some very good star trail photos using a compact camera. It is harder to get a good star field shot with a compact (though it can still be done with some of the more expensive models). You're looking for a combination of large sensor and fast lens.
As the others say great article.
I've been wanting and failing to get good night shots for years and a have a reasonable camera. Quite a few articles I have read recently refer to Lightroom and photoshop but to me, that takes the art out of photography and the fun of trial and error - so much better with digital and not having the expense of printing
Just need to get to the hills and away from light polution
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Fri Night Vid Finding Focus - Life Behind The Lens of a Climbing Photographer
This week's Friday Night Video is a portrait of a prolific climbing photographer from Wedge Climbing. Sam Pratt is well known in both the outdoor and competition scene but if you haven't heard of him, you've likely seen...