Photography

NIGHTSKY

Photography

NIGHTSKYAFieldGuideforShootingAfterDark

JENNIFERWUANDJAMESMARTIN

TOYOU,PHOTOGRAPHERSOFTHENIGHT

MountaineersBooksisthepublishingdivisionofTheMountaineers,anorganizationfoundedin1906anddedicatedtotheexploration,preservation,andenjoymentofoutdoorandwildernessareas.

1001SWKlickitatWay,Suite201•Seattle,WA98134800.553.4453•www.mountaineersbooks.org

Copyright©2014byJenniferWuandJamesMartin

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedorutilizedinanyform,orbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher.

PrintedinChina

DistributedintheUnitedKingdombyCordee,www.cordee.co.uk

1716151412345Copyeditor:AnneMoreau

Coverdesignandlayout:PeggyEgerdahl

Coverphotograph:ShootingstaroverHalfDome,YosemiteNationalPark,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Frontispiece:CrescentmoonphotographedinYosemiteNationalPark,California.f/5.6,1/30second,ISO640,800mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

AllphotographsbyJenniferWuunlessotherwisenoted

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

Wu,Jennifer.Photographynightsky:afieldguideforshootingafterdark/JenniferWuandJamesMartin.

pagescm

Includesindex.

ISBN978-1-59485-838-3(paperback)—ISBN978-1-59485-839-0(ebook)

1.Astronomicalphotography—Handbooks,manuals,etc.2.Nightphotography—Handbooks,manuals,etc.I.Martin,James,1950-II.Title.III.Title:Nightsky.

QB121.W82014

522’.63–dc23

2013028305

ISBN(paperback):978-1-59485-838-3ISBN(ebook):978-1-59485-839-0

CONTENTSPreface

Introduction

CHAPTER1 COMPOSITIONDefiningtheSubject

FramingatNight

EstablishingtheForeground

Light-PaintingtheForeground

CombiningImages

ControllingUnwantedLight

CHAPTER2 EQUIPMENTCameras

Lenses

Filters

Tripods

Intervalometers

CHAPTER3 PREPARINGTOSHOOTPreliminaryResearch

FieldConditions

Checklist:BeforeYouShoot

CHAPTER4 FOCUSAutofocus

ManualFocuswithLCD

Checklist:StepsforManuallyFocusingonaStar

FocusthroughTrialandError

CHAPTER5 CAMERASETTINGS

ColorTemperature

Exposure

CameraPresets

CHAPTER6 STARSASPOINTSOFLIGHTWide-AngleLens

ShutterSpeed

500Rule

Aperture,ISO,andExposure

Checklist:CameraSettingsforStarsasPointsofLight

BlackGloveTechnique

Panoramas

CHAPTER7 STARTRAILSComposingtheImage

DeterminingExposure

UsinganIntervalometerorBulbMode

Checklist:CameraSettingsforStackedStarTrails

CHAPTER8 THEMOONDeterminingExposure

FullMoon

CrescentMoon

StarburstMoon

HalosandClouds

Eclipse

Moonlight

Moonbows

CHAPTER9 TWILIGHTDeterminingExposure

UrbanNights

CHAPTER10 CELESTIALPHENOMENAZodiacalLight

IridiumFlares

Meteors

NoctilucentClouds

Auroras

Volcanoes

CHAPTER11 POST-PROCESSINGNIGHTIMAGESProcessingStarsasPointsofLight

ProcessingStarTrails

ProcessingCombinedImages

AFinalNoteofEncouragement

Resources

Glossary

Acknowledgments

Index

PREFACEAs a landscape photographer, I’ve spent hundreds of nights sleeping under the stars. Ienjoymoonriseandmoonset—thefullmoonhanginglikealanternoverthehorizonorthefirst crescent of the lunar cycle chasing the sunset. However, I lovemost the glowingMilkyWayslicingthroughthemidsummersky.Thatdustingofstars,aminusculefractionof the hundredmillion in our galaxy, is enough to bring forth the deepest questions ofexistenceandignitealoveofthegreatbeautyoftheuniverse.

Iwanted to capture that beauty and splendorwithmy camera, to place the darkenedlandscape against the bright stars of the night sky.My early attempts left much to bedesired,butovertimeeachissueIencounteredwasresolvedtomysatisfaction.Ibegantocreate images that approached what I was looking for in night sky images. Starphotography, I found, allows us to seemore deeply into the galaxy.Hidden colors arerevealed,andstarstoodimforthehumaneyetoperceiveappearlikemagicintheimage.

ThebookyouholdistheresultofJamesMartin’ssuggestionthatIwriteonthesubjectof night sky photography. I liked the idea of explaining the issues and techniquesparticulartocapturingthenightsky,soweagreedtocollaborate.

ItwasbytrialanderrorthatIdiscoveredhowtophotographthestarsaspointsoflightas Iwasnot shownbyanyonehow todo that.The resultsof thoseexperimentsare thefoundationofthisbook.TheyarethetechniquesIfindthatworkbest,atleasttomytaste.Photographyisaboutpersonalvision.Thisbookisatoolbox;usethetoolsasyouseefit.Iwon’t be bothered if you prefer a different color balance or opt for a greater sense ofmotioninstarfieldsthanI.Myhopeisthatyouwillfindavisionofyourown,enjoythecreativeprocess,andsharethebeautyofthenightlandscapewithothers.

JenniferWu

Thisartist’sconceptillustratestheMilkyWay’selegantspiralstructureasdominatedbytwoarms.CourtesyNASA/JPL-Caltech/R.Hurt(SSC/Caltech)

INTRODUCTIONOurplanetsitsontheouteredgeoftheMilkyWaygalaxy,apin-wheelingdiskcomposedof200billionto400billionstars,onegalaxyamonghundredsofbillions.However,wecanseeonlyafewthousandatatimewiththenakedeye.Becauseweareneartheedgeofthisrotatingdisk,we’removingfast,abouthalfamillionmilesanhour.Evenso,ittakes225millionyearsforthegalaxytocompleteonerevolution.

Thedensestconcentrationofstarsisinthemiddleofthedisk,about30,000light-yearsaway.WhenwesaywearelookingattheMilkyWay,wemeanthebandofthegreatestdensity.Everystarweseeispartofourgalaxy.

Astheearthorbitsthesun,weseedifferentpartsofthesky.InwinterinNorthAmerica,welooktowardtheouteredges,withfewstarsthataresetawayfromthecenter,andthesun and its lightmasking the glowing heart of the galaxy.However, in June, July, andAugust,welooktotheareawiththedensestconcentrationofstarsandgasses—somanystarswecan’ttellthemapart.

IfyoulookupfromtheNorthPoleonaclearwinter’snight,youcanwatchtheNorthStar floating immobile in the sky.A time-lapsewould show the constellations spinningarounditcounterclockwise.Halfwaytotheequator,atthe45thparallel—whichisroughlythe latitude of Portland, Oregon; Minneapolis; and Milan—the North Star is halfwaybetweenthehorizonandthepointdirectlyaboveyourhead.Justnorthof theequator, itwould skim along the horizon. An hours-long exposure of the night sky capturedphotographingstraightupfromtheSouthPolewouldlooklikeconcentriccircles.Atime-lapsewouldshowthestarstravelingclockwise.

The stars provide a wonderful backdrop for night photography, but the sky aboundswithother objects andphenomena.Meteors streak across the sky.Cometsorbit the sunfrom the farthest reaches of the solar system, their tails pointing away from the sunwhethercomingorgoing.Aurorasflameanddanceatthepoles.TheBeltofVenuspaintsthehorizonpink formereminuteseach twilight.Themoonshifts its shapedaybyday.Learning theartofphotographingatnightwillallowyou tocapture thebeautyof thesecelestialvisions.

THEARTOFNIGHTSKYPHOTOGRAPHYPhotographing the night sky can challenge the most accomplished photographer. Weconstantlybattlethelawsofphysics,thelimitationsofequipment,ever-changingweather,andtheintrusionsofotherpeople.Digitalsensorsgeneratenoiseduringlongexposures,clouds and dew obscure the stars, passing headlights blow out foregrounds, and somenightsgrowexceedinglycold,drainingbatteriesandnumbingfingers.Inthisbookwewilllookathowtoovercomethechallengesoftechnology,weather,anddarkness.

TheMilkyWayreflected,YosemiteNationalPark,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Still,whenproperlydone,therewardsareworthalltheeffort.Withalongexposure,thesensorpicksup faint stars, invisible to thenakedeye, as theyglitter likediamonddust.StartrailsrevolvingaroundtheNorthStar(Polaris)testifytotherotationoftheglobe.Thesensorcaptures the last tintsof twilightglowonthehorizon,gradingfromredtocobaltblue.

DuringoneofmyfirstnightsphotographingtheMilkyWay,InoticedmorestarsontheLCDthanIsawlookingatthesky.Puzzled,Itriedanexperiment.Iphotographedadarkarea between two bright stars and viewed the image. There were somany stars I wasamazed.Becauseacamera’ssensorpicksupmorelightthanoureyes,thepossibilitiesforphotographingtheMilkyWayandthestars—forcreatingfantasticviewsofthesky—farexceedwhatstrikesthenakedeye.TheMilkyWaylookslikeawhitebandoflighttooureyes,butthecamerapicksupevenmorestarsaswellasthegasseswecannotsee.

Asyouphotographattwilightandatnight,you’llcometorecognizethebestmomenttophotographasthecoloroftheskychanges.You’llknowbyglancingataphotographoftheMilkyWayinwhatseasontheimagewascaptured.You’llrecognizescenesthatcouldbecomegreatforegrounds,visualizinghowthestarswouldworkasabackground.Shutterspeed, ISO, and color temperature change shot to shot within a narrow range, and thetechniquesneededtocreateacompetentphotographareeasytograsp.Theartofnightskyphotographycentersonhowtobringanimagetolife—tomeldforegroundandstarsintoastrikingcomposition.

ABOUTTHEBOOK

Thisbookconcentratesonphotographingfourprincipalsubjects:starsaspointsoflight,star trails, the moon, and twilight. These subjects share common techniques andconsiderations, but each requires a distinct approach. In addition, the book will covertechniquesforphotographingotherphenomenainthenightskysuchasauroras,meteors,andfalsedawns.

Once captured, the images need to be processed on the computer, a practicewe callpost-processing.Thesettingsandpost-processingproceduresthatcanliftanimagefrommundane to striking are presented at the end of the book. Impeccable technique is notenough.Strivetoelevateyourphotographyconceptuallyaswell.Applyingafewsimplecompositionalpreceptscantransformalifelesssnapshotintoadynamicphotograph.

Lookforsidebarswithtips,checkliststohelpyouorganizeaseamlessshoot,andextrainformation in“Shootingwith Jennifer” sidebars to spuryourprogressand inspireyourwork.Bookmarkthechecklistsforeasyreferencewhenyouaregettingpreparedorareoutinthefield.

1COMPOSITION

Crescentmoonplacedbetweenthebranchesofthedeadtreeinsilhouetteattwilight,WhiteMountains,California.f/22,10seconds,ISO100,24–70mmat70mm,CanonEOS5D.

C reativecompositionmakesthephotographcompellingwhiletechniquemerelyunveilsthecomposition.Aperfectlyexposed,impeccablysharpimagemeansnothingunless

thephotographpresentsastrongarrangementofcompositionalelements.

Compositionisdoublyimportantwhenphotographingthenightskytoavoidrepetitionandmonotony.Onetightshotofafullmoonlookslikeanother.AperfectlyexposedimageoftheMilkyWayresemblesallthatwentbefore.Evenifourgalaxyalmostfillstheframe,itservesascontext.Theotherelementsmaketheshot.

DEFININGTHESUBJECTAstheMilkyWayemergesfromthehorizon,itdefinesabandacrosstheskythatleadstheeyeacrosstheframe.IncludingwithintheframetheintersectionoftheMilkyWayandtheearth’s horizon grounds the image andmakes itmore balanced. Light pollution from adistant city provides a pleasing, warm glow on the horizon that mimics the sunset,contrastingwiththecoolerpaletteofthenightsky.

Photographbothhorizontal andvertical images.Youmaypreferoneway in the fieldbutseemeritintheotherwhenreviewingyourimagesathome.AhorizontalimageworkswelltoemphasizethefeaturesinthelandscapeortheMilkyWaywhenitarchesacrossthesky.AverticalimageworkswellwhenyouhaveatalltreeintheforegroundorwhentheMilkyWayisadiagonalinthesky.ThelattercompositionplacesemphasisontheMilkyWayasthemainsubjectinthescene.

PanoramasofthenightskycanpresentadramaticviewbyincludingmoreoftheMilkyWayandthegrandeurofthelandscape.Thelargedigitalfilewillmakeareallybigprint.See“Panoramas”inchapter6.

FRAMINGATNIGHTFraminginthedarkisachallenge.Ifpossible,scoutyourlocationindaylight,whenit’seasiertofindgoodforegrounds.Determineyourlenschoiceandimagineastar-filledsky.Lookforsubjectsthatworkwellasasilhouette.Takeafewtestshotswithdifferentfocallengthstodeterminecompositionandthebestlenschoiceforthescene.Markthebestsitewithapileofrocks,ateepeeofbranches,oranyotherobjectyoucanlocateinthedark.AGPScanleadyoutotherightplaceandhelpyougetbackaswell.

Duringthedayyouseetheclutteranddeadbranches,butatnightthedarknessrevealsjustthesilhouette,makingitamoreappealingphotograph.Itiseasytolookforsubject-defined images by day; however, at night, focus on the form and shape instead of thesubjecttohelpenvisionwhatitwilllooklikeasasilhouette.Atfirstyoumaynotbeableto imagine what it will look like at night, but after you have some experience ofphotographingatnightyouwillseewithnewvision.

Bringacompasswithyouduringthedaytohelporientyourselfsoyoucanfigureoutwhere theMilkyWay,auroras,or themoonwillbe in relation to thescenerywhenyoureturnatnight.Plan tophotograph in thedirectionofyour foreground subjector in thedirection where the landscape is lit by the moon. A number of programs, apps, andwebsitesshowwherethemoonwillriseandsetandthepositionoftheMilkyWayforanygiven location anddate.See “PreliminaryResearch” in chapter3, andResources at the

endofthebook.

BigIslandofHawaii.TheMilkyWay,seenasabandacrosstheskywithaneruptingvolcanointhedistance,createsthereddishglowinthesky.TheyellowglowcomesfromthecityofHilo.ThelowdiagonalbandoftheMilkyWaylendsitselftoahorizontalcompositionandthe16mmlensallowsformoreoftheMilkyWayandskytobeincluded.f/2.8,30seconds,ISO3200,16–35mmIIlenssetto16mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

Whilemakingyourtestexposureatnight,composetheimageintheframe.Witheachnewimage,adjustthecompositionandstraightenthehorizonlineifneeded.

Iscoutedtheareaduringthedaylookingfortreestoshootagainsttheskyassilhouettes,andreturnedatnight.PhotographedatBryceCanyonNationalPark,Utah.Nightimageatf/1.8,20seconds,ISO4000,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFERWhenphotographingtheGrandTetonsnearthefullmoon,thelandscapewassobrightlylitIdidn’tneedaflashlighttoseethepath.Afterthemoonsethowever,Ireallywantedit.EarlierthatdayIhadseenabear,riverotters,andelkinthesamelocation.Theydidnotseembotheredbymypresenceor thepresenceofotherphotographerswhenIshotthereat sunrise.Thatnightanelkbarkedas Iphotographed,and Iheard the soundofhoovespounding.Ididn’tfeelwelcome!Ihadalreadytakenthisshotofthemountainsandsky,soIlefttheelktoitsnighttimecontemplationofthestars.

StarstwonightsbeforethefullmoonatSchwabacher’sLanding,GrandTetonNationalPark,Wyoming.Ioriginallyshotthisasallsky,butitwasnotascompellingbecauseofthelargeareaoftheskywithfewstars.Icroppedtheskyandincludedthelandscape,makingthesubjectofthephotothemoonlitlandscapesupportedbythestarsasthebackgroundelement.f/3.5,25seconds,24–70mmlensat27mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

LogandMilkyWayatYosemiteNationalPark,California.SincetheMilkyWayandstarscanlookthesame,Ilookforaninterestingforegroundsuchasalog,tree,orboulderstomakeitdifferent.TheverticalcompositionplacesemphasisontheMilkyWayasthemainsubject.Thewarmglowinthedistanceisambientcitylight.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Starswithforegroundlitbyahalf-moonatZionNationalPark,Utah.Thereisnotmuchgoingonintheskywiththebrightmoon,soIdidnotincludemuchofit.Additionally,thehorizontalcompositionworkstoemphasizethelandscapeoverthesky.f/2.8,30seconds,ISO1600,16–35mmIIlenssetto16mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

Establishing a straight horizon may require extra care because the black foregroundblendsinwiththedarksky.SomecamerasfeaturehorizontalandverticallevelsdisplayedontheLCD.Absentthat,abubblelevelthatfitsinthehotshoeisaneffectivesubstitute.(Somebubble levelsaremisaligned.Checkyours foraccuracybefore trusting it.)Useasmall red flashlight—red light preserves night vision—or a dim headlamp to light thebubblelevelfrombehindtoseeifyourhorizonlineisstraight.

Trust your eye and experience. Even if the bubble level shows that a horizon thatappears tilted is straight, frame it in the way pleasing to your eye, especially whenworkingwithaslightlyunlevelhorizonlinesuchasamountainslopeorcurvingshorelineanglingtowardoneedgeoftheframe.

Bubblelevel

Silhouettedbouldersareusedasaforegroundelementtoprovideinterest.YosemiteNationalPark,California.f/1.4,20seconds,YosemiteNationalPark,California.ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

ESTABLISHINGTHEFOREGROUNDWhilestarsmaydominatetheimage,theforegroundanchorsthecomposition.Nomatterhowdramaticthesky,withoutaforeground,oneimageofthestarslookslikeanyother.Lookforastrongforegroundelementsuchasagnarledtree,aninterestingdarkbuilding,boulders,orareflectinglake.Thehyper-realblizzardofstarsarcingacrosstheskymaymakeviewersgasp,butitistheforegroundthatdefinesthecomposition.

Attheveryleast,makesurethatthesilhouetteoftheearthrunsalongthebottomoftheframetoplacetheempty,blackforegroundincontext.Beginningnighttimephotographersoftenhave toomuchblackspace in the foreground,so tip the frontof thecameraup toeliminatethatmistake.

LIGHT-PAINTINGTHEFOREGROUNDWhenphotographingstars,wearelimitedtoframing;however,wecanletourimaginationloosebyilluminatingtheforegroundwithlight-painting,thatis,illuminatinganareaoranobjectwithanartificiallight.Anyhandheldlightsource,keptoutsidetheframe,canadddefinitiontoaforeground.Trycandles,carheadlights,taillights,campfires,redandgreenlaser pointers, strobes, Speedlight devices, sparklers, glow sticks, LED arrays, lanterns,and flashlights. Each has its own color temperature—yellowish for a normal flashlight,bluish for anLEDheadlamp,white for aSpeedlight.Youcanbatheyour foreground in

warm, even light or set up multicolored spotlights. You can “draw” on a tree with aflashlight.Changethecolorofthesourcewithcoloredgels,availableatanyprofessionalcamerastore.Roscolux’sswatchbooksamplerhasmanycolors,andthegelswillfitovera flash or small flashlight. Attach the gel with gaffer’s tape. Use some heavy, yellowwarming filtersoveraheadlamp (blue light) toneutralize thecolor.Diffuse the light toproduceamoreeveneffect.Passingthelightthroughtissuepaper,awhitehandkerchief,orasquareofwhitesilksmoothestheeffectandreducesthebrightness.Thelittlewhitebagsplaced inairlineseatpocketsfordistressedpassengersalsodo the trickbetter thanmostotherdiffusionmethods.

AsingleredLEDinaheadlampilluminatedthisabandonedbankbuildinginRhyolite,Nevada,injust10secondstwentyfeetfromthebaseofthebuilding.Bathingthebuildingwith20secondsoflightmadeitlookgarish.f/1.4,10seconds,ISO3200,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

When changing the color of an image, such as adding blue for night images toartificiallymake the sky blue as it is naturally brownish yellow, all colors in the colorwheelwillshifttowardthatcolor.Fornightphotographyofthestars,yellowwillmovetoblueandthuscancelouttheyellowcolorcreatingamoreneutraltoneclosertowhite.Redwillmovetopinkandsoon.

CREATEABASELAYER

Whenlight-painting,besuretostartoutbytakingoneimagewithoutanylight-paintinginit.Thiswillbeyourbaselayer.Thatwayyoudon’tneedtoworryaboutgettingthelight

justonthesubject.Ifyouhappentoget lightontheotherareasanddon’twantit there,you can use the areas of the non-light-painted photograph to cover that up in the post-processingstage.

ADDCOLOR

Youcanpaintwithonecolor,takeanotherphotograph,paintwithanothercolor,andkeepbuildingupyour imageuntilyougetall thecolorsyouwant.Try itwithseveralcolors.Forexample,paintawindowgreenandthedoorwayred,orpaintonebranchofatreeonecolorandanotherbranchanothercolor.Havefun!

Colorwheel.

ADJUSTTHELIGHTINTENSITY

Howmuchlightcanyouuse?Increasingthedistancefromalightsourcerequiresaddingmore light for the same amount of illumination, either by increasing the length of theexposureorthepowerofthelight.Theinversesquarelawstatesthatdoublingthedistancecuts thelight intensitybyafactoroffour.So, if lightingacarwithaflashlightfrom10feetawayrequires5secondsatagivenaperturefor theproperexposure, itwill take20seconds from 20 feet, that is, four times the exposure. Distant objects require high-powered lights. Relatively inexpensive flood flashlights ranging from 2 to 3 millioncandlepowercanlightnearbyhills.

TwophotographstakenatBryceCanyonNationalPark,Utah.Theimageonthebottomusedlight-paintingfor20secondsonthecanyonwalls.Bothimagesf/2.8,25seconds,ISO6400,15mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Ghosttownsandabandonedcarsmakeexcellentsubjectsforlight-painting.Below:ThegeneralstoreatRhyolite,Nevada,featuringsidelightingandfrontallighting.Thesidelightingprovidesamorecompellingcompositionasitaddsshadowsandtexture.

Sidelightingwithtungstenflashlightatf/2.0,20seconds,ISO2500,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Frontlightingwithblueheadlampatf/2.8,20seconds,ISO1600,16–35mmIIlensat21mm,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

BlackcaratRhyolite,Nevada.Icoveredaflashlightwithamotionsicknessbagtosoftenthelight;itworkslikeasoftbox.Aredheadlampwasplacedinsidethecarforthedurationoftheexposure.f/2.0,30seconds,ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

YellowcaratRhyolite,Nevada.Ilight-paintedwithtungstenflashlightfor5secondsonthesideofthecarandaredheadlampfor4secondsonthefrontofthecar.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO3200,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Comparisonofdifferenttypesoflight-painting.Left:SilhouetteofthecliffsatBryceCanyonNationalPark,Utah.Right:Ablueheadlampcreatesabluecolorcastthatmightlookbetteronanothersubject.Allimagesofcanyonwallatf/1.8,20seconds,ISO4000,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Bouncing light off awhite reflector orwhite card cuts the intensity of the light andbroadens thecoverage.Thesideofabuildingorawallofpale rockabsorbsmore lightthanareflectororcardbutspreadslightevenly.Bouncedlightpicksupthecolorof thereflectivematerial.Forawarmglowuseayellowreflector.

Conversely,it’seasytoblowoutnearbysubjects.Strobelightsaretoostrongfordirectlightwhenphotographingwith a single exposure during the newmoondue to the highISOneededforthestars.Ifyourlight is toostrong,coverpartof thefrontwithgaffer’stape,leavinganarrowbandforthelighttocomethrough.Addingadiffuserortwowillcutmorestopsoflightaswillbouncingthelightonawhitecard.

Left:Thetungstenflashlightcreatesapleasing,warmtone.Thefrontlightingisflatandnotascompellingassidelighting,wherethelightsourceistothesideofthecamera.Right:Thetungstenflashlightgeneratesmoreshadowswhenplaced10feetfromthecameraontherightside.

Don’tbringyourforegrounduptodaylightlevels.Oftenjustahintoflightisenoughtoset the foregroundoff against thebackground.Tocover a large areawith a small light,move your arm as if painting a house, smoothly and evenly. If you have a 20-secondwindow,thenormforstarsaspointsoflight,makesureyoucoveralltheareainthattime.

VARYTHEANGLEOFLIGHT

Manyphotographers have a tendency to paintwhile standing next to the camera. Frontlightworksfine,butotheranglesdeliverentirelydifferenteffects.With20secondsatyourdisposal,youcouldmoveforamoreinterestingangleafterstartingtheexposure.Sidelightenhancescontrastandaddsdrama,givingachiaroscuroeffectthatsharplydelineateslightand dark. Backlight creates glow and outlines subjects and provides drama. Movingaroundwhilelight-paintingcreatesdifferentshadowsforadifferentlook.

Thecamerapointedtothesky.Thetreeswerelight-paintedbyaccidentasacarwentbyandtheheadlightsindirectlylitthetrees.Ipreferthissubtlesidelighttofullylight-paintedtrees.YosemiteNationalPark,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO6400,24mmfixedlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

With a little choreography, it’s possible to use multiple lights in a single exposure.Stationfriendswithdifferentlightsaroundtheframe.Youcandirectattentiontothemostimportantelementsintheforegroundwithbrighterlightsanddefinelessimportantareaswith dimmer lights. Mix colors using gels or light sources with differing colortemperatures.

LIGHTPAINTINGWITHSTARSASPOINTSOFLIGHT

Tocreateacomplexlylitforegroundwhilephotographingstarsaspointsoflightonyourown, take several exposures of the stars, paint different foreground areas yourself, andcombinetheimagesinPhotoshop.Forthismethod,takeanimagewithoutlight-paintingasyourbasesotheforegroundisdark.Then,takeanotherphotographandpaintwithonecolor of light in the scene. In the next exposure, choose another color or area to paint.Repeat until satisfied. The light-painting can be sloppy because you can mask out theunwantedlight-paintedareaslater.Seethenextsection,CombiningImages.

LIGHTPAINTINGWITHSTARTRAILS

Ifyouarephotographingstar trailsbycombiningseveralexposures (seechapter7,StarTrails)youcanpaintone image ina30-second to4-minuteexposureand thencombinethatimageinprocessing.Alternativelyyoucanpaintasingle-exposurestartrailimage.Tofigureout the time to light-paint a single-exposure star trail, take a30-secondexposure

andseehowmuch lightyouneed; forexample,5secondsof light-painting.Thenwhenfiguringoutyourexposure(see“DeterminingExposure”inchapter7), increase the timeforlight-paintinginthesamewayyouincreasethetimeforthestartrail.Ifyouincreaseyourexposurebyseven times, then increaseyour light-paintingby thatamountaswell,doublingthetimewitheachincrease.Keepinmindthatlargeflashlightsoftenlastuptotwohours.

COMBININGIMAGESInsomesituations,you’llwanttotaketwoormoreexposurestoallowagoodexposureinaforegroundaswellasthesky,andcombinetheseinpost-processing.

Example1:Photographtheforegroundjustasitbecomesvisiblebeforedawnoraftersunset.Attwilight,youmayneedtobrackettheexposure(thatis,takeseveralexposuresoneortwostopsapart)togetallthedetailinthesceneonthelandscapeandtakeanotherphotograph of the sky as well.When it is dark, take yet another photograph with thecamerastillinplaceandphotographthestars.Youwillneedtorefocusonthestars.ThiscanbedoneinLiveView,ashootingmodethatletsyouseeontheLCDwhatthecamerasensorsees,byfocusingonadistantmountainat twilightoronastaronce itgetsdark.Changecamerasettingsforphotographingthestarsasneeded.

Awaterfall,SeljalandsfossinIceland,combinedwithanimageofthestars.ThetwoimagesarelayeredinPhotoshopwiththeBlendmodeintheLayerspanelchangedtoScreen.Waterfallimage:f/8,1/50second,ISO200,24–70mmat70mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.Nightimage:f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Example 2: Take one photograph while focusing on the foreground, at twilight ifpossible.Ifitisdark,useaflashlighttoaidinfocusing.Thisallowsforacloseforegroundtobe ingoodfocus. If there isenoughambient light,usehyperfocal focusingat f/11orf/16togettheforegroundtobackgroundallingoodfocus.SeeResources.Whileleavingthecamerainplace,takeanotherphotographfocusedonthestars.

Icecavephotographedduringtheday;however,atnightitbecamecloudy.Theimageswereblendedtogetherusingalayermask(seechapter11).FalljokullGlacier,Iceland.Dayimage:f/11,0.5seconds,ISO100,14mmlens,CanonEOS-1DX.Nightimage:f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Example3:Combineanighttime,star-filledskywithalandscapephotographtakenatdusk.Or,photographanightcityscape.Sincetheglowofthecitywillalwaysoverpowerthesky,useanightskyphotographandblendwith thecityscape image.Thiscreatesanillustration,notarepresentation,ofreality,but itshowswhat thecitywouldlooklike ifyoucouldseethroughthelightpollution.

To learn more about post-processing for your photographs, including combiningimages,seechapter11,Post-ProcessingNightImages.

CONTROLLINGUNWANTEDLIGHTFormostofhistory,starswerevisibleoneveryclearnightandthedarknessthatsettledinatsunsetlaymostlyundisturbedthenightthrough—nostartlingflashesoflightfromcarsorpulsinglightsfromjetsflickeredacrossthesky.Butourmodernnightskiesarerarelyunsulliedbyartificial light sources.Light fromcities andotherhumanendeavorsofferschallengesandopportunitiesfornightskyphotographers.

LIGHTPOLLUTION

Humanenergyusehasmadeseeingandphotographingthestarsdifficult.Persistentsmoginterposesagauzybarrier,andartificiallightoverpowersthestars.Citylightsreflectoffof dust,moisture, clouds, and chemicals, creating a glowing dome of light, called “skyglow.”Snowreflectsskyglowbacktothesky,andcloudsactasreflectorsanddiffusers.Theglowfrommajorcitiescanbeseenfromhundredsofmiles.

LovelandPass,overanhouroutsideofDenver,Colorado,ataround11,990feet,atthenewmoon.HighelevationsandthenewmooninsummernormallywouldallowabeautifulMilkyWayphotograph,butthecitylightssignificantlywashoutthesky.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Viewoftheworld’slightpollution.

LightpollutionintheUnitedStates.Youcanviewlightpollutionmapsatwww.lightpollution.it/dmsp/.Topandbottomphotos:P.Cinzano,F.Falchi(LightPollutionScienceandTechnologyInstitute,Thiene,Italy.www.istil.it),C.D.Elvidge(NOAANationalGeophysicalDataCenter,Boulder,Colorado).©RoyalAstronomicalSociety.ReproducedfromtheMonthlyNoticesoftheRASbypermissionofBlackwellScience.

Here,lightpollutionhelpsmaketheshotasambientlightilluminatestheWatchman,ZionNationalPark,Utah.Thelightsfromthetownarewellbalancedenoughtolightthemountainyetnotstrongenoughtooverpowerthestars.Alargercitywouldprovidetoomuchlight.f/1.8,20seconds,ISO3200,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Escaping light pollution is essential for star photography. Venturing into sparselyinhabited deserts or climbing into high mountains above polluted areas helps, but thelightsfromdistantcitiesandtownsoftenilluminatethehorizonlikeaprematuredawn.

Citylightscauseayelloworgreenglowwhenphotographingnearthem.Butitdependsonthecityanditssurroundings.ThereislittlevisibleglowalongthecoastanhourortwonorthofSanFrancisco,forexample,butinthemountainsanhouroutsideofDenver,thelightscatterfromtheurbanplainsdullsthestarssignificantly.TofinddarkskiescheckoutDarkSkyFinderatwww.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/.

LIGHTAMBUSHES

Try to avoid unpredictable lighting on your foreground. Car headlights are a commonoffender.Setupwherenovehicleswilldrivethroughthecompositionorapproachfrombehind to blast your foreground with its headlights. It’s very likely that airplanes willstreakacrosstheskythroughthemiddleofyourimageandleavetrailslookinglikelazymeteors. Few places besides the middle of the ocean are unaffected by air traffic. Toreducethenumberofplanestreaks,tryshootingafter11PM(1to3AMtendstobebetter,but it varies by location). Some military bases do not allow aircraft to fly over theirairspace, and those areas may have fewer planes around them. Another option is toremovetheminpost-processing.SeeProcessingStarTrailsinchapter11.

2EQUIPMENT

Twilightandblueglacialriver,Iceland.Theslowshutterspeedmakesthewaterlooksilky.f/16,1.3seconds,ISO640,24–70mmIIat39mm,CanonEOS-1DX.

T hischapter isanoverviewoftheequipmentyou’llusefornightskyphotography.Itassumesyou’realreadyfamiliarwithDSLRcamerasandtheiruse,andthatyouhave

someexperiencetakingphotographsandprocessingthemonyourcomputer.Ratherthanreviewing basics, the focus here is on how to select and use cameras, lenses, filters,tripods,andintervalometersforthetechniquesparticulartonightskyimages.

CAMERASModerndigitalsingle-lensreflex(DSLR)camerasofferveryhighlightsensitivitysettings(ISO)withmuch less noise than in years past.Noise shows up as small, faint spots ofcolorintheimagewherethereshouldbenone.Noiselevelsonthebestdigitalcamerasarelowerthanfilmgrainatequivalentsensitivity.Smallersensors,oftenwithsmallerphotosites(thecolorpixelsonthesensor)packedtogether,producemorenoise.

Withrecentadvancesintechnology,includinglargerimagesensorsinDSLRcameras,wearenowabletotakedigitalphotographsthathavebetterimagequalitythanfilm.Thehigh ISOand lownoiseofmoderndigital camerasmakephotographing theMilkyWaypossible.Thelargersizeandbetterresolutionofsensorshaveincreasedthecost.Withnewmodelscontinuallycomingout,thelatestcamerasnowsurpassinqualitythetopmodelsofjustafewyearsago.Point-and-shootcamerasfallshortfornightphotographybecausetheylackhighenoughISOsettings,fastandwideenoughlenses,andlargeenoughimagesensorstocaptureanimageinthe15-to30-secondwindowneededtostopstarmotion.The resulting imagemight look acceptable on a computer screen or the camera’s LCDscreen,butitwillnotbegoodenoughtoprint.Currently,DSLRsandafewrangefindersarethesmallestcameraswiththeabilitytocaptureexcellentimagesofthestars,buttheadventofthefirstfull-framesensor,mirror-lesscameraswithfastlensessuggeststhattheywillsoonjointhelargercamerasinthenightphotographygame.

Whenconsideringacamerapurchase, focuson itsability toproduce low-noise,high-ISOimagesinsteadof itsmegapixelcount.AhigheravailableISOsuggestsbetternoiseperformance, but specs oftenmislead.Research the real-world performancewith onlinereviewsor, ifpossible,by takinga test shotwith the lenscaponatahighISOand30-secondexposure.Lookat thedarkestpart at100percentonyourcomputer screen.Thefaint,tinyspotsarenoise,andthelessnoisethebetter.

Ifyourlens’fastestapertureisf/2.8,IrecommendmakingsurethehighestISOis6400orhigher.Ifyourlensisf/4thentheimageswillbedarkevenat6400ISO.Youcanusef/4,thoughIdon’trecommenditasIpreferalighterexposure.Theimagemaylookgoodonthescreenbutwhenyouprintit,youmayfindtoomuchnoiseifyoulightentheimagefor a print.Larger apertures, for example f/1.4, allow for lower ISO settings at a givenshutterspeed.Don’trelyontheextendedISOsettingsfoundinthemenus;theyproduceunacceptablynoisyfiles.Afull-framecamerawillhavewiderlensesavailableandthusbeabletouseaslowershutterspeedandproducelessnoise.

Foranygivencamera,photographingwiththefastestwide-anglelensisthesurestwaytoreducenoise.Givenidenticalshutterspeeds,anISOof1600withthelenssetatf/1.4isthe equivalent to an exposure at ISO6400 at f/2.8. (Note: Inmy opinion, ISO settingsabove6400aretoonoisyforalargeprint.Asofthiswriting,Iuse6400asmyhighestISOsetting.) With most cameras, the difference in noise is painfully apparent. Cost and

distortionaretheprincipaldownsidesofthefastwide-anglelens.

CAMERASANDNOISE

Noise is themost challenging aspect ofnightphotographyand resolutionhas improvedfantastically in the lastdecade,makingnoiseevenmoreapparent.Noonewantsadarkskyhalf-fullofstarsandhalf-fullofcomputergeneratedflecks.

All things being equal, higher ISO speeds typically generate more noise than lowerones. The camera electronically boosts sensitivity for higher ISO, producing spurioussignalsthatappearasnoise,increasingwitheachincrementofboost.Weseetwotypesofnoise,luminanceandchromatic.Luminancenoiseisgrayandresemblesfilmgrainandiseasier totamewithsoftware.Chromanoiselookslikecoloredspeckles.Adigitalsensor“sees” light differently than a human being or a strip of film. If we examine a 12-bitcapture that records 4096 tonal values from pure black to purewhite, we’ll find thosevaluesarenotevenlydistributed.Thebrightestf-stopcontainshalfofallthetones,2048.The next brightest contains half of the remaining tonal values and so on down to thedarkest stop, which is left with only 128 tonal gradations. (See the Tonal Values byExposurechartinthe“Histograms”sidebarinchapter5.)Withsolittleinformationinthedarkest stop, the noise produced by the electrical charge on the sensor isn’tmasked bytonalinformation.Withadigitalimage,moretonalvaluesequalmoresignal,maskingthenoise.Thenoise remainsbut ismoredifficult todiscern. In summary, thedarkest stopscontaintheleastamountofinformationandthemostamountofnoise.

Alsokeep inmindvery long shutter speeds addnoise aswell,with theblue channelgeneratingmorenoisethantheredandgreenchannels.Thedarkeststopalwaysappearsthe noisiest, a consequence of sensor physics and the contrast of bright noise against adarkbackground.

Somecamerasmayhaveampglow,amagentaorredglowinthecornersoftheimagesthat occurswith long exposures and comes from the sensor creating its own light. Tryturningonlongexposurenoisereductiontohelpwiththis,butreviewyourimagetoverifythatitdoes.Ifneeded,darkentheareaswithampglowinpost-processing.

NOISEREDUCTIONFEATURES

Somecamerasfeaturein-cameranoisereduction,helpfulforlongexposures.Twoofthemost common are long exposure noise reduction, which compares a completely darkimage to an exposed image to extract the noise, and high ISO noise reduction, whichsuppressesnoisebutsoftenstheimage.Checkthecustomcamerasettingsmenuforyourcameratoenableordisablethesefeatures.WhetheryouuselongexposurenoisereductionorhighISOnoisereductionout in thefield,allnightshotsbenefit fromnoisereductiontechniquesappliedwhenyouprocesstheimagesonyourcomputer.

LongExposureNoiseReduction

Long exposure noise reduction (LENR) works by taking a second exposure whileblockingall light.It is liketakingasecondexposurewiththelenscaponthelens.Thissecond exposure is called a dark frame. The camera compares the dark frame, whichcontainsonlynoise,totheoriginalimage.Softwarerecognizesnoiseinthedarkframeandextractssimilarnoisefromtheoriginal.Withthein-cameranoisereductionfeatureturned

on,thetimeittakestogetaphotographdoubles.A20-secondexposureisfollowedbythe20-seconddarkframeexposure,plussomeprocessingtime.

Becauseofthissecondexposure,in-cameranoisereductionleavesgapsthatruintime-lapse and that will show up in the final image when using multiple images to stacktogetherforstartrails.LENRworksbestwithstartrailsmadewithasinglelongexposure.Turnitoffforstackedstartrails.Somecamerasdefaulttoanautonoisereductionsetting;beawarethatitmightcomeonwhenyoudon’twantit.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFERIdon’tnoticemuchnoisereductionwiththelongexposurenoisereductionturnedonfor20-second exposures. It removes a few hot pixels and some colored dots, but doesn’thelpwiththerestofthenoise.Intestsfrom1secondto32minuteswithseveralCanoncameras, I found that it helped after exposures of several minutes. I don’t use noisereductiononanythinglessthan4minutes,butIalwaysuseitwithsingleexposurestartrailsat4minutesorhigher.Youcantestyourowncamerabyleavingthelenscaponandtaking longexposuresatdifferent timeincrementsat3200ISOor,better,at6400.Lookattheresultsonthecomputer,viewingthemsidebysideat100percentview.

For star trails with a single exposure, turn on long exposure noise reduction. Aftercapturingtheimage,sayfora1-hourexposure,itwillimmediatelyclosetheshutterandrecordablackimagefor1hour,disablingthecamera.Youcanpackupthecamera(Don’tturn it off!) and head back to campor civilizationwhile the camera processes the longexposure noise reduction. Long exposure noise reduction begins with a click of thecamera,anda red lighton thebackof thecamera flickson.Because themirrordoesn’tmoveoutofthewayduringthedarkframerecording,youcanlookthoughtheviewfinder,whichletsyouknowwhenyoucanmovethecamera.Thecaptureiscompletewhentheredlightgoesoff.

Don’t warm the camera while it processes the dark frame. Different temperaturesproducedifferingnoisesignaturesonthesensor,whichwillconfusetheprocessing.

HighISONoiseReduction

Manycamerasincludeasecondformofnoisereduction,highISOnoisereduction.ThisappliesonlytoJPEGcaptures,notRAW,unlessyouareusingthecameramanufacturer’ssoftware. Unlike noise reduction for long exposures, this feature behaves like softwarefoundinPhotoshop’sAdobeCameraRAW,Lightroom,orNik’sDfine2.0thatsoftenstheimagesasitsuppressesnoise.Ifyouusethisfeatureinyourcamera,thesecomputer-basedprograms ignore the remaining lower contrast noise, resulting in higher noise levels inyour images. Since the computer programs work better than the in-camera versions,disablehigh ISOnoise reductiononyourcameraandcleanup the image inyourphotoeditor instead. If you are unsure how to reduce noisewith software, photograph both aJPEGandaRAWversion.TheJPEGwillyieldanacceptableimage,andyouwillhaveaRAWinthearchiveifyouwishtogobacktoprocessitlaterforahigherqualityresult.

LENSESWhen choosing a lens for night photography, consider the focal length for yourcompositions,aswellasthequalityandattributesofthelens.Thefocallengthofthelens

youusewillaffectyouroptionsforcompositionoftheforegroundandtheMilkyWay.Ingeneral,lenseswithwideranglesofviewworkbetterforphotographingstarsaspointsoflight.Awider angle includesmoreof the sky andminimizes themovementof stars.Atelephoto lens captures a small portion of the sky. However, a telephotomagnifies themovementofthestars,requiringfastershutterspeedstostopmotion.

Whenitcomestoresolutionandimpact, lensesareequalpartnerswith imagesensorsand software. Judge the quality of a lens based on aperture, resolution, distortion, andfocallength.Aboveall,lookattheimagesitproduces.Lensesvaryincontrast,color,andsharpness.Youmaypreferthebrightnessorluminescence(glow)ofaparticularlensoritssnap,thewayitseparatesanobjectfromitssurroundings.

APERTURE

Theapertureofalensreferstothediameteroftheirisinthelensthatcontrolstheamountoflighthittingthesensorforanyshutterspeed.Thesizeoftheapertureiscalledanf-stop.The f-stop number is a ratio of focal length to aperture diameter.Thus f/2.8means thediameteroftheapertureis1/2.8offocallength.Additionally,thewiderthelens,thelargerthemaximumpossiblediameterofitsaperture.Smallerf-numberscorrelatewithalargeraperture opening, letting in more light per unit of time. Aperatures from widest tonarrowest a full stop apart are: f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22.Mostcamerasofferone-half-orone-third-stopincrementsbetweenfullstops.

Apertureiscontrolledbyopeningandclosingtheiris.Smalleraperturesrequiremoretimetoproducethesameexposureasawideraperture.

Theterm“wide-openaperture”referstothelowestnumber(forexample,2.8),whichisthewidestdiameteravailable.Thephrase“openingup”meansmakingtheaperturewiderandmovingtoasmallernumber,suchasf/2.8 tof/2.0,while“stoppingdown”refers tosettinga smallerapertureanda largernumber, suchasgoing fromf/11 to f/16.Smalleraperaturesrequiremoretimetoproducethesameexposureasawideraperature.

Thesmallerthef-stopnumber,thewiderthedepthoffield(thedepthofsharpness),andthelargerthef-stopnumber,theshallowerthedepthoffield.Generallyf/5.6orf/8arethesharpest f-stops, and they are in themiddle range for depth of field on the lens. Theyrevealthelargestnumberofstarsintheimage.

Sincewideraperturelenses,suchasf/2.8,letinmorelight,theselensesshotwideopenproducelessnoisebecauselower,cleanerISOsettingsarepossibleforanygivenshutter

speed.Awiderapertureisbetterforstarsaspointsoflight.Infact,anywide-anglef/2.8lensworks great for stars as points of light.But there is a trade-off in using thewideraperturesbecausewideraperturesleadtoincreaseddistortions.

ANGLEOFVIEW

Eachlenshasagivenangleofviewforagivensensorsize.Full-framesensorsallowforawider angle of view and greater focal length on a given lens. Focal length acts like amagnificationfactor.Theanglesgivenbelowrefertoafull-sizesensor,thesizeof35mmfilm.Tocalculatetheangleofviewonacrop-sensorcamera,multiplythefocallengthofthelensbythecrop.Thus,a50mmlensona1.5cropsensorhasthesameangleofviewasa75mmlensonafull-sizesensor:50mmx1.5=75.

Toeasilydeterminetheangleofviewforyourcrop-sensorcameraandlens,checkouttheonlinecalculatoratwww.sweeting.org/mark/lenses/canon.php.

FOCALLENGTH

Thefocallengthofthelensimpactscompositionoftheimage.Lookatthecoverageareaof theMilkyWayand the foreground in the following four images for examplesof theeffectsofdifferentfocallengths.

MountRainierNationalPark,Washington.Thetreestiltedbythebarreldistortionaddtothecompositionastheypointtothesky.NoticetheangleoftheMilkyWayasadiagonalline,photographedinJuly.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

WideAngle. Wide-angle lenses, including fisheye lenses, are favored for most star

photography because they allow room for an interesting foreground, a large display ofstars,andbetterexposure.

Fisheyeandwide-anglelensesdistortstraightlines.Thecenterseemstobulgeout,solinesarecurvedandmorenoticeableasyougetfartherfromthecenterof theframe,aneffectcalled“barreldistortion.”Itismorepronouncedinfisheyelenseswith180-degreeviewsandlessprominentwithrectilinearwide-angles.Afisheyelensisdesignedtohavethe strong curvature. The distortion is not obvious when the camera is parallel to theground,butwhenthecameraispointeduptophotographthesky,thehorizonlinecurvessharply.Insomecasesacurvingskylineortiltedtreesstrengthenacomposition.

Normal.Onafull-framecamera,a50mmlensisconsiderednormal,neithertelephotonorwideangle.It’spossibletogetafastnormallensatafractionofthecostofthewide-angleortelephotolens.A50mmlenshasanangleofviewof45degrees,goodfortwilightandstar trails,but Idon’t recommenditasa firstchoiceforstarsaspointsof lightatanewmoonduetothehighISOneededandfastshutterspeed.

Thefisheyelensprovidesawideareaofviewofthelandscape.PhotographedatBryceCanyon,Utah,inJune,thisimageshowstheexpanseoftheMilkyWay.Noticethecurvatureofthelensonthehorizonline.f/2.8,25seconds,ISO6400,15mmfisheye,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Telephoto.Telephotolensesaregreatforanumberofapplications.Theycancaptureagiantmoonrisingabovethehorizonorcreatestraightstartrailsbecausetheangleofviewis so narrow that their curvature is not evident. Few very long telephotos are fast. Theprofessionalandpricey500mmto600mmlensesareonlyf/4,threestopsawayfromthe

fast wide angles. Slower telephotos can require boosting ISO at the cost of additionalnoise.The200mmlenshasanangleofviewofabout10degreeswhilea500mmlooksatonly4degreesofarc.

14mmf/2.8and14–24mmf/2.8.Thiswidecoveragearea,a114-degreeangleofview,issuperbforphotographingstars.It isagreatchoiceforcircularstar trailsorwhenyouwanttocoveralargeportionoftheskyorMilkyWay.Ifyoupointthelensupinsteadoftoward the horizon, vertical lines will show some barrel distortion. The curvaturemaywork in the composition. If not, lens correction software can straighten the lineswhilecroppingoutsomeoftheoriginalimagewithsomelossofresolution.Abenefitofa14mmor15mmlens is that theshutter speed tostop thestarsaspointsof light is30seconds,allowingforareducedISOsettingofone-thirdf-stop.

15mmf/2.8and16mmf/2.8Dfisheye.Althoughthe15mmand16mmfisheyelenseshaveaslightly longer focal length, their stronglycurved lensesdeliverawiderangleofview than the 14mm—a full 180 degrees. The 16mm fisheye also delivers a full 180degreeswithafullsizesensor(and107degreeswiththeFXcropsensor).Thislensisfunto photograph with as it magnifies the barrel distortion, bending the periphery morestronglyanddeliveringafun-housemirroreffect.ItcancapturethearcoftheMilkyWayfromhorizontohorizoninJune,July,andAugust.

8mmand8–15mmf/4fisheye(Canon).Thisultra-widezoomhasthesamemaximumangleofviewonafull-framesensor—180degrees—asthe15mmfisheyeanditprovidesthesameangleofviewonacropsensor.An8mmonthefull-sensorcamerarenderstheimage as a circle bounded by black. The Canon 8–15mm widest aperture is f/4, so itrequiresalongerexposure,butbecauseofthewideangleofview,doublingtheexposurewillnotappeartoincreasethemovementofthestars;30secondsworkswell.

The8mmfisheyelensproducesacircularboundaryonafull-sizesensor.ZionNationalPark,Utah.f/4,25seconds,ISO6400,8–15mmfisheyesetto8mm,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Exampleof24mmlenscoverageofalandscapeinYosemiteNationalPark,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO2000,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

16–35mmf/2.8.Usedatitswidestfocallength,thisisanexcellentchoiceforcircularstar trails and photographing theMilkyWaywith stars as points of light. The angle ofview ranges from 108 to 63 degrees. The benefit of this lens is the flexibility to usebetween16mmand35mmwhendefiningyourcomposition.

24–70mm f/2.8 and 24mm f/1.4. The 24mm f/1.4 may be the best lens forphotographingstarsaspointsoflight.Attwostopsfasterthanf/2.8lenses,itcanstopthemotionofthestarsatmuchlowerISOsettings.Ifanf/2.8lensneedsanISOof6400ormoretostopthestarsfora20-secondexposure,anf/1.4lenscancapturethesameimagewithanISOof3200,whichgeneratessignificantlylessnoise.Withits84-degreeangleofview,a24mmfocallengthcancapturealargeportionofthesky.Italsodoesn’tshrinktheforeground andbackground asmuch aswider lenses.Even at f/2.8, a 24mm lens oftenproducesanidealbalancebetweenforegroundandstars.The24–70mmatf/2.8isidealforstars as points of light or star trails.My favorite focal length for landscapes by day ornightis24mm,andyoumaynoticeIuseitoften.

35mmf/1.4.Likethe24mmfixedlens,thislensisfastatf/1.4,makingitagreatchoicefor thestars.Withanarrowerangleofviewthanotherwide-anglelens, itshowslessofthebandoftheMilkyWaybutgetsintighteronthedenseareawithgassesandclosertotheforegroundelements.

70–200mmf/2.8.Likethe24–70mmlensand24mmf/1.4,thesef/2.8lensesworkwellforstartrailsandstarsasdiagonallinesthroughthescene.

RESOLUTION

Resolutionreferstotheamountofdetailalenscanresolve,butitdoesn’taccountforthequality of the detail. Resolution degrades as objects become finer, that is, from thethicknessofapindowntoahumanhair.

Resolutionvarieswithaperture.Mostlensesgetsharperastheaperturegetssmallerandthen sharpness falls off at the smallest aperture due to diffraction effects. A series ofidenticalpicturesofascenefullofdetailshotateachapertureisaneasyandcertainwaytoestablishthesharpestapertureforagivenlens.Generallythemiddleranges,oftenf/5.6or f/8, are the sharpest f-stops on the lens and reveal the largest number of stars in theimage.

VIGNETTING

Vignetting is the darkening of the corners and edges of the frame that happens atwideapertures such as f/1.4. The effect is reduced toward f/5.6. Test your lenses byphotographingatdifferentaperturestoseetheeffect.

DISTORTION

Distortioncomesinmanyforms.Itmaybendstraightlines,transformcirclesintoblobs,orproducecoloranomaliesatsharpedges.Aslighttravelsthroughthelensitcangenerateeffects like barrel distortion, coma, and chromatic aberrations. These effects can becontrolled, or enhanced, through your choice of lens and f-stops, or in post-processingwithsoftware.

BarrelDistortion

Wide-anglelensesexhibit“barreldistortion,”inwhichparallellinesappeartobulgefromthecenterof the lens. Ifyouplace thehorizonat thebottomof the frame, forexample,you’llseeeithersideofthehorizonlinecurveupward,aconsequenceofthecurvedfrontelement.Thewidertheangle,theworseitis.Fisheyesexaggeratethiscurvaturethemost,butthatisthepurposeofthislens.ThesecurvescanbecorrectedinPhotoshopandotherprograms,buttheprocesscropsoutsomeoftheimageandpixelpeepersmaydetectlessresolutionalongthesides.

Vignetting.Noticethedifferenceinthedarkeningofthecornersandedgesoftheframeinthesethreeimages.Theimageabovehasthemostdarkeningatf/1.4andtheimageoppositetopisatf/2.0withlessdarkening.Thebottomimageisatf/4.0andhaslittledarkening.At5.6,notshown,darkeninggoesawaycompletely,butthelevelofnoiseistoostrongforagoodprintatsuchhighISOsettings.

Comaat f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0, f/2.8.Notice thewingsand tailson thestarsandhow thateffectdecreaseswiththelargerf-stopnumber.Distortionsdisappearatf/5.6,notshown.

Coma

Comaoccurswhenlightraysfarthestawayfromthecenterofalensdonotcometofocuson an identical image plane, the camera sensor. Stars near the outer edge of the frame,especially the corners, will display wings and comet-like tails trending away from theopticalcenter.Thisoccursmoreoftenwithwide-anglelensesbecauseofthecurvatureofthefrontalelement.Comahasdifferenteffectsondifferentlenses.A14mmlenstendstohavemorecomathanthe24mmlens.Inaddition,theapertureaffectshowmuchcomaweseeintheimages.Takealookattheseexamplesofcomaatdifferentaperturesandfocallengths.

ChromaticAberration

Chromaticaberrationoccurswhendifferentwavelengthsof light(colors)pass throughalens,butthelensdoesnotfocusthematthesamepoint.Itlookslikeacolorhaloorfringearoundthestars,oftencyanorred.Itcanbeseenontheedgeofasubjectwheredarkandlightareasmeet.Chromaticaberrationcanbecorrectedinpost-processing,butthequalityoflensesyouuseandthef-stopwillalsomakeadifference.

CorrectingDistortions

To minimize coma and aberrations, make sure focus is spot on, employ chromaticaberration correction in post-processing, and stop down toward themiddle apertures asmuch as possible. The additional depth of field produced by stopping down one stopfocuses the different color focal lengths more accurately. Stopping down the lens, forexamplefromf/2.8tof/4,reducescomaandchromaticaberrationssignificantly.However,stoppingdown increasesnoise, becauseyouneed todouble the ISO for each stop.Youmustbalancebenefitsagainstcosts.

Comaandchromaticaberrationeffectsondifferentlenses,hereviewedfromthecornerofthe lens where it is most prominent. The centers of the images do not have significantcomaorchromaticaberrations.

Forconsistencyintestingthelenses,thesamesettingswereusedatf/2.8,20seconds,ISO6400,Canon5DMarkIII.Theimagesdonothavechromaticaberrationturnedonorvignettingremovalappliedinprocessinginordertoshowthedistortioneffects.

24mmfixed:Theleastamountofcoma.

15mm:Significantcomainthecorners.

14mmv.II:Inthecornersoftheframe,thestarsaremorelikelines,buttheyarepointsoflightelsewhere.

16-35mmII:Significantcomainthecorners.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFER

Anintervalometerhelpsyoucapturestartrailswithease,butonlyintherightconditions.Thevibrationcausedbywindcreatesunevenlinesinstartrails,asshownhere,soIdon’trecommendshootingstartrailsonwindynights.

Ihaveruinedintervalometersandcablereleasesbynotusingandstoringthemproperly.The ends soon fray at the connection points to the camera and to the intervalometercontrols.Topreventthis,Itapethecordwithblackelectricaltape,toreducethelengthofthecordsoitdoesn’thangtothegroundfromthecamera.ThenItapetheends.Next,IaffixVelcroto the tripodandonthe intervalometerorcablerelease,andthensticktheintervalometertothetripod.It’sdorkybutsavesmehavingtobuyanewone.

The use of prime lenses,which have a fixed focal length (versus zoom lenses), alsoproducesfewerdistortions.Thegreaternumberoflenselementsinazoomlenstendstoproducemoreaberrations.Higherqualityandhigherpricedprimelensesgeneratetheleastcoma,chromaticaberrations,andbarreldistortionsateachf-stop.

FILTERSRemoveanyfiltersonthelenswhenphotographingatnight,includingUVorhazefilters.Filtersarebothunnecessaryandunhelpful.UVfilterscauseconcentric rings inauroras.Polarizersblockonestopoflight,whichrequiresdoublingtheISOtocompensate.Colorcorrection filters are passé since the advent of color temperature settings in digitalcameras.Finally,anyfiltercancausediffractioneffects.

TRIPODSAsturdytripodisamust.Vibrationfromthecameraandwindwillruinlongerormultipleexposures.When photographing outdoors, even a gentle breeze can shake the camera,introducingblurintothephotograph.Aflimsytripodtransmitsmovementandproducesapoor result; aheavier tripodequippedwithaheavyheadprovidesmore reliable results.It’svery important tokeepall theknobsand screwswell tightened.Manypeopledon’tlock down the turning base, but with a long 20-second exposure, a breeze can excitevibrations in any untightened part of the tripod or head. If the added weight or extraexpense of a heavy rig is toomuch, addmass to your tripod system by hanging yourcamerapackor a sack full of rocks from thecenterpost.Make sure there isnowiggleroomatanyofthejointswherethetripodheadmeetsthetripod.

INTERVALOMETERSAn intervalometer takes thedrudgeryoutofphotographing star trails. It acts as a cablerelease, self-timer, interval timer, long-exposure timer,andexposure-counter.Without it,youmayneedtostandnexttothecameratakingshotaftershot,countingthesecondsforeachexposure.Since it can takeacertainnumberof imagesat specific intervals, it isatremendous convenience when photographing a series of 4-minute star trail exposures.Mostcameraslimitthemselvesto30secondsorlessfortheexposuretime.SomeNikoncameras have a built-in intervalometer, but there are some restrictions to the time ornumber of images it will take. For cameras without a built-in intervalometer, not allmodels have a port for an intervalometer or use the standard port.Check compatibilitywithyourcamerabeforepurchasing. Ifyourcamerahasnonstandardports,youcanusethird-partyintervalometerssuchasPromoteControl,ortheiPhoneTriggertrapapp.

3PREPARINGTOSHOOT

Atwilightshotofseastacksallowsforalongexposureandamistylookingocean,BodegaBay,California.f/10,15seconds,ISO100,24–70mmat28mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

N ight sky photography necessarily involves long hours outdoors in the dark. Beingpreparedwillnotonlyhelpyougetshotsyoulovebutalsohelpyousavetimeand

keepfrustrationstoaminimum.Thischapterhastwomainbranches:mentalplanningandlogistical preparations. Planning out your shots in yourmind and researching ahead oftimewhatwillbeintheskywhenyougooutallowyoutocapturethecelestialeventsthatmost intrigue you, and perhaps a few unexpected images as well. Preparing for thelogisticsofyourshootwillensureyouhavetheequipmentyouneedandhelpyoustayoutlongenoughtocapturetheimages.

PRELIMINARYRESEARCHBefore theshoot,you’llwant tofindoutwhere themoonandMilkyWaywillbe in thesky. Apps like Star Walk and Heavens Above, the website www.astronomy.org, andStellarium,a freedesktopplanetarium,will showyouwhere in the skyyoucansee theMilkyWayorthemoon.SeetheResourcessectionattheendofthebookformoregoodsources of information. If your aim is to capture less predictable night sky events—meteors,iridiumflares,andauroras—you’llfindthatplanningandresearchcanstillpayoff.TheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA)andotheragenciespublishmuch of their space weather forecasting data on their websites. Space weatherreferstotheconditionsinspace,especiallyconditionsneartheearth.Whilemeteorsandauroras cannot be pinpointedwith absolute certainty, you can increase your chances ofcapturingtheseephemeralnightskyeventsifyouresearchforecastsbeforeyouheadoutintothefield.

Finally,onelasttip:scoutinthedaylightanddecidewhatyouwillphotograph—starsaspointsoflight,startrails,themoon,oranothercelestialphenomenon.

PHOTOGRAPHINGTHEMILKYWAYGALAXY

As our planet orbits the sun, the brightness of the sun blocks our view ofmost of thegalaxy.ThegalacticcenteroftheMilkyWay,wherethestarsaremostdenselyclustered,isnearSagittarius,whichlooksvaguelylikeateapot.IfwewishtophotographSagittariusinJuly,itwillbemidwaythroughitstransitacrossthenightskyatmidnight.InJanuary,itwillbedirectlybehindthesun,anddaylightwilloverpowerituntilApril,whenourorbitreturnsthewiderpartofittothenight.

Whenwe look at the stars in January,we look toward theouter edgesof thegalaxy.Sagittariusisthesouthernmostconstellation.FromNorthAmerica,itseemstoglidejustabove thehorizon fromeast towest, but in theSouthernHemisphere itwheelsdirectlyabove.As a consequence, each night the constellation is visible longer in the SouthernHemisphere than in the Northern. However, for a photographer, lower may be better,allowing us to place the luminous center of the Milky Way above an interestingforeground.

ThebestmonthstoseethebrightcenteroftheMilkyWayareJune,July,andAugust.But keep inmind that Sagittarius appears at different times of day: It first appears justbeforedawninthesouthtosoutheastinearlyApril,butisquicklyobliteratedbytherisingsun.InMay,you’llhavetogetuphoursbeforedawntocatchtheshow,butbyJuly,theconstellationwillbeashighintheskyasitwilleverget.ConditionsareidealinAugustwhen it’s still well above the horizon and visible earlier in the evening. By mid-

September,weseelessoftheconstellationandforlesstimeuntilitsetsforgoodinearlyOctober,slidingbelowthehorizonbeforesunset.TheMilkyWayappearsintheskyindifferentpositionsdependingonthetimeofthe

nightandthemonth.LateeveninginAprilandMay,orearlyeveninginJune,aregoodtimestophotographtheMilkyWayasabandacrossthesky.Lookforastrongdiagonalline in July andAugust.Amore vertical band can be seen during some times of nightwhiletheMilkyWayisintransitinJulyandAugust.

In theNorthernHemisphere, in the summermonths around July, youmaynotice theMilkyWaymoveacrosstheskyclockwisefromthesouthtosouthwest.IntheSouthernHemisphere,theMilkyWaymovescounterclockwisefromthesouthtosouthwest.

InthecontiguousUnitedStates,waitaboutanhourandahalftotwohoursaftersunsettogetthereallydarkskies.Youwillneedtowait longerthecloseryouaretotheNorthPolesincetwilightlastslongerinplacessuchasAlaskaandScandinaviancountries.

FINDINGYOURLOCATIONANDCLEARSKIES

Severalfactorscontributetoseeingplentyofstars.Adark,cloudlessnightwithlowlightpollutionisnotenough.Youwillseemorestarswhentheairisclean—withoutsmogandwithlittlewindtostirupdust.Oceanshorelinesoftenenjoylowairpollution.Mountainanddesertairisexcellentforshootingstarsbecausethelowhumidityallowsforthestarsto shine through. When researching your locations, consider deserts, oceans, highmountainpeaks,andareasoflowairandlightpollution.

Overcastdaysandcloudscanblockthestars,sochoosingaclearnightisimportant.Ontheotherhand,cloudscanaddinteresttotheskywhenwecanstillseestarsaswell.Whenthereisathinlayerofhazeinthesky,itlooksdullandthestarsareblurry.Thehazeactsasasoft-focusfilter.Youwillseeawhitehaloaroundthestarseventhoughthestarsareinfocus, which creates an unusual effect: the stars look bigger. Some people enjoy this,thoughsharpstarsarepreferredforprints.Tophotographcloudsmovingattwilight,trya2-minuteexposure,orlonger,togetthemotionofthecloudsatduskforawispyeffect.

Checktheweatherforwindandrain.Forclouds,goto7timer(7timer.y234.cn);clickon “weather” and “total cloud cover.” Clear Sky Chart (cleardarksky.com/csk/) is anastronomer’sforecastthatshowsthenext48hoursofcloudcoverforNorthAmerica.

Cloudsarecolorfulevenwellaftersunset.DeathValleyNationalPark,California.f/1.8,8seconds,ISO640,24mmIIlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

TIPObservatoriesorlocationsforskyparties,wherepeoplegathertoviewtheskyindarklocations,aregoodplacesforphotographingstars.Becarefultouseonlyredlights and avoid driving into the areawith your headlights on, or otherswill beannoyed.

FIELDCONDITIONSNight skyphotographyentailsworking indarkness andoften in cold conditions.You’llavoidgriefbysettingupyourgearbeforethesungoesdown.Likewise,runningdownachecklistwillsaveyoufromsufferingthroughadeadbatterymidwaythroughastar-trailsequence,discoveringyouleftyourISOat25,600,orlamentingthehatleftbehindonanicyevening.

WORKINGINTHEDARK

Know your camera blindfolded. When photographing in the dark, pausing to find thecorrectbutton tochange ISOorcolor temperature isawasteof time.Practicechangingyoursettingswithoutlookingatthecamera.Afewminutesofpracticeoverthecourseofafewdayswillestablishthememory.

Usearedlight.Whenyoumustseesomethinginthemidstofanightphotograph,thewhite light of a headlamp or flashlightwill obliterate your night vision. It can take 30minutesorlongerforittoreturn.

A low-intensity red light, suchas the redLEDsfound insomeheadlamps,minimizesnightvisionloss.RedLEDscanalsoserveas“brushes”forlight-painting.

TIPPlaceapieceofblackelectricaltapeovertheredorgreenlightthatshowswhenthecameraisinoperation.Thislightcanbeannoyingandseemverybrightonadarknight.

PHOTOGRAPHINGINTHECOLD

The cold plays havocwith batteries, lenses, and tripods.When themercury falls belowfreezing,abatterymayrunoutofjuiceafterjustafewframes.Time-lapseandstar-trailphotography become impossible. Lenses collect dew,which ruins images. Carbon fibertripods become brittle and can crack if banged or dropped when cold. A few simplemeasurescanprotectyouandyourequipmentagainstthecold.

BATTERYLIFE

Heat and insulate the camera to preserve thebattery.On extremely coldnights, place achemicaltoewarmer(availableatoutdoorclothingstores)aroundthebatteryareaofthecamera.The toewarmerhas a stickeron theback tohold it inplace.YoucanalsousechemicalhandwarmersandkeeptheminplacewithaVelcrowrap,arubberband,ortape.On very cold nights, insulate your intervalometer aswell. Its tiny batterywill give outquickly.Dewheatersareheatingstripsthatcanbeplacedonthecameraandlensbuttheyrequirea12-voltbatterypack,sotheyarenotaseasytouse.

Bringextrabatteries.Fullychargedbatteriesareveryimportantifitiscoldoryouarephotographing star trails. Batteries slow down in the cold but will work again whenwarmedup.Keepspareonesinyourpocketwithhandwarmers.

A supplementary battery pack can double the battery power you have available. ThepackoperateswithAAorrechargeablecamerabatteries.Ifattachedasahandgripat thebottomofthecamera,thepackoftenincludesfeaturesforusingthecamerainaverticalorientation,suchasshutterandexposurecontrols.

FROSTANDCONDENSATION

Extremecoldcansurpriseyou,freezingmechanicalcablereleasesorsealingyourwaterbottleshutinmoments.Expectdeworfrostbuilduponthefrontelementofyourlensinbelow-freezing temperatures. If you are photographing and you find that an image thatwaspreviouslysharpisoutoffocus,firstcheckthefrontelementofthelensforbuildup.To prevent this, you can wrap the lens with a chemical toe or hand warmer and aninsulatingcover.Alenshoodhelpstoforestallfrosttoo.Alenswrapcanalsobeuseful;itkeepsthefrostoffthefrontelementofthelens.Whileshooting,pausethesequencefromtime to time and either look at your LCD or check the front element with your redflashlighttomakesurethere’snobuildup.Becarefulnottobumpthecamera.Achamoisoranotherclothsuchasasmall,super-absorbentpacktowelwillefficientlywipethedeworfrostoffthelens.Theseworkbetterthanalenscloth,whichjustsmearsthewater.

Don’tbringyourcameradirectlyfromthecoldintoawarmroom.Condensationcanbeamajor problem.The sudden change in temperature can cause fogging of the lens andcamerathatcanlastformanyhours,makingthelenstemporarilyunusable.Tryputtingthecamerainaresealablefoodstoragebagorkeepingyourcamerazippedupinthecamerabag. I take outmy compact flash cards before I go inside, so I don’t have to openmycamerabag.Silicageldesiccantpacksplacedinyourcamerabagorwiththelenscanbeusedtohelpwithcondensationaswell.

Consider getting tripod legwraps or foam pads to protect your hands from the coldwhen you pick up your tripod. You can buy them or make them yourself with some

closed-cell foam. Be careful with carbon fiber tripods as they become susceptible tocrackingonimpactincoldweather.

COLD-WEATHERCLOTHING

Finally,protectyourself.Bringwarmerclothes thanyouexpect toneed. It’seasy togetchilledwhileinactive.Wearahat.Theheaddoesn’tradiatemoreheatthananyotherpartofthebody,butifit’sexposedwhiletherestofthebodyiscovered,halfoftheheatlosswill radiate from the head. Many photographers swear by photographer’s fingerlessgloves,which leave thefingertipsexposed,butotherpeopleprefer fingerlessmitts.Youcanoperate the camerawith complete freedomandyour fingers regainwarmthquicklybecausetheyareincontactwitheachotherinsidethemitt.It’sasnaptopullthemittoveryourfingerswhentheygetcold.Thinlinerglovesunderthefingerlessmittsaddadditionalwarmth.Photographer’sglovesallowjust theforefingerandthumbtobeexposedto theelements.

Thick-soled,insulatedbootskeepfeetwarmwhenstandinginsnoworice.Topreventslippingon ice, spikes canbeused to cover the sole of insulatedboots.When it’s coldenoughtoformfrostonthewindshieldwhilephotographing,putawindshieldsunblockorcardboardontheoutsideofthewindshieldsoyoudon’thavetoscrapeofftheice.

CHECKLIST:BEFOREYOUSHOOTThere’snothingmorefrustratingthanfumblinginthedarktochangecamerasettingsorreplaceadeadbattery.Arriveprepared.

WHATTOBRING:

Camera,lenses,lenshood

Plentyofformattedmemorycards

Sturdytripodandballhead

BatterygripandplatetoattachtoballheadorL-bracketsforbatterygrips(optionalforstartrails)

Extrabatteries

Cableorshutterrelease(oruseself-timer)

Intervalometer

Headlampwithredlight

Flashlightandgelsforlight-painting;diffusionmaterial

Extraflashlightbulbs

4xpowerloupe

Sensorcleaningtools

Chamoisandclothtowipefrostandcondensationoffthelens

Warmclothing:heavydowncoat,woolorfleecesweater,longunderwearforbothtopandbottom,hat,andwarmboots

Photographer’smittsorglovesandlinergloves

Rubberbandsorvelcrotoattachhandwarmers

Handandtoewarmersforhands,toes,camera,lenses,andpockets

Bugspray,ifneeded

Foodandwater

Windshieldsunblockorcardboardfortheoutsideofthewindshieldtopreventfrost

Compass

WHATTOPREP:

Chargebatteries,inthecameraandbackups.

Placeblacktapeontheredorgreenprocessinglightonyourcamera.

Cleanthesensor.

Cleanthelenses.

Removefilters.

Putonlenshoodtopreventflareandfrostbuildup.

4FOCUS

MeteorandtheMilkyWayoverLakeTahoe,Nevada.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO3200,24mm,CanonEOS-1DX.

A chieving sharp focus on the stars through the viewfinder is almost impossible,especially with a wide-angle lens. The stars appear very small, and the difference

betweennailingthefocusandmissingitisveryslight.Youcanautofocusonthemoonoradistantobject,manuallyfocuswiththeaidoftheLCD,orusetrialanderror.

AUTOFOCUSTheeasiestwaytofocusonthestarsistouseautofocusonthemoon.Iteasilylocksonsuchabrightobject,eventhethinnestcrescentofthenewmoon.Afterfocusing,changefocustomanualsoautofocusdoesn’tengageatthewrongtime.Tapethelenssothefocusdoesn’t wander. You won’t need to refocus again for the rest of the night unless youchangefocal lengthor lenses.Eachfocal length focusesdifferently. Ifyouchangefocallengthonazoomlens,youmustrefocus.

Ifthemoonwillnotbevisibleonyourshoot,setfocusduringyourdaytimescoutingofthe location.Set your focus point in the center of the frame and autofocus on a distantsubject.Either tape the focus ringon the lensso itdoesn’tmove,ormark thatpointonyour lenssoyoucanreturn to the focuspointmanually.Tomark thepoint,placewhitestickerswherethelensbarrelandfocusingringmeet,markingbothsoyoucanreturntothe focus point.Or, use pencil or nail polish tomark both parts of the lens.Whenyoureturnatnight,alignthemarksbyflashlighttoreturntosharpfocus.(Note:Thiswillnotworkwithsomelensesthathaveinternalfocusingmechanisms.)

Youcan’tfocusonthestarssimplybyrackingthelenstoinfinity.Mostlensescanfocusbeyond infinity to compensate for temperature swings that slightly alter the spatialrelationshipbetweenlenselements,changingthefocus.WithCanonlenses,forexample,youcanapproximateinfinitybymanuallyfocusingat theL(theinfinityfocusmark)onthelens.TheLisonitsside.AligntheshortpartoftheLabovethemarkforinfinitybyturning the focusing ring.While this doesn’t guarantee perfect focus, it gets you close.Everylenshasadifferentinfinityfocusingpoint.AfewCanonlensesdonothavetheLforinfinityfocusing,sousethemethodofmarkingbothpartsofthelens.ForNikon,thefocusingpointisoftenpartwayintotheinfinitysymbol.

Tophotographatnightwithoutpre-focusing,shineabrightflashlightonadistantobjectandtrytoautofocusonit.Tomakeyourcomposition,youcanuseaflashlighttoseetheedgesof theframefor theforegroundwithasmall,powerful200-lumensflashlightoragreenlaserlight(brighterthanaredone).Thelaserlightworksforfocusingonadistantobjectaswell.Becarefultoneverpointalaserataperson,animal,orplane.Peopleandanimals can suffer significant eye damage through exposure to the light before theybecomeawareof it, and the lightcan temporarilyblindanddisorientapilot inaplane.Interferingwiththeoperationofanaircraftbypointingalaserlightatitisdangerousand,inmanyplaces,punishablebylaw.

GeneralplacementofthefocusingpointneartheLbeforeinfinityforCanonlenses.

GeneralplacementofthefocusingpointforNikonlenses.

MANUALFOCUSWITHLCDYou can focus directly on a bright star with Live View on the LCD. Live View canmagnifythescenebyuptoafactorof10soyoucanfocusmoreeasily.Findabrightstarand place it in the center of the frame. A 4x loupe, a magnifier once used to checksharpnessonslidefilm,makesitmucheasiertoseesmallchangesinthestar.MakesuretheloupeiscoveredwithrubberwhereittouchestheLCDscreentoavoidscratchingthesurface.Ifneeded,addsometapetotheedgesoftheloupewhereitmakescontactwiththescreen.A4x loupeprovides sufficientmagnification.ThePeakbrandhas a squareone,whichworkswellwiththeLCDscreen;however,adrawbackisthatitdoesnotcovertheentireLCDscreen.Besuretoremovetheclearbottomusedforviewingslides.

Focus manually until the star becomes as small as possible on the screen. Its haloappears to shrink and grow as you adjust focus. The halo won’t disappear, but it willshrinkwiththestar.Don’tbeconcernedwithcoloredhalos.Thisischromaticaberration,colorfringingcausedbythelens,presentwhenthefocusissharp.

HYPERFOCALFOCUSINGHyperfocalfocusingreferstothefocuspointforagivenfocallengthatacertainf-stopthatmaintainsacceptablefocusatinfinitywhileextendingfocusclosertothelens.Thisgives greater depth of field than focusing on infinity, which doesn’t allow for closefocusing.

Landscape photographers use a hyperfocal focusing point to keep everything fromnear foreground to infinity in acceptable focus.However, focus is only perfect alongoneplane,whichisatagivendistancefromthecamera.Thedepthoffield,therangeofacceptablesharpness,isgreaterthewiderthefocallengthofthelens,withwide-anglelenseshavinggooddepthoffieldandtelephotoshavingshallowdepthoffieldgiventhesame aperture.Also, the smaller the aperture (such as f/16), the greater the depth offield.Depthwidensasthefocuspointgetsfartherfromthelens.Thefocusingpointatwhich there is good depth of field from a close foreground element to infinity ishyperfocaldistance.

Whynotfocusatthehyperfocaldistancepointforthestars?Theideaofacceptablefocusbreaksdownbecausehyperfocaldistance is a compromise.The fartheryougetfromthepointofexactfocus,thesofterthesubjectsbecome.Thelenscanonlyfocusononepoint thatwillbe sharp,witheverythingelsehaving relative sharpness. If thesubjectsarethestars,theymustbeassharpaspossible,sothefocusisbestdirectlyonthem.Ifyouwanttolearnmoreabouthyperfocalfocusing,seetheResourcessection.

CHECKLIST:STEPSFORMANUALLYFOCUSINGONASTARSelectthefocallengthneededforthecomposition.

Findthebrighteststarinthesky.

Setfocusingonthecameratothecenterpoint,soalittleredsquareappearsinthemiddleoftheframe.

Next,alignthestarorpartofthemoonwithinit.Ifthefocalpoint,thestar,isontheedgeoftheframe,opticaldistortionandchromaticaberration(colorfringing)makeithardertofocusanddifficulttofindinLiveView.Autofocusmustbeoninordertoseetheredsquareinthecenteroftheframe.

Oncethestarisinthecenteroftheframe,turnoffautofocusonthelens.Thispreventsyoufromaccidentlyengagingautofocusfromthecamerabodyafteryou’vefocusedmanually.

Setthelensfocusnearinfinitybeforestartingtofocusmanually.Ifthelensisrackedtowardclosefocusing,thestarswillbeblurredtoinvisibility.

TurnonLiveView.

Magnifytheimagetomaximum,ideally10x,makingsurethestarisinthemagnificationarea.Ifnot,usethejoysticktomovethefocusingareatothestar.

ExaminetheLCDwithyourloupeandmanuallyfocusthelensuntilthestarbecomesassmallaspossible.

TurnoffLiveViewandtakeaphotograph.

ReviewthecapturedimageontheLCDscreenandzoominallthewaytocheckfocus.Donotadjustthecamerapositionwhencheckingthefocus.Thisway,ifyouneedtorefocus,youalreadyhavethestaralignedinthecenter.Refocusifneeded.Youcanalsoattachamonitororlaptopcomputerifyouhavetroubleseeing,butformostcases,theloupeormagnifiedLCDworkwellenough.

Tapethefocusringofthelensinplaceiffocustendstodrift.Tryremovablepainter’stapeorgaffer’stapebecausetheydon’tleaveastickyresidue.

Reframeandshoot.Thefocusissetforthenightunlessyouchangefocallengthorlenses.

WhenusingLiveView,youmayseewhatlookslikemovingnoisewhenviewingtheLCDscreenforfocusing.Ifthisbothersyou,reducetheISOsettingto100or50.Remembertoturnitbackupagainwhentakingthephotograph.Ifyourphotographisblackanddoesn’thaveagoodexposure,youwillknowitisunderexposedandyou’llneedtoresettheISOfrom50toahighersetting.

StartrailsintheWhiteMountains,California.Ifocusedonthestarsusingthemanualmethodfordoingthisstartrail.Iplacedthecameraabout15feetfromthebristleconepinetree,whichallowedplentyofdepthoffieldtogetthetreeandstarsingoodfocuswiththe16mmfocallength.Istartedthephotographlate,at2:30am,soitwouldfinishattwilight,thusprovidingthepinkglowonthehorizon.Forthecomposition,IpointedthecameratothenorthandplacedPolaris,theNorthStar,slightlytotheleftintheframe.f/4,3hoursand4minutes,ISO160,EF16-35mmf/2.8LIIUSMat16mm,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

FOCUSTHROUGHTRIALANDERRORFinally,ifnoneofthesemethodswork,usetrialanderror.Focusonthestarsasbestyoucan, take a photograph, then review on theLCD screen at highmagnification. Slightlymovefocusandtakeanotherphotograph.Keepadjustinguntilyougetthestarsinfocus.Ifthestarsareoutoffocus,theywilllookbigger.Withfisheyeand14mmlenses,itcanbehardtofocuswithLiveVieworevengettothepresetfocusingpoint,sotryprefocusingonadistantobjectandtapingthefocusingpoint.

Photographsofstarsoutoffocus(left)andinfocus(right).Blowupyourfirstimageby10xtoensurethatthestarslooklikedots,notdoughnuts.

5CAMERASETTINGS

TufastretchtotheskyatMonoLake,California.f/2.8,25seconds,ISO6400,EF16–35mmf/2.8LIIUSMat17mm,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

P hotographing at night requires special color temperature and exposure settings.Understanding thephysicsof color temperaturewill helpyouget thebest results in

your photographs, whether you control color temperature through camera settings orprimarilyinpost-processing.Exposureistheinteractionof,andtradeoffsbetween,shutterspeed,aperture,and ISO.Asyouexperimentwith thesesettingsonyourcamera,you’lldiscoverthesettingsthatworkbest—settingsthatyoucanstoreinyourcamera’smemoryforyournightskyphotographicendeavors.

COLORTEMPERATUREEvery light source has a particular color. This color is called the color temperature,definedasthewavelengthablackbodywouldradiateatagiventemperatureontheKelvin(K) scale. (A blackbody is an ideal body that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation thatreaches it.) The Kelvin scale measures temperature using the same increments as theCelsius scalebut startsout at–273.15ºCor–459.67ºF,whichwecall absolutezero, thetemperature at which the thermal energy of matter vanishes. When the temperaturereachesthepointatwhichtheblackbodybeginstoemitvisiblelight,itglowsdullred.Asthe temperature increases, the color changes to yellow, white, blue, and then violet,passingoutof thevisible spectrumas it becomesultraviolet.Weassociate the reds andoranges with warmth and the blue end of the spectrum with cold, but in physics it isexactlytheopposite.

Kelvincolortemperaturechart

Clear, high-noon sunlightmeasures about 5500K.Open shademeasures from about7000to9000Kwhilecandlelightatthefarredendofthespectrummeasuresabout1900K. If you set your camera to its default daylight color temperature, everything looksnormalunderbrightsuninabluesky.However, ifacanyonwallblocksthesunsothatyou’rephotographinginopenshade,thesubjectsadoptabluecast.Aspectacularsunsetatthesamesettingwilllookevenricherthanreallife,andcandlelightwilllookcompletely

red.

Whitebalancereferstotheprocessofadjustingthecolortemperaturesothatwhiteinthe sceneappearswhite in the image.Weused tousecolor-correction filters toachievethis,butcolortemperaturesettingsonadigitalcameranowtaketheirplace.

WhenyouuseJPEGs,thecolorbalanceisbakedintothefile.WithRAWfiles,nocolortemperature information is part of the file. Instead, a set of instructions tells the RAWconverter to apply a particular color temperature setting. You can change the colortemperature of the RAW file at any time without affecting the file itself.We stronglyencourageyoutouseRAWfiles,especiallywhenphotographingthenightskysoyouwillhavemorecontrolovercolorinpost-processingonthecomputer.

While thenight skyappearsblack, thesensorwill render it fromcool towarm toneddependingonthetimeofnight.Noneofthecamerapresetscancontrolcolortemperatureperfectly,butitmaybecontrolledpreciselybysettingwhitebalancewiththeKelvinscaledirectly,thetechniquewewillemployforstarphotography.

Forstarshots,gotoyourwhitebalanceorcolortemperaturemenuandselecttheKelvinmenu.Experimentwithdifferentsettingstofindtheonethatyoulikebest.Iliketosetitto3600K,whichmakesthecolortemperatureblueandisnotthenaturalcolor.

Theamountofcolorcorrectiondependsonyourtaste,artisticintent,orthedemandsofaclient.Fromthisstartingpoint,youcaneasilyadjustthecolortemperaturewithasliderinAdobeCameraRAW,Lightroom,orotherRAWconvertertoenhancetheblueorwarmthe sky.Toget a feel forwhitebalance, take some tests shotsusingauto, tungsten, anddaylightsettings.

If youwant the LCD to look like the eventual print, adjust the color temperature todisplaythatresult.Thecoloroftheskyduringthedayisthebasisoftheskyatnight.Justasdaytimeshadesofbluevary,thenightskyalsohasdifferentshadesofblue.Somedaystheskylooksvividbluewhileonothersit’simbuedwithcyanoralightblue-greenhue.Thecorrespondingnightskywillreflectadeepblueordullcyanblueskyinthesamewayitdoesduring theday. I set thecameraaround4400Kearly in theeveningandshift itdownaslowas3200Klateinthenightorwhentheskyisn’tveryblue.

If your camera doesn’t permit Kelvin adjustments, try the tungsten or light bulbsettings,whichshifttowardtheblueendofthespectrum.It’salsopossibletoadjustcolortemperatureinaRAWconvertersuchasAdobeCameraRAW(ACR)toachievethelookyouprefer.Thoughyoucanchangethecolor temperatureinACR,youcanseethelookandfeelofthefinalresultoftheimageontheLCDbyadjustingthecamerasettings.

HISTOGRAMSAhistogramisachartthatshowsthedistributionoftonalvaluesfromblacktowhite:blackontheleftandwhiteontheright.Foraperfectlyexposedshotofalawnunderabluesky,thechartwilllooklikeabellcurve,signifyingthatmostofthetonesareinthemiddle of the range.An image of a black bearwould bunch the tones to the left.Awhite fox on snow will bunch the tones to the right. Set your LCD to show thehistogramwithintheimageorbyitselfaftereachshot.

HistogramimagesfromCanon(left)andNikoncamerasshowingidealexposureforstarsatanewmoon.

Basedonthehistogram,anunderexposedimagewilldramaticallyincreasethenoisewhenyoulightentheimageinprocessing.ThiswillcausemorenoisethangoingtoahigherISOsettingtoget theproperexposure.Conversely,overexposingandreducingtheexposureinprocessingafterwardrequiresanexcessivelyhighandnoisyISO.Aimfortheidealhistogramasshownintheillustrations.Ifthehistogramreachesthetopofthegraph,itshowsthereismoreinformationinthisareathanthegraphallows.Ifitiscutoffontheleftorrightside,itshowsthatthesensorcan’tcapturetonaldifferencesatthebrightestanddarkestextremes. It isokay tohaveablackspikeon the leftas thisrepresentsasilhouetteordarkforeground.

Thebrighteststopinthephotographcontainshalfthetonalinformation.Thenextbrightestcontainshalftheremainder,andthedarkesthastheleast.

EXPOSUREExposureiscontrolledbytherelationshipofshutterspeed,aperture,andISO.Onceyouhave set the shutter speed for the intended result with the aperture wide open, adjustexposure by changing ISO.We need to balance the conflicting needs of each to obtainproperexposurewiththeleastamountofnoiseandunintendedmovementblur.

Forstarshots,startwithonestopoverexposed,orslightlymore,accordingtothemeterreadingusingthemanualmodeonyourcamera.Anidealexposureisweightedtowardthedarkstopsofthehistogram,withthecenterofthecurveinthesecondstoponamoonlessnight.Trust thehistogram,not theLCDrepresentation.Checkyourhistogramafteryoutakethephotograph.CurrentLiveViewtechnologydoesapoorjobofrepresentinghowanimagewilllookwhenthesceneisverydark.Atnightthescreenwillbeblackorhaveahighamountofnoise.Onsomecamerasablinkingon-screensymbolwarnsthattheJPEG

representationislikelynotanaccuratesimulation.DonotbaseyourexposureontheLiveViewscreentosetexposure.When reviewing your image on the LCD screen, keep in mind that your eyes have

adjusted to thedim light, andwhat looksgood is actuallyunderexposed.Turningdownscreen brightness and turning off auto brightness better reflects the exposure. The starswill look fine, but the actual result could be profoundly underexposed. Recall too thatvisionisaffectedbylackofsleep,caffeine,andyourgeneralstateofhealth.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFERWhenIshotmyfirstimageoftheMilkyWay,IthoughttheexposurewasidealuntilIsawanearlyblackcomputerscreenthenextmorning.Myeyeshadadjustedtothelowlight, sowhatappeared tobeagoodexposurewas in factalmostblack.Avoid thisbyusingthehistogramfordeterminingexposure.

SHUTTERSPEED

Theshutterspeedneedstobefastenoughtocapturestarswithoutshowingmotionblur,or,conversely,itneedstobelongenoughforstartrails.Seesuggestedshutterspeedsforeachtypeofphotographyinthecorrespondingchapters(chapters6through10).

Theshutterspeedisdisplayedas15or30,whichrepresentsafractionofasecond:1/15or 1/30 of a second. As you turn the dial to the lower numbers, they appear as, forexample, 0”6 (0.6 or six-tenths of a second), 1”(1 second), or 20” (20 seconds). The“symbol indicates seconds.Commonshutter speedsone stopapart are (in seconds):30,15,8,4,2,1,1/2,1/4,1/8,1/16,1/32,1/64,1/125,1/250,1/500,1/1000,etc.

APERTURE

ThewidestapertureallowsforthelowestISOatanygivenshutterspeed.Althoughlensesare sharper when stopped down from wide open—for example, an f/1.4 lens will besharperstoppeddowntof/2.8—shootwideopentokeeptheISOaslowaspossible.Ifyouhave a fast f/1.4 lens, you can stop down. But it’s a compromise: you have to decidewhetheryoupreferlessvignettinganddistortionorlessnoise.Withalllenses,itisagoodideatostopdownonabrightnightwithmoonlighttolowerdistortions.

ISO

For greatest noise reduction, set the ISO as low as possible. ISO refers to the lightsensitivity of the sensor, the digital equivalent of film speed. However, if youwant tocapturetack-sharpstarswithoutmovement,it’sbetterinmostcasestosufferwithalittlemorenoiseonahigherISOsetting.

When possible (such as with moonlight), stop the lens down by one stop for lessvignetting in the corners, reduced distortion, and a sharper image. There is a trade-offbetween increasing to a higher ISO (andmore noise) and getting rid of vignetting anddistortionssuchaswingsandtails.Thisispersonalpreference;youmayprefermorenoiseoverlesscoma,vignetting,andchromaticaberrations.IwouldnotrecommendgoingoverISO6400whenstoppingdownbyonestopfordistortions; instead,use the lowerf-stopnumber.

Onsomecameras,certainISOsettingsmayproducelessnoisethanothersettings;these

less-noisysettingsaresometimescalled“native ISO.”WithaCanon7D,60D,and70Dforexample, theISOsettingsatmultiplesof ISO160,suchasISO320,640,and1280,generate less noise than surrounding ISO settings. Avoid ISO 125 increments—at 125,250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000—as these push exposure by one-third stop and havemorenoise.Incrementsof100workwell.WhenadjustingISO,eachone-stopjumpinexposurehassignificantlymorenoise.Ifdecidingbetweenthe160or200increments,gowiththe160iftheexposureallowsforit.Forexample,use2500insteadof3200,or5000insteadof6400.Test yourowncameraby leaving the lens capon for a30-secondexposure atdifferentISOsettings,andcomparetheresultsonthecomputer.SeethesidebarforalistofISOincrementsshownasmultiplesof100,125,and160.

ISOINCREMENTSBYONE-THIRDSTOP100125160200250320400500650800100012501600200025003200400050006400800010000

NativeISOhas the leastamountofnoiseandthemostdynamicrangeinan imagetopreventclippingintheshadowsorhighlights.Forstartrails,usethenativeISOsettingforyourcameraifpossible:Canon100ISO,Nikon100or200ISOdependingonthecamera,andSony200ISO.

MIRRORLOCK-UPMirrorlock-upisnotneededforstarsaspointsoflight.Itisacustomsettingavailableonmostcamerasthatswingsthemirrorfromthesensorbefore,ratherthanduring,theopeningof the shutter, reducingvibrationduring the exposure.On a standard lens, itworksbestforexposuresfrom1/2to1/125ofasecondlong,butmirrorlock-updoesnotprovideanyadditionalsharpnessforanexposureover1second.

CAMERAPRESETSThemajorityofmoderncamerascanstoreseveralgroupsofsettings inmemory.CanoncallsthefeatureCustomShootingModes(C1,C2,C3)whileNikonusesCustomShootingBank(A,B,C,D)orU1andU2.TheCustomShootingBank isn’tasusefulbecause itsavesonlyalimitednumberoffunctions.ChooseoneMode,Bank,orUsettingforyourusualstartingpoint,anotherforstarsaspointsoflight,andathirdforstartrailsoranotherfunction.

TheU1andU2settingson someNikonsare locatedon themaindial.Toestablishapreset, set the camera as you would for stars. Save them (Menu>Setup>Save UserSettings)beforeyourotatethedialorpowerdownthecamera.

Canoncameraslosealladjustmentsyoumaketoasavedpresetifyouturnthepowerofforifyousetthecameratoautomaticallypowerdownafteracertainelapsedtimeandtimeexpires.Toprevent thisfromhappeningonashoot,setPowerTimetoNoneor30Minutes.

TocreateapresetonsomeCanoncameras,adjustallsettings—ISO,ColorBalance,etc.—neededforyourshootingconditions.PresstheMenubutton,scrolltothewrenchiconandchooseCustomShootingMode.SelectC1,C2,orC3.PresstheSetbutton.Fromnowon,movingthedialatopthecameratothecustomsetting(e.g.C1orU1)orpressingthe

modebuttononthe1DXcameratogettoC1willrecallallthosesettings.EnableAutoUpdate, available on some cameras, if youwish to recall any changes youmake to thesetting.TheCanonandNikoncamerasthatusethedialmakeiteasytosaveallofyournight

photographysettingsinthemodes.JustturnthedialtoC1orU1andyouwillbereadytoshootthestars.

Suggested star presets: Create a set for stars as points of lightwithmanualmode atf/2.8,20seconds,6400ISO,3600Kwhitebalance,andnoisereductionoff.Youcansetcustommodes for star trails and auroras as well. Similarly, create one for stacked startrailsatanewmoonwithmanualmodeatf/2.8,Bulbsetting(4minutes),400ISO,3600Kwhitebalance,andnoisereductionoff.Forauroras theexposurewillchangewith thelight: use manual or aperture priority mode, f/2.8, 10 seconds, 800 ISO, with noisereductionoff.

6STARSASPOINTSOFLIGHT

TheMilkyWayoverMonoLake,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO3200,24mm,CanonEOS-1DX.

W hatconstitutesagoodimageofstarsaspointsoflight?Ideally,wewantsharpstarsagainstadark,noise-freebackgroundwithatleastahintofcolor.Toarriveatthat

result,weneed theperfect blendof equipment, focus, color temperature, exposure, andprocessing.

WIDE-ANGLELENSSelectawide-anglelensforthescene.Photographingthestarsaspointsoflightrequiresstopping their movement. Longer exposures render the stars as lines instead of sharppoints.Thewidertheangleofview,themorelatitudewehave,sinceastartakeslongertocross the frame of awide angle of view than it does the telephoto’s narrower angle ofview.Awide-anglelens,between14mmto35mm,willyieldacceptablysharpstarsonafull-framecamera.Foracropsensor,tryusing10mmto22mminfocallength.

MilkyWayandbristleconepinetree,WhiteMountains,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO2000,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

SHUTTERSPEEDOnceyouhaveselectedyourlensyoucandeterminetheshutterspeeds.ViewtheexposureontheLCDscreenwithfullmagnification.Ifyouseemovementinthestars,reducetheshutterspeedbystepsofone-thirdstop(forCanoncameras)orone-halfstop(forNikon)untiltheblurdisappearsorreachesanacceptablerange.Ifindalittlebluracceptable.

EXAMPLESHUTTERSPEEDSThe settings listed arewhat I use, but they show slightmovement. I find at a properviewingdistanceyoudon’tnoticetheslightmovement.Ifyouprefernomovement,usethenextfastershutterspeedthanlisted.

FOCALLENGTH:FULLFRAME

FOCALLENGTH:CROPSENSOR SHUTTERSPEED

14mm,fisheye n/a 30seconds16mm 10mm,fisheye 25seconds24mm 16mm 20seconds35mm 22mm 15seconds

500RULEUse this rule of thumb to find theminimum shutter speed required to capture stars aspointsoflightwithoutblurring.Divide500bythefocallengthofthelens.Whenshootingwithacrop-sensorcamera,figureouttheeffectivefocallengthofthelensfirst.Theresultisagoodstartingpointforminimumshutterspeed.The500rulegivesageneralideaofthe shutter speed; however, starswillmove slowernear theNorthStar and faster awayfromit,soreviewyourimageafteryoutaketheshottomakesurethereisnomovement.

Forexample:500dividedby24mmlens=20.8seconds,thatis,a20-secondexposure.

Oncetheshutterspeedisproperlyset,openthelenstoitswidestaperture.Then,controlexposurebychangingtheISO.Forf/1.4tof/2.8lenses,expecttouseISO800to6400.

APERTURE,ISO,ANDEXPOSUREForanightwithnomoonlight,settheaperturetowideopenatf/2.8orfaster.Ifyouhaveanf/1.4 lensyoumayprefer f/2.8 toreducedistortionsby the lens.Finally, increase theISOuntilyouhaveagoodexposureandahistogramthatshowsit.Seeexamples in the“Exposure”sectionofchapter5.Givenaverydarkskywithlittlelightpollutionandnomoonlight, set the ISO at 6400 for a f/2.8 lens (this is underexposed, but higher ISOsettingsbecomeverynoisy),or3200forf/1.4.

MilkyWayandtrees,YosemiteNationalPark,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Reviewyourimagestomakesurethestarsarepointsoflight.Left:Theshutterspeedforthisphotographwastooslowtostoptheactionofthestars.Right:Thefastershutterspeedstopstheactionofthestars.

Thepresenceofmoonlightrequireslessexposure.Usethesameshutterspeedtofreezemovement, lowering the ISO to reduce the noise, and stopping down the aperture tominimizedistortion.

Since longer lensesmagnify the apparentmovementof the stars, they require shortershutterspeeds,andthisdemandshigherISOsettings,fasterlenses,orboth.Thelongerthelens, the faster the apparentmovement of the starswill be.Cropped sensors reduce theangleofview,whichcreatesatelephotoeffectandtheconsequentneedforquickershutterspeedstoo.Setthewhitebalanceasdesired,forexampleto3600K,orusethetungstenorlightbulbsetting.

CHECKLIST:CAMERASETTINGSFORSTARSASPOINTSOFLIGHT

Verifyyouhaveaformattedmemorycardincamera.

Setscreenbrightnesstolow.

Turnoffimagestabilization.

Turnofflongexposurenoisereduction,mirrorlock-up,andbracketing.

Setexposuretomanual.

SetfiletypetoRAWorRAWplusJPEG.

Useawide-anglelens:14mm–35mmfullframe,10mm–22mmforcrop-sensorcameras.

Fullframe: Cropsensor:

14mmat30seconds 10mmat25seconds

16mmat25seconds 16mmat20seconds

24mmat20seconds 22mmat15seconds

35mmat15seconds

Selectawide-openaperture:f/2.8orfaster.

SetISO:foranewmoon,f/2.8atISO6400;f/1.4atISO3200.

SetwhitebalancetoKelvintemperature3600orasdesired.

Setfocusingpointtothecenterpoint,focusingonabrightstar;orusethepredeterminedpointonthelens.

Tapethelens.

Turnoffautofocusonthelens.

TaketestphotoandreviewonLCDscreen.

Zoomintomakesurethestarsaresharp.Iftheylooklikeroundballsoflight,theyarenotsharp.Refocusifnecessary.

Checkhistogram.Makesurethereisinformationfilledinonthetwofar-leftcolumns;roughlytheleftone-thirdshouldbefilled.Ifnot,thenaddmoreexposurebyincreasingtheISO.

Recheckthewhitebalance.ChangeKelvintemperatureaccordingtopreference.

Recomposeasneeded.

Checkthelensfordew.

Don’tbreatheontheLCDscreenoritwillfrostupinthecold

Reminder:Resetfordaylightphotographyattheendoftheshoot.

Iuseda30-secondexposuretotal,withonly20secondsonthetophalfoftheframe,whichwaslitbymoonlight,whileallowinganadditional10seconds’exposureontheforeground,whichwasinshadow.At30seconds,thestarswouldbeblurrywithmylenschoice.YosemiteNationalPark,California.f/4,30seconds,24mm,ISO1600,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Inthisimage,Iusedmyhandinathin,blacklinergloveheldovertheskyandElCapitanfor10seconds.Isetmywatchtobeepat10seconds.Oncethetimersounded,Iremovedmyhandtoexposetheentireimagefortheremainingtimeof20seconds.Thetophalfwasexposedfor20secondsandthebottomhalfexposedfor30seconds,resultinginamorebalancedexposureoverall.

BLACKGLOVETECHNIQUESometimesthetonalrangeofanimageistoowidetoproperlyexposeboththeskyandtheforeground. For example, moonlight may light a mountain adequately but leave theforeground in the shadow and underexposed. To correct for this, use an exposureappropriatefortheforeground,andcoveruptheskyorthebrightsubjecttopreservethestarsaspointsoflight.

Lookthroughtheviewfindertofindwheretoplaceyourhandandmoveitupanddownalittlewhileexposingtoavoidcreatingasolidline.Ablackgloveisn’trequired.Ahandworksaslongasnolighthitsit,whichcouldshowupinthephotographandcauseacolortint.

First,determine theproperexposure for the skyorbright subject.Then,using that f-

stopandISOsetting,lengthentheshutterspeedtoaddmoreexposurefortheforeground.Ifthecamera’slongestshutterspeedis30seconds,settheshutterspeedtoBulbtoallowyoutocontrolexactlyhowlongtheshutterisopen.Useanintervalometertoexposeforthedesiredtime,suchas45seconds.Planonremovingyourhandtoexposethetophalfoftheframeforthefirstexposureyoucalculated,whilelettingtheforegroundreceivelightforthefullduration.

Whynotuseagraduatedneutraldensityfilter?Thisisatypeoffilterthatisdarkontopandclearonthebottomandisusedtodarkentheexposureofthesky.Thisseemslikeagood idea; however, the proper exposurewould be for the darker foreground, requiringmore exposure for the image overall. To get a good exposure, the shutter speedwouldneedtobe increased,suchas in theexamplephotographon the left inwhich increasingshutterspeedfrom20to30secondswouldcausethestarstoblur.Alternatively, leavingtheshutterspeedat20secondsmeanstheISOwouldneedtobeincreasedtogetaproperexposure,resultinginmorenoise.Bothoptionsresultinalowerqualityimage,sousinganeutraldensityfilterisnotrecommended.

Alternatively,youcouldtaketwoshotsandcombinethem.However,itislessworktocaptureitincamera.

PANORAMASImages of the stars as points of light evoke a sense of the vastness of our galaxy, andpanoramas are a natural fit for that aesthetic. In truth, our eyes don’t view the worldvertically or horizontally; we see panoramas. Until now, photographing panoramasrequired either special equipment or manipulation of the negative or slide. Digitalphotography allows us to stitch together adjacent images to create a high-resolutionpanorama with our existing lenses and digital camera. As an added advantage, eachelement of the panorama adds information and increases the file size, and thus theresolution,ofthefinishedfileorprint.

You can effectively increase the resolution of a low-resolution camera by stitchingtogether three or more verticals side by side to create a single horizontal image. Thisimagewill havemore thandouble the resolutionof a singlehorizontal image shotwiththatcamera.

Atruepanoramaisatleasttwiceaswideasawide-angleshot.Forahorizontalimage,shootthreeormoreadjacentverticalpictures.Foraverticalimage,shootthreehorizontalimages.Stitchthemtogetherinyoursoftwareduringpost-production.TrybothhorizontalandverticalpanoramasoftheMilkyWay.

The file size of your final image will be quite large and cumbersome, especially inuncompressed formats,but it isworth it.These large filesdeliver thehighest resolutionandareidealforverylargeprints,whichcanbespectacular.

COMPOSITIONANDEXPOSUREFORPANORAMAS

When creating a panorama, photograph in manual mode, in which you choose bothapertureandshutterspeed,becauseprogrammode,aperturepriority,andshutterpriorityoftenchangetheexposurefromframetoframeandthatmakesblendingtheimagesmoredifficult.Likewise, autofocuscanchange focus from frame to frame.So,photograph in

manualmode and turn off autofocus.Determine your exposure from themiddle of thepanorama.Thisminimizeschangesinbrightnessacrossthecomposition.First,makesuretheedgesofeachpictureoverlapbyatleast30percentoftheimage.

Thiswillgivethesoftwareprogramenoughcommonpointstoaligntheimagescorrectly.

Second, use a tripod. While it’s possible with enough ambient light to create apanorama of a series of handheld images, swiveling the camera using the horizontalmovementof the tripodheadwillproduce themostcommonpoints inadjacent images,whichhelpssoftwarealigntheimages.Itwillalsogiveyoumoreusablespace.Ifyouholdthecamera,youwilltendtounwittinglymoveitvertically,creatingareasthatwillhavetobe croppedout to create the final rectangle.Using a tripod also yields a larger file—inotherwords,moreinformation.

HorizontalpanoramaofZionNationalPark,Utah.ItwasphotographedasfiveverticalimagestoincludethearchoftheMilkyWay.f/1.8,20seconds,ISO2500withEF24mmf/1.4LIIUSMLens,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Wide-anglelensestendtobendstraightlines,suchashorizons,ormakeparallellines,suchastrees,converge.Panoramasoftwarecanturnapanoramaconstructedfromwide-angleshotsintohash.Use24mmfocallength(35mmisbetter)orhighertoavoidwide-angle distortions.For thehighest resolution, shoot verticals for a horizontal image (andhorizontalsforaverticalimage).

If you shoot inRAW format,make sure you apply identical settings to each of yourimages in the RAW editor. Most photo editors have provisions for applying the samesettingsfromthepreviousimagetothenextortobatch-editagroupofpictures.Turnoffautocorrectionandautowhitebalance.

Themajor editing programs all offer tools for creating panoramas, and a number of

plug-insexisttoautomatetheprocess.Asusual,Photoshopprovidesseveralmethodsforstitchingpicturestogether,oneofwhichisPhotomerge.See“PhotomergeforPanoramas”inchapter11.

7STARTRAILS

DeathValleyNationalPark,California.Twoexposurescombined,onefocusedontheforegroundatf/3.5,30seconds,ISO3200andthen,withthecameraleftinplace,asecondexposurefocusedonthestarsatf/5.6,for2hours,8minutes,ISO100.Bothimages16–35mmIIsetto16mm,CanonEOS-1DX.Acrescentmoonlitthelandscapeforashortwhilebeforegoingbehindthemountain.

W here stars as points of light portray a moment in time, star trails evoke time’spassage.Justasameteorleavesanilluminatedtraildocumentingitstransitthrough

theatmosphere,amatterofseconds,astartrailrecordsthepassageofallthestarsintheskyoverminutes or hours, like thousandsof bristles on a celestial paintbrush arcing inparallelacrossadarkcanvas.

Astar-trail imagecanbecreatedwithasingle longexposureorwithmanyexposureslayered, or stacked, to give a similar effect. In the stacked imagemethod, instead of asingleshot,wecaptureseveralorevendozensinsequence,with2secondsbetweenshots.Eachimageportrayseachstarasasmallarcoflight.Thestackofimages,oncemerged,connectsthearcstocreatethecurvingsweepofthestars’paths.Inessence,astartrailisamoviecomposedofmanyindividualframescompressedintoasingleimage.

Different focal lengths produce different effects. A wide angle captures tight curveswhileatelephotoshowsonlyafewdegreesofarc.Bothcanbeeffective.Thetelephoto’sstronglinesdivingintothehorizonarepropulsive;thedramaticcurvesofawideanglearedynamicandgraceful.

COMPOSINGTHEIMAGEForcircularstartrails,useawide-anglelenstogetasmuchofthecircleaspossible.Thenpoint thecamera to thenorth, ideally towardPolaris,alsoknownas theNorthStar.TheNorthStarwillremainapoint,actingasthecenterofthemaypole.Thestarsspinarounditinconcentriccircleswhileitremainsinafixedpositioninthesky.

TheBigDipperrotatesneartheNorthStar.ItspositionaroundtheNorthStarchangeswiththeseasonsandthetimeofnight.Itcanbehardtofindinthefallwhenit’sbelowthestar,maskedbytheatmosphereandlightscatter.Ifyouhaveacompass,youcanfindtheNorthStarat truenorthbetween35and50degreesabovethehorizoninthecontiguousUnitedStates.

The side of theDipper opposite the handle points toward theNorth Star. Follow theimaginary trajectory from the bottom front star of theDipper’s cup, through the upperfrontcornerstar,andontothenextbrightstar,Polaris.

There isnobrightpole star for theSouthernHemisphere.Establish true southwithacompass,accountingfordeclinationofmagneticsouth.Pointyourcamerainthatdirectionto capture the south’s concentric star trails, taking into account the angle above thehorizon.

Togetasmuchofthecircleaspossible,chooseawide-anglelenssuchas14or16mmonafull-framecamera.Thewiderthelens,themorecirclesyouwillsee.ExperimentwiththeplacementofPolaris.Acenteredcompositionlooksgoodasdoeshavingthecenterofthecircleofftooneside,usingtheruleofthirdsandplacingithightotherightorleftintheframe.Includetreesorotherframingelementstoaddinteresttothestartrail.

Tocapturestarsas lines in theframe, therearemanyoptions.Togetasoliddiagonalline,pointthecameratotheeastorwestandusealenswithatleasta50mmfocallength.Toget thecurvatureof the linesgoing inoppositedirections, likeS-curves,useawide-anglelensandpointthecameratotheeastorwest.Pointingthecameratothesouthwillhaveasubtlecurvedownwardatthecornersoftheframewithawide-anglelens.

FindingPolaris.NoticetheBigDipperpointstoabrightstar,Polaris.f/1.8,20seconds,ISO1250,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Shootingtowardtheeastproducesthediagonallines.ThewarmglowisfromLasVegaslightsinthedistance.Atotaloftenexposuressettof/2.8,4minuteswithISO400and70mmfocallength,24-70mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.Therewasapartialmoonthathadalreadyset,causingfewerstarstoshowandmoreambientlight.DeathValleyNationalPark,California.

SINGULARVERSUSSTACKEDSTARTRAILS

Therearetwowaystocreatestar trail images.Oneusesasinglelongexposure,andthe

otherassemblesasequenceofshorterexposuresandmergestheminpost-processingafterthe shoot. There are advantages and disadvantages to eachmethod. Singular star trailsdon’trequireprocessingoftheindividualframestocombinethem,makingthemeasier.Aseriesofstackedstartrailsallowsyoutoselecttheimagesyouwanttouseinaset.Ifaplane flies through the sceneduringoneof your exposures, you can start and endyoursequencewithout theplane trails.Stackedstar trailsare lessconvincingwhenshotwithwide-angle lensescompared to50mmor longer focal lengths.This isbecause thewide-angle lenses leave tinygapsbetween the star trails, and thegaps are conspicuouswhenenlarged to a print; however, processing methods can help with closing the gaps. Igenerallyuseawide-anglelensforsingularstartrailsandanyfocallengthbeyond50mmfor stacked star trails. Stacked star tails are useful when light intensity changes as themoonrisesorsets,causingtheexposuretochange.

TIPMy digital camera batteries last about 4 hours, 15 minutes when new. Olderbatteries have a lower recharge performance and don’t last as long, nor do coldbatteries. Test your battery life before doing a singular star trail with noisereductionturnedon.

DETERMININGEXPOSUREOnadark,moonlessnightweseemorestars,andtheexposureismoreconsistent.Whenthemoon ispresent, itbathes the landscape inwonderful light.Themoonlightvaries inintensity,muchlikethesun,andtheexposurefortheskywillchangethroughthenightasthemoonrisesorsets.

To prepare for photographing star trails, take a test shot at 30 seconds, wide-openaperture(suchasf/2.8),andtheISOneededforthescene.Try6400or10000ifitisanewmoon, that is,withnomoon in thesky. (Note that ISO10000 is recommendedonlyfortestshotsandnotforfinalimagesforprinting.)wIfyourcameradoesnotreachthathighanISOoryoudon’thavef/2.8,usewhatyouhaveandmakeadjustmentsasneeded,suchas takinga testexposureat1minute.Takeacoupleofshotsuntilyoufindagoodbaseexposure. If themoon ispresent,usea smalleraperture, suchas f/4,because the imagewill be sharper at f/4 or f/5.6 than at a wide-open aperture. It will also display lessvignettingandpickupmorestars.

Figureouttheexposureforstartrailsbydoingabitofmath.ForeverydoublingoftheshutterspeedreducetheISOoraperturebyonef-stop.

Onthenewmoon,startrailsworkwellatf/2.8,4minutesatISO400to800.YoucanlowertheISO,whichwouldgeneratelessnoise,ifyourlensisfaster.Withanf/1.4lens,twostopsfasterthananf/2.8,youcanuseISO200.

NativeISOisthebestchoicewhenpossibleforlownoise.UsethenativeISOforyourcamera(seechapter5,CameraSettings).

SINGULARSTARTRAILS

As an example of how to calculate the exposure, imagine setting the ISO at 6400, theaperture to f/2.8, and the shutter speed to 30 seconds. (Note that this is about one stop

underexposedatthenewmoon,souseISO10000ifyouhaveitavailable.)AdjusttheISOuntil the exposure looks correct, that is, where the hump in the histogram covers thebottomtwostops.Giventheexposuresettingsabove,thecalculationwouldgoasfollows:

Startwithf/2.8,30seconds,ISO6400.Doubletheexposuretimeuntilyougetthetotalexposuretimeyouwanttoshoot.Eachtimeyoudoubletheexposureisequivalenttoonef-stopoflight.Foraboutanhourforstartrails,doublingfrom30secondsto1minutethen2minutes,4minutes,8minutes,16minutes,32minutes,and finally64minutesequalssevendoublingsorsevenstops.

Next,taketheISOanddividebyhalfforeachf-stop,thatis,divideinhalfseventimes.GoingfromISO6400to3200to1600to800to400to200to100to50gives theISOsevenf-stopslower.SoISO50at64minuteswilldeliverthesameexposureasISO6400for30seconds.Thefinalexposure:f/2.8,64minutes,ISO100.

Theexposurewillvaryaccordingtotheamountoflightpresentintheskyandthephaseofthemoon.Ifalongerexposureisdesired,doublethetimeagainfrom64minutesto128minutesandreducetheISOto25orchangethef-stop.WhenyouneedanISOlowerthanthelowestsettingavailableonyourcamera,stopdowntheaperturebyonef-stop.Forthisexample,changingtheexposurefromf/2.8tof/4woulddelivertheproperexposure.

EXAMPLEEXPOSURETIMESFORSINGULARSTARTRAILNEARANEWMOON

TIME F-STOP ISO

32minutes f/4 40064minutes f/4 2002hours,8minutes f/5.6 2004hours,16minutes f/5.6 100

or f/8 200

For digital SLR you do not need toworry about reciprocity failure for the exposuretime.Reciprocity failure shifts thecolorsof filmand lowers theeffective ISOduringlongexposures.Ifyouareusingfilm,besuretousealongerexposure.

STACKEDSTARTRAILS

Tomake stacked star trails, use several 4-minute exposures and combine them in post-processing.Iuse4-minuteexposuresbecauseanythinglongertendstoproducetoomuchnoisewithout the use of noise reduction, and the long exposure noise reduction featurewill create gaps in your star trails. Recall that long exposure noise reductionworks bytakingadarkimageofequivalentexposuretimedirectlyafteryourshot,resultinginlongintervalsbetweenexposuresthatcreategaps.Forstackedstartrails,you’llwantintervalsofonly2seconds,sousinglongexposurenoisereductionisnotagoodoption.

Figureoutthesettingsforyourbaseexposureof30seconds,asdescribedabove.Fromthose settings you can calculate the settings to use for your 4-minute exposures. Forexample:With base settings of f/2.8, 30 seconds, ISO 6400, double the time from 30seconds to 1 minute, then 2 minutes and 4 minutes. At 4 minutes, that equals threedoublingsorthreestops.HalvetheISOinthesamemanner:ISO6400to3200to1600to

800.Thatcalculationyieldsf/2.8for4minuteswithISO800.

EXAMPLEEXPOSURETIMESFORSTACKEDSTARTRAILSNEARANEWMOO

TIME F-STOP ISO

4minutes f/2.8 400to800

HOWMANYIMAGES?

Forstackingstartrails,useasmany4-minuteexposuresasyouareabletophotographin a night, and decide later howmany youwant to include. For linear star trails, 45minuteswitha50mmlensisagoodstartingpoint.Thattranslatestoeleventofifteen4-minuteexposures.

WHATISOSETTING?

Use ISO400whenpointing the camera eastorwest in thedirectionof the sunsetorsunrise.UseISO800whenpointingthecameranorth,south,oroppositethesunsetorsunrise.

Tryphotographingattheedgeoftwilightandbasetheexposuretimeonthedarknight,nottheexposureneededfortwilight.Thiswillallowsomeoftheglowonthelandscapetoappearinthestartrail.Thisworksforbothsingularandstackedstartrails.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFERI traveled with some friends to Death Valley, which is where we photographed thestackedstartrailsbelow.Wewentoutonthefirstnighttosetup,leftthecamerasthereinthedunesafterdark,anddepartedtogetsomesleep.Wereturnedinthemorningbeforedawn, but we couldn’t find the cameras and the dunes all seemed to look the same.Sunrise came, but stillwe saw no cameras.After 45minutes of trudging through thesandweeventuallyspottedthem.Butnexttime:GPS!

32minutes(eightexposures)

1hour(fifteenexposures).

2hours(thirtyexposures).

4hours16minutes(sixty-fourexposures).

ExampleofstartrailsfordifferentlengthsoftimeatthenewmooninDeathValleyNationalPark,California.Theclarityofthestarsisaffectedbyhumidity,elevation,andlightpollution,allofwhichwillaffecthowintensethestartrailswillappearinyourimage.Atotalofsixty-fourexposuressettof/2.8,4minuteswithISO400at16mm.EF16–35mmf/2.8LIIUSM,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Ileftnoisereductiononbymistake,andthisimageshowsthegapsinthestartrailsthatresulted.Thisisaviewtothesouth,fromthenorthernhemisphere,showingthecurvatureofthestartrails.f/2.8,4-minuteexposures,16mmlens,ISO800,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

TIPTurn on long exposure noise reduction for singular star trails and turn it off forstackedstartrails.Turnoffimagestabilizationonthelens,asitwillcausetheshotstobeblurry.Onceyouhavecompletedallyourtestshots,replacethebatterywithafresh,fullychargedone.

USINGANINTERVALOMETERORBULBMODEUsinganintervalometermakesphotographingstar trailseasier.Itattachesto thecameraand allows you to set the shutter speed, the interval between shots, and the number offrames.Ithasfourcomponents:

SELF: Atimedelaybeforetheexposurecommenceslikeaself-timer.(Idon’tusethis.)

INT: Theintervaltimebetweenexposures;usedwithstackedstartrails.

LONG: Theshutterspeedorexposuretime;usedwithbothstackedandsingularstartrails.

FRAMES: Thenumberofimagesitwilltake.

Forasinglestartrail,setonlytheshutterspeed;setitforthedesiredtimeandsetthenumberofimagesto1.Forstackedstartrails,settheexposuretimeto4minutes,setthenumberof exposures (frames)youwish to take (or leaveat0 for continuous shooting),and set the interval. Setting the interval to 2 seconds will mean that when it is doneprocessingan image, itwillwait2secondsbefore taking thenextshot.Youcanset theintervalometerforthetimeyouareexposingandadd2secondsormorebetweenframes,suchassettingitfor4minutesand2seconds.Besuretofactorintheprocessingtimeofyourcamera.

Alternatively, if you don’t have an intervalometer, you can start the exposurewith aremote shutter by setting the camera to the Bulb Setting. The Bulb setting, oftenabbreviated “B,” opens the shutter andkeeps it open for as long as youhold down theshutterreleasebutton.Onsomecamerasitisaseparatemode(bulbmode),andonothersyou set it by pressing and holding the shutter button for the exposure time you want,whichneeds tobeat least30seconds toactivate thesetting.Youmayalsoset theBulbsettingbypassing30secondsontheshutterspeed.Next,pressandholdtheshutterbuttonon the remote and lock it in place. Then time the exposure. Unlock the shutter buttonwhenenoughtimeelapses.

Intervalometerwithexamplesettingsforstackedstartrails.

STARTRAILS

CombinedimageofHalfDomeinYosemitelitbythemoonlightandthestartrailsphotographedlaterintheeveningaftermoonset,allowingforadarkerskyandmorestars.TheimageswiththestartrailsrenderedHalfDomeandforegroundverydarkandwithoutdetail.Bothimagesweretakenatf/2.8,3.5minutes(4minuteswouldbeabetterexposurethan3.5minutesforstartrails),ISO800,51mmEF24–70mmf/2.8LUSMwithninestackedstartrailsforatotalof31.5minutes,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Youmaywanttosetanalarmonacellphoneasareminder.Manualtimingcanworkforasingleexposureor forseveral4-minuteexposureswhenstackingstar trails. Ifyouare planning to leave the camera during the exposure andwill bewearing a headlamp,notethattheheadlamp’slightwillbeinthephoto.Usethecamera’sself-timerfeaturetoallowyouenoughtimetomoveawaybeforetheexposurebegins.

For details on how to process your star trails see chapter 11, Post-Processing NightImages.

CHECKLIST:CAMERASETTINGSFORSTACKEDSTARTRAILSBesureyouareusingafullychargedbattery.

Selectlens.Forcurvedstartrails,useawide-anglelensandpointcameranorthforcircles;orpointanydirectionforcurves.Forstraightdiagonallinetrails,usea50–85mmlensandpointeastorwest.

Turnofflongexposurenoisereduction.

Turnoffimagestabilization.

Setshutterspeedto30secondsfortestshot.

Setaperturetof/2.8

SetISO.Atf/2.8onadarknight,useISO6400or10000.

Setwhitebalanceto3600K.

Focusonthestars.

Taketestphotoandgetagoodexposureat30seconds.

Calculatethesettingsforyour4-minuteexposuresbasedonthe30-secondexposuresettingsin“DeterminingExposure.”Exampleexposuretimesforstackedstartrailsnearanewmoon:4minutes,f/2.8atISO400–800.

Setintervalometerforexposuretimeinminutes(Longsetting).

Pressthestartbuttonontheintervalometer.

FORASINGLESTARTRAIL,USETHECHECKLISTABOVEPLUS:Setthecameratobulbsettingorusetheshutterspeedsetting(Long)ontheintervalometer.

Turnonlongexposurenoisereduction.

8THEMOON

Theauroraborealisfillstheskywiththecloudsbacklitbythemoon,whichhad40percentofitssurfacevisible.M´yvatn,Iceland.f/2.8,15seconds,ISO3200,16–35mm,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

I nthecourseof themoon’sorbit, thesun lights itsback,sides,andfront,creating thephases.Although themoonappears to travelwestwith the stars, eachday it rises50

minuteslaterand12degreesofarcfarthereast,whichslightlyalterstheangleofthesunonthemoonsoitappearstochangeshapedaybydayoveratwenty-eight-daycycle.

The function of the moon in a photograph depends in part on its size. Shot with atelephotolens,arisingmooncandominateascene.Amedium-sizecrescentcanbalanceacomposition.Evenwhen reduced toa tinybright spotwhenphotographedwithawide-anglelens,themoon’saccentcanmaketheshot.Asthebrightestobjectinmostimagesinwhichitappears,itwillbeanoticeablefeaturehoweveritisused.

Thefullmoonrisesintheeastjustaftersunset,whilethenewmoonfollowsthesettingsun over thewestern horizon.A fullmoon occurswhen the entire surface facingEarthreflects the sun,with theearthalmostdirectlybetween the sunand themoon.Thenewmoonsitsalmostdirectlybetweentheearthandthesun.Withoutavisiblereflection,wecan’tseeitasitfollowsthesundowntothehorizon.Theonlytimeweseethenewmoonisduring an eclipse and thenonly as a silhouette.Thedarkest nights, and therefore thebestforbrilliantstarphotography,occurduringthenewmoon.

Findmoonphasesandtimesonlineatwww.timeanddate.comorviaappssuchasSunSeeker or LightTrac. See Resources at the end of the book for more options. Plan tophotographtowardthedirectionofthemoontoincludeitinthescene,photographingtotheeastatmoonriseandtothewestatmoonsetduringtwilight(theperiodjustaftersunsetandjustbeoresunrisewhenthereissomelightinthesky).

DETERMININGEXPOSUREIngeneral,agoodstartingexposureforphotographingthefullmoonisf/8,ISO100,andshutterspeedfrom1/125to1/60ofasecond.ThisiswhatIcallthe“looneyf/8”rule.Itissimilartothesunnyf/16rule:onasunnyday,usef/16andsettheshutterspeedthesameastheISO.Forthelooneyf/8rule,I’vemodifiedthestepstoopenbyoneortwof-stops,to f/8or f/11; someprefer f/11,but I like f/8.Theexposure at f/8wouldbe1/100of asecond.Roundthattooneoftheclosestshutterspeedssuchas1/125or1/60.Usefastershutter speeds for long lenses. If you take the photograph and zoom in to find that themoonisblurryfrommovement,increasetheshutterspeeduntilthemoonissharp.Moreexposuremight be needed if pollution limits the light coming down from themoon orwhenthemoonislowonthehorizon,creatinglowerlightlevels.

However,thecorrectexposureforthemoonmayunderexposetheskyorforeground.Insuchcases,youcouldblendtwoexposuresiftheexposureisclose,orphotographfortheforegroundorskyanddarkenthemooninpost-processing.

WhatIphotographed:Themoonappearsasadotinthesky.

WhatIsaw:Thefullmoon,photographedwiththe800mmlensanda2.0xteleconvertercreatinga1600mmfocallength.Thisimageisslightlycropped.WhenIaddedthe1.4xteleconverter,themoonfilledtheframecompletely.f/13,1/30second,ISO100,EF800mmf/5.6LISUSM+2.0x,+1.4xforafocallengthof2240mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

Keeptrackofthephasesofthemoontofindyouridealshootingconditions.©BlueRingMedia/Shutterstock.com

The correct shutter speed is partly a function of lens focal length.Themoondoesn’tappeartomoveinawide-angleshot,butitdriftsoutofa600mmframequickly.

Usemirror lock-upwith longer lenses.Without it, thevibrationof themirrorflippingoutofthewayofthesensorsendsashiverdownthelens,blurringslowerexposures.

Depth of field is rarely a problem when photographing the moon without a nearbyforeground,sowideaperturesusuallyworkwell.Asalways,usethehistogramtoconfirmthat you haven’t blown out the brightest parts of the picture. If the moon looksoverexposed in the LCD, but the histogram shows there has been no clipping, reduceexposure orminimize the highlights in software.Unfortunately,when photographing atnight,everythingunlitlooksblackinthefinalresult.

FULLMOONPhotographingthetruefullmoonasitrisesmayleadtodisappointment.OnthenightthefullmoonrisesinthecontiguousUnitedStates,itarrivesinfulldarkness.Unlessyoucanlighttheforegroundorit’slitforyou,chooseadaywhenyoucanshootintwilight.Youcan get some definition in the foreground and still give the impression of a nightphotograph.

The most beautiful full moon shots are not full moons at all. Generally they occurduringthetwodusksbeforefullmoonwhenanalmost-fullmoonrisesamidalovelyblueand pink hue. Photograph the fullmoon one or two nights before the night of the fullmoon,at twilight to thewest.Thesamethinghappens in theeastduringthe twodawnsafterthefullmoon.Photographthefullmoonthemorningofthefullmoonoroneortwodaysafteratdawn,whenthesunisstillbelowthehorizonline.Iftherearemountainsinthescene,it’sidealtoallowtwodaysforthemoontoriseorsetoverthemountains.Thelasttintsofsunsetandfirstmorninglightaddcolortotheskyandlenddefinitiontotheforeground.Checkthemoonsettingandrisingtimesbeforegoingtoyourlocationtoseewhenitisbest,asitvariesbylocationandlatitude.Agraduatedneutraldensityfiltermaybeneededtobalancethebrightnessbetweenlandandsky.Metertothesideofthemoonwiththefilterinplace,reframe,andshoot.

EasternSierraNevada,California,twodaysafterthefullmoonnearsunrise.f/11,1/25second,ISO100,EF70–200mmsetto200mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.Imagewasslightlycropped.

CRESCENTMOONWhenyouseethewaxing(growing)moonasaslimcrescent,it’salwaysinthewestaftersunset,settingintothewarm,orangelight.Likethenewmoon,thewaxingcrescentmoonisnearlyinlinewiththeearthandsun,itssunlitsidefacingmostlyawayfromus,sowesee only a slender lit arc, the crescent. The moon in shadow isn’t perfectly black.Earthshine,lightreflectedfromtheearth,illuminatestheshadowsideofthemoonenoughforustoseeit.

Eachsuccessiveevening,themoon’sorbitalmotioncarriesitawayfromthealignmentof the new moon. Thus, the moon grows fatter. It also sets later so it descends intodarknessinsteadofintowarmlight.

CrescentmoonatsunsetonedayafterthenewmoonatDeathValleyNationalPark,California.f/4.5,2.5seconds,ISO320,70–200mmlens+1.4xteleconverterfocallength280mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

FullmoononedayafterthefullmoonbeforesunriseatNorthLake,California,withstarbursteffect.f/16,30seconds,ISO320,17mmTSlens,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

Afewmorningsbeforethenewmoon,acrescentrisesinthetwilighttotheeast.Thesamethinghappensaftersunsetforafewdaysafterthenewmoontothewest.Photographthecrescentmoonat these times.Theseslendercrescentshang likeornamentsamid thetwilighttints.

Ahalf-moonenjoysapleasingsymmetry,butagibbousmoonseemsmisshapen,likeadeflatedbasketball,andnotveryprettytophotograph.Agibbousmoonisanymoonlargerthanahalfmoonbutnotfull.

STARBURSTMOONTocreateastarburstmoon,useawiderlenstorecordasmallermoonandsettheaperturetof/16orhigher.Atthataperturesetting,theshutter’sinterweavingbladesthatopenandclose like an iris leave a very small opening.This causes diffraction as the light bendsaroundtheblades,generatingtheradiatingarmsoftheburst.Ifplacedwellintheframe,itcanbalanceacomposition.

HALOSANDCLOUDSWhen clouds and cold weather come together a colorful halo appears. Hexagonal icecrystalshighintheatmospherediffractmoonlightontheclouds,creatinga22-degreeringaround the moon. This is an unusually large ring in the sky that presents rarecompositionalopportunities.Exposureisthesameaswhenphotographingthemoon.

Moonandhexagonalicecrystals.AlabamaHills,California.1/5second,f/5.0,ISO400,200mmwith100–400mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Cloudsthatcoverthemoonyetrevealtheskycanprovidestunningmoonraysthataremuch like sun rays.You can also take advantageof these conditions to capture stars inyourimage,thoughacrescentmoonintheskywillallowformorestarsthanafullmoon.Usethestarsaspointsoflightexposurerecommendationsforphotographinglateatnightwithclouds.Thiswillkeepthestarsfrombecomingblurry.

ECLIPSEThelunareclipsehappensduringafullmoonandfeaturesverylowlightwithabeautifulorangecolorwhenthemoonis intotaleclipse.Itoccurswhenthemoonmovesdirectlybehind the earth in the shadow from the sun. Themoon, earth, and sun all need to bealignedfortheeclipsetoblockalldirectsunlight.

Tophotographapartialeclipse,startoutwith1/250second,f/5.6atISO100.Forthefulleclipse,1/2second,f/5.6,ISO1600.TheverylowlightlevelrequiresthehigherISOsetting. If using a long lens on a full eclipse, check that movement of the moon isn’tcausingittolookblurry.

You can photograph a sequence of images of the eclipse as it transitions from a fullmoonintotheeclipseandback.Thesettingsaboveareagoodstartingpoint,buttheywillchangethroughthephasesoftheeclipse.Findaninterestingforegroundorlocation,takephotographs at twilight to usewith the eclipse photographs, then combine your imagestogetherinprocessing.

Lunareclipseshowsthemoonintheshadowofthesun.©Fluidworkshop/Shutterstock.com

Lunareclipse.0.4second,f/5.6,ISO2000.Lens400mm,f/4DOISUSM+1.4xTeleconverterfor560mmactualfocallength,CanonEOS60D.Somecropping.

Check theResourcessection to lookupwhena lunareclipsewilloccur inyourarea.Lookforatotaleclipseversusapartialone.Checkthepathofthemoon,soyoucanframeyourshotswiththatmovementinmind.Seealsoeclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html.

MOONLIGHTMoonlightprovides lightona landscape,showing thescene inauniqueway. Itmaybedim,butitisnotsoft.Themoonisasmalllightsource,theoppositeofanovercastsky,anditproduceshardshadowsunlessmutedbythincloudsorotherscrim.

Aquartermoonor largershiningbehindyoucangivetheforegroundsomedefinitionwithout scattering light anddimming the stars—ormoreprecisely, reducing contrast bybrightening the sky. A full moon will be very bright with fewer stars visible whiletransforming the scene into a surreal version of daylight. Anything reflective such aswater,ice,leaves,whiterocks,orglassshinemorebrightlyinamoonlitscene.

Before you venture out, check where the moon will be in the sky, then consult atopographicalmap to anticipate the direction that themoonlightwill fall.You can findyourlocationonGoogleMapsandpreviewthedirectionyouwillbephotographingfrom(photographing looking toward the southwest), or you can buy topo maps at outdoorrecreation stores. Another good option is to use the Photographer’s Ephemeris, atstephentrainor.com/tools, which uses GoogleMaps and places the path of the sun andmoondirectlyoveritshowingthedirectionofthemoonaswellastheangleofitsrise.SeeResourcesformoreinformation.

Bristleconepinetreebymoonlight.f/2.8,15seconds,ISO1600,24–70mmlenssetto24mm,CanonEOS5D.

Noticethelongshadowsfromthetreescreatedbythelowangleofthemoonontheleftsideoftheimage.Moonlightissofterlightwhenthemoonislowertothehorizonandnotafullmoon.Rememberthatthepositionofthemoonisdifferentthanthatofthesun,sotheshadowsonthelandscapeatnightwillnotbethesameasthoseyouseeduringthedaywhenscoutinglocations.UpperCathedralLake,YosemiteNationalPark,California.Thisimageiscomposedoftwoexposureswiththelowangleofthemoon.Theyweretakenwithinminutesofeachother,oneforthelightintheshadowsoftheforegroundandanotherforthelandscapeandsky.IfIhadonlyusedtheexposureofthelandscapeandsky,theforegroundwouldhavebeenverydark,andanyattemptatlighteningtheforegroundwouldhavecausedtoomuchnoise.Foregroundexposure:20seconds,f/2.0,IS01000.Skyexposure:20seconds,f/1.4,ISO500.24mmf/1.4lens.CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Thesetwoimageswerephotographedfromthesamelocation,twodaysapart,inYosemiteNationalPark,California.Inthisimage,themoonwasnearlyanewmoonandhadsetbehindthemountain.Thesmalllineisameteor.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO2000,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Here,themoonwasawaxingcrescentsoabout35%ofitssurfacewasvisible.Moonlightonthelandscapeshowsusthedetailsinthescene.f/2.0,20seconds,ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

ThesetwoimageswerephotographedinYosemiteNationalPark,California,onthesamenightandmomentsapart. I took thephotographof themountainand turned90degreescounterclockwisetogetthephotographofthetree.

Thisdemonstratesthestrengthoffrontallight.Themoonwasbehindmeandslightlytotheright,asyoucanseefromthegradationofshadowonthetree.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO800,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Moonlightcreatesdifferentmoodsdependingonthetypeoflight.Sidelightishazyanddimmeronthemountainsthanfrontallight.Themoonwastotherightoftheframe.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO500,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Whenphotographingbymoonlight,lookwherethemoonisintheskyandphotographintheoppositedirectionforthelightonthelandscape.Theangleandheightofthemooncreatedifferentqualitiesoflight.Aboutaweekortwoafterthefullmoon,themoonrisesfromtheeastaftersunset.Plantotakeyourphotographsfacingwestwhenitcomesupintheskyforfrontallighting.

Frontallight,whenthemoonisdirectlybehindyouorslightlytooneside,isastronglightsourcethatworkswelltoilluminatethelandscape.Sidelightfromthemoonisnotasbright,butitcreateswell-definedshadows.Extremesidelightcanlookhazyifthemoonisjustoutsidetheedgeoftheframe.

AsthemoonsetsinYosemiteNationalPark,itsglowisenhancedbyafewwispyclouds,makingitlookalmostlikethesun.Ifyoutrythiswiththesun,thestronglightsourcewithmakethestarsinvisible.f/2.2,10seconds,ISO1600,24mmlensandCanonEOS5DMarkII.

Whenthemoonislowintheskyandnearthehorizon,itcastslongshadowswithlowerlight levels. When the moon is higher in the sky, a stronger light produces shortershadows. The shadows are similar to what we see in sunlight at sunset versusmiddaylight,exceptwithlessintensityorcolorglow.

MOONBOWSInmistyconditionsaroundthetimeofthefullmoon,moonlightcreatesmoonbows,alsocalled lunar bows. They curve like rainbows but appear as white bands of light to thenakedeye.Thoughtheyarenotbrightenoughformostofustoseeincolor,thecameraisabletocapturetheircolors.

Particular conditions must be met to produce a moonbow, making them rarer thanrainbows.Likerainbows,theyappearwhenthereismoistureintheair.Moonbowsrequirethebrightestofmoonstobevisible,afullornearlyfullmoon,inaskyfreefromcloudsorhazethatcouldblockthelightandfromlightpollutionthatcouldoverwhelmthem.

Moonbowsareseendirectlyoppositethemoon,solookinthedirectionofyourshadow.They are stronger when themoon is lower on the horizon and fade as themood riseshigherinthesky.

One way to try to anticipate moonbows is to use the Photographer’s Ephemeris:

photoephemeris.com (desktop version or app). Choose your location, select your date,clickondetails,andseewhenthemoonwillbeintheskybyslidingthetime-framearrowtotherightandlookingatthedegreesofthemoon.Tophotographthemoonbow,usethesamesettingsneededtoshootalandscapeunder

the fullmoon.Since awide-openaperture such as f/2.8will suffer fromvignetting andchromaticaberration,stopdowntof/4.Thefullmoonwillprovideplentyof light.Startwithmanualmodeatf/4,30seconds,andISO800to1000.Bracketyourexposurefromthisstartingpoint.

Moonbowscanbepredictedwheretherearewaterfallsbecausethemistwillguaranteeamoonbowwithdirect,full-moonlight.Whenresearchinglocationsforwaterfalls, lookforfalls thatreceivelightfromthemoon:intheNorthernHemisphere,waterfallsfacingsoutheastorsouthforphotographingaftersunsetandwaterfallsfacingsouthorsouthwestforbeforesunrise;orfortheSouthernHemisphere,fallsfacingnorth.SeeResources.

Moonbows work best with large waterfalls that have a significant amount of spray.Spring is the time of year with the greatest water volume. Some good waterfalls formoonbowsincludeCumberlandFallsinKentucky;VictoriaFallsontheborderofZambiaandZimbabwe; Skógafoss in Iceland; andYosemite Falls,Bridalveil Fall, andCascadeFallsinornearYosemiteNationalParkinCalifornia.Inmyopinion,NiagaraFallshastoomuchlightpollution.

Bepreparedtoprotectyourselfandthecamerafromwindandthemistfromthefalls.Ifthe water flow is heavy, wear a raincoat, rain pants, and waterproof shoes. Use a raincoverforyourcamera.Asanaddedprecaution,bringasmall,highlyabsorbentpacktoweland a chamois.Watchout forwater on the lens from the sprayof thewaterfall, and, ifneeded,usethetoweltomopwateroffthecameraorlensandfinishdryingthelenswiththechamois.

MoonbowandYosemiteFalls,YosemiteNationalPark,California.Thislocationisextremelybusywithmanyphotographers,sobepreparedforthecrowds.f/4.0,20seconds,ISO1000,30mm,24–70mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.Anothercompositionwouldbetousea14mmlensandincludemoreoftheskyintheframe.(TheBigDipperisvisiblefromYosemiteFalls.)FormoonbowpredictiontimesforYosemiteNationalPark,seeuweb.txstate.edu/~do01/moonbows2010.html.

Beforeyougettothefalls,applyallyourcamerasettings,focusonthemoon,andtapethelensinplace.Puttheraincoveronthecamera.Itisdifficulttofocusthroughthemist,andgettingeverythingreadybeforeyouarriveatthefallspreventsthelensfromgettingwetwhilefocusing.Scouttheareaforaspotthatstilldoesn’thavetoomuchmistbutstillhasaviewofthemoonbow.

9TWILIGHT

TheBeltofVenusattwilightinNamibia.f/11,3.2seconds,ISO100,24-70mmIIat24mm,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

T wilightiscommonlythoughtofastheperiodjustbeforesunsetbutitalsoreferstothetimejustbeforesunrise.Duringtwilight,lightshiftsfromwarmtocool,fromyellow

toblue.Withoutstronglight,harshcontrastdisappearsandcolorsseemtoglowinternally.Minutebyminute,blueandpinktonesintermingle,withbluegainingdominanceuntiltheskydims and the faintest tones seep away, replacedby the cobalt blueof night.Beforesunrise, of course, this evolution of the light is reversed, but with the same dramaticeffectsforphotography.

Twilight is also called the blue hour, but its actual duration depends on latitude andseason.Neartheequator,twilightlastsabouttwentyminutesyear-round.AbovetheArcticCircle, however, the midnight sun forestalls twilight. In midwinter the pole abides indarkness,andaroundtheArcticCircletwilightisextended,withlesslightduringtheday.

When thesky isstillbrightenough toappear richbluebefore fulldarkness, themostbeautifullightappearsonthehorizonoppositethesunset,astripofredlightsandwichedbetweenthedarkbluebandbelowandabluegradientabove.ThisistheBeltofVenus.Itiscomposedofredlightfromthesunrefractedthroughtheatmosphereandcutoffonthebottombytheshadowoftheearth.Lookforitfivetotwentyminutes—orlongerinhighlatitudes—after sunset and before sunrise. The deepest pink hues occur at twilightoppositethesun.Atsunriselookforittothewestornorthwest,andatsunsetlookforittotheeastorsoutheast,dependingonyourlocation.

Alongexposurecreatesthemistylookoftheoceansurfattwilight,nearOahu,Hawaii.f/16,20seconds,ISO100,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

ThepinkglowoftheBeltofVenusphotographedlookingnorthwestatLakeTahoe,Nevada.f/16,1.6seconds,ISO160,15mmonacrop-sensorcamera.Noticethecurvaturecreatedbythefisheyelens,anEF8–15mmfisheye,CanonEOS7D.

Thesamescenebynight.f/4,20seconds,ISO3200,15mmonacrop-sensorcamerashowsthecurvatureofthelens,anEF8–15mmfisheye,CanonEOS7D.

Pinkcloudsglowattwilight,Jökulsárlón,Iceland.f/16,1/80second,ISO100,25mm,24–70mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

At times the planet Venus, also called the morning star, shines with unnaturalbrightness,precedingthesunontheeasternhorizonbeforesunrise.Venusthendisappearsin the sky as sunlight overwhelms it or, at other times, as it follows the sun below thehorizonaftersunset.

DETERMININGEXPOSUREPhotographing a twilight scene on any automatic setting or according to the meter inmanualmodewillresultinanapparentlyoverexposedimageontheLCDbecausemetersaverageascenetocorrespondwithneutralgray,halfwaybetweenpurewhiteandabsoluteblack.Themeterseesatwilightsceneasunderexposedandbrightensittoneutralgray.Anexposurewhere theLCDmatches the scene requires a one- to two-stopunderexposure,buteventhatwon’tyieldanoptimalexposure.Thebestsolutionistoslightlyoverexposetheimage.Aslightlyoverexposedimagecapturesmoreinformationandwillproducelessnoise,buttheexposurewillneedtobereducedinpost-processing.

Theforegroundisoftenmuchdarkerthanthesky,butatwo-stopneutraldensityfiltercanbalancetheexposure.Astwilightmovestowardnight,itbecomeshardertofocus.Useaflashlighttoilluminatetheforegroundforfocusing.

URBANNIGHTSCityscapeslookmoredramaticagainstatwilightsky.Pureblacknightisadullbackdrop,and the contrast between city lights and sky is too harsh. The light from the city

overpowers the stars as well. But there is a point during twilight at which the light isbalancedbetweenthecitylightsandskysothatthelightsmaynotbeblownoutandtheskyisnottoodark.Thiscanbehardtoseewithyoureyes,butthecamerawillpickitup,sokeepphotographingthroughtwilightuntilthebalanceoflightlooksgood.Reviewyourimageswhilephotographingandlookforadeepcobaltbluecolor.Thebluecolorlastsalongtime,butitonlygetsdeepblueforafewminutes.Ifthelightsarenotbalancedwiththe sky, take two photographs, one for the building lights and one for the sky, thencombinetheminpost-processing.

Includingaroadwithstreaksofthecarlightscanaddinteresttoacityscene.Increasestreaksbyusingalongershutterspeed,eitherbyloweringtheISO,stoppingdown(f/16),or using a neutral density filter. Be careful of headlights shining unexpectedly into theframe.

WORKINGWITHCITYLIGHTS

Yellowlightsaresodiumvaporlightsthatappearyellowororangetothecamera.Theyarethemostcommonkindofstreetlights.UsethetungstenorlightbulbsettingtocorrectforthisordialinaKelvintemperaturesettingtoward4000Korlower.

Green lights aremercury vapor lights that the camera sees as green.Often found inolder cities or older neighborhoods, they are used for streetlights and for lighting largeoutdoorareas.Shiftingtinttowardmagentawhenprocessingthephotographsorusingthecustomwhitebalancefeatureinthecameracorrectsthecolortowardneutral.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFERBeforesunriseisoneofmyfavoritetimestophotograph,especiallytheBeltofVenus.Thesoftandcolorfullightgivesthelandscapeapeacefulandsubtlequality.Ipreferitover sunset for some reason; perhaps the air is cleaner or it’s just the stillness of themorning.Wilderness photographerGalenRowell used to say, “Most people arrive toolateandleavetooearly,”andIagree!

BayatSanSebastian,Spain.Thecurvatureofthefisheyelensaddsinteresttothescene.f/16,30seconds,ISO125,8–15mmfisheyesetat15mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

GoldenGateBridgeattwilightusingafisheyelensonacrop-sensorcamera.Thecameraisfairlylevel,sothelensdoesnotshowasmuchbarreldistortionasitwouldifitwerepointedupordown.f/11,2seconds,ISO640,8–15mmfisheyesetat15mm,CanonEOS7D.

SanSebastian,Spain,attwilightwiththedeepcobaltblueofthenight.Noticethecurvaturecreatedbythefisheyelens.f/16,3.2seconds,ISO100,EF8–15mmfisheyesetat15mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Multicoloredlightsinyourimagecomefromvariouslightsourcesinthescene.Insomeplaces, city lights havemany colors, such as those in the brightest spot on Earth, LasVegas.Tocolor-correct,determinethecolortemperatureofthemainlightsource,perhapsyellow or green, and correct as needed, or convert the image to black and white toeliminate themultiplecolors.Theother lightsmaybeoffbut themain lightsdefine thecharacteroftheimage.

10CELESTIALPHENOMENA

Auroraborealiswithriver.BrooksRange,Alaska.f/2.8,20seconds,ISO1000,16mm,EF16–35mmf/2.8LIIUSM,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

I t could be said that the mysteriousness of the night sky is embodied most in themercurialcelestialphenomenathat illuminate it:zodiacal light formingaglowonthe

horizonlikeamythicalcity,iridiumflaresmimickingashootingstar,thebrillianttrailofameteoroid disintegrating in the atmosphere, the shades of color reflecting off ofnoctilucentclouds,orthedancingcurtainsofgreenlightthattypifyauroras.Thoughnotof the sky, volcanoes have been included here because, in terms of night photography,theirfire-litemissionshavemuchincommonwithcelestialphenomena.

Ifyouhaveeverwonderedhowtocatchashootingstar,thekeymaywellbeinlearningtheartofphotographingcelestialevents like these.Theunpredictablenatureofcelestialphenomenon adds thrill to the hunt and gives speed and luck greater-than-usualimportance.

ZODIACALLIGHTOn very dark nights around the time of the equinoxes, the horizon may glow with acolorlesstriangleoflightaboutanhourbeforedawninthefallandanhouraftersunsetinthe spring. It looks like the radiance of a distant city butwith a conical shape. This iszodiacallight,orthefalsedawn.

Sunlightreflectsoffadisk-shapedcloudofdustfoundalongtheorbitsoftheplanets,thepath through the constellationsof the zodiac.Thedust cloud extendspastMars. Itsparticlesaretheremainsofthesolarsystem’screation.

Becausezodiacal light is so faint, anyamountof lightpollutionwillobscure it, evenmoonlight.Zodiacallightisbrightestinthelatitudesfrom30degreesnorthto30degreessouth,whichincludesthemostsoutherlypartsoftheUnitedStates.

To capture the false dawn, use the same camera settings as you would whenphotographingstarsaspointsoflight.

IRIDIUMFLARESIridium or satellite flares are also called satellite glints. The glinting occurs when thesunlight bouncesoff the reflective satellite antenna surfacesback to earth and creates aflash of light that looks like a meteor. The Heavens Above website (www.heavens-above.com) andothers listed in theResources section can tell youwhenandwhere theflareswilloccur,soyoucangetameteor-likephotographatapredictedtime.Theflarescanbeverybrightandthereisusuallyatleastonebrightflareeachweekapparentfrommost locations in the world. In fact, flares are visible almost every night from mostlocations,usuallyseentwoorthreehoursaftersunsetorbeforesunrise.Youwillneedtoknowthelongitudeandlatitudeofyourlocation.CheckoutthewebsiteoniridiumflaresandlookattheFAQsectionofHeavensAboveoniridiumflarestointerpretthechart.

METEORSWhenameteoroidenterstheearth’satmosphere,frictionalheatburnstheobject,creatingabrightionizationtrailtracingitspath,whichiscalledameteor.(Thiswasoncethenamefor theobject itself.)Meteoroidsarecometdebriscomposedofmetals (90percent iron)andstone.Millionsofmeteoroidsenterouratmospheredaily,mostranginginsizefromagrain of sand up to a pebble, with some several feet across. Typically they incinerate

beforeimpact.Meteoroidsorbit thesunlikecometsinimmenseellipticalpaths.Whenalargegroupingswingsneartheearth,swarmsofmeteoroidslightupthenightsky.Thisiscalledameteorshower.Singlemeteorsareoftencalledshootingstarsorfallingstars.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFER

ShootingstaroverHalfDome,YosemiteNationalPark,California.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO1600,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

IwantedtophotographmeteorsfromOlmstedPointinYosemiteNationalPark,highinthemountains,formorestarsintheskyandagoodviewdownacanyontoHalfDome.

ThiswasphotographedonAugust12,2010,atthepeakofthePerseidmeteorshower.Theshowersarevisibleannuallyfrommid-JulythroughthepeakaroundAugust12and13.Thebestviewingisinthemorninghoursbeforeitbecomestoobrighttoseethem,buttheyarevisibleallnight.

IhadphotographedthePerseidsforafewdaysthepreviousyear,andwhileIdidgetsomemeteor shots, I didn’t get the one I was hoping for. There were two really bigmeteorsthosenights,butIwaspointingthecamerainadifferentdirectionorchangingalens.

Forthisimage,Iheadedouttophotographthemeteorshowerandstayedupallnightforseveralnightsinarow.Fortwonightsuntildawn,Isetuptwocameraspointingindifferent directions with the intervalometer set to a 2-second interval for continuousphotographing.ThenightIphotographedthis,afriendcalledmewhileIwastakingthisshot.Wewerebothwatching themeteorsandsawareally largeoneat thesametime.Fortunately,oneofmycameraswaspointedintherightdirection.WhenIwenttolookattheimageonthebackofthecamera,Iscreamed,“Igotit!”

Ameteor-huntingphotographerdependsonanequalmeasureofluckandplanning.Thebest timetocapturemeteorpicturesisduringameteorshower.Duringtheheightof the

largestshowers,meteorsmaystreakacrosstheskyacoupleoftimesaminute.Withluck,afewlargeronesmaypaintawidearc.Meteorshowersemanatefromparticularconstellations.Setupwiththebestforeground

forthatdirection,frametheimagetoincludetheconstellationwiththesurroundingarea,andprogramyourintervalometertoshootframeafterframeforseveralhours.

IfyouliveintheNorthernHemisphere,goodnews:moremajormeteorshowersappearin the north than the south. But not all showers are created equal. TheQuadrantids inJanuaryproduceoveronehundredmeteorsanhour,buttheytendtobefaint.Apriloftenbringsbrightermeteorsbutinsmallnumbers.AroundAugust12and13,theLeonidsyieldsomewhatfewermeteors,buttheyareeasiertosee.ThemeteorsappearfromthePerseusconstellation,solooktowardthenortheast.TheTauridsinNovemberproduceonlyafewmeteorsperhour,butsomearerealfireballsformedbyunusuallylargemeteoroids.Inthenorth, theLeonidsputonagooddisplayaroundNovember17th.Whileyoucanexpectmoremeteors to appear in thedirectionof themeteor shower’snamesakeconstellation,theycanappearanywhereinthesky.

Lookforameteorshower thatoccurswhenthemoonisnotfull.Thedarknessof thenewmoonallowsfaintermeteoroidstobevisibleandbrighteronestobespectacular,butahalf-moonsupplyingsomelighton the landscapealsoworks.Photographingtheshoweraway fromcity lightswillproduceadarker skyandstrongermeteor light in the image.City lights in thedistanceendowthescenewithawarm,sunset-likerimlightalong thehorizon.

Approachmeteorphotographyasyouwouldstarsaspointsoflight.Thetechniquesandsettingsareidentical.Attheendoftheshoot,you’llhavehundredsofimagestoreview,butwith luckyouwill havecaught awell-placedmeteor inyourphotographicnet.Theshorter15-to30-secondexposuresworkbestforallowingthemeteortobebrightintheimage.Usinganexposureofafewminuteswill result inadimmeteor in theframe—itmaynotevenshowupatall.

Increaseyourchancesofphotographingameteor,especiallyareallybigone,bytakingshots continuously. Use the intervalometer and set the interval between frames for 2seconds. Keep all the other settings on the intervalometer set to 0 and press the startbutton.Pressthestopbuttonwhenyouaredone.Besuretohaveafullychargedbatteryandplentyof extramemorycards if youaregoing tobeout all night. If youhave twocameras,setthemupindifferentdirections.

You can tell plane trails from meteors as plane trails are white or red with abruptstartingandendingpoints.Ameteoroftenhasagreencolorat thestartwithawhitetipthattapersout.

NOCTILUCENTCLOUDSNoctilucentcloudsarethehighestcloudsintheatmosphere,floating50milesabovetheearth’ssurfacenearthepoles.Oftenblueorwhite,wecanseethemglowindeeptwilightas the sun illuminates them while we are in the earth’s shadow. They are viewablebetween 50 and 70 degrees latitude in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.Noctilucent clouds were discovered in the nineteenth century and are becoming more

frequent,perhapsasaresultofclimatechange.

Becausetheyaresofaint,theycanonlybeseenonverydarknights.TrylongexposuresathighISOspeedswiththelenswideopen,ifyou’reluckyenoughtoencounterthem.

AURORASAuroras are lights created by charged particles from the solar wind drawn into theatmospherenearthepolesbytheearth’smagneticfield.TheauroraborealisformsaroundtheNorthPoleandtheauroraaustralisaroundtheSouthPole.Theyaregenerallybrightestnotatthepoles,butinbandsabout3to6degreesoflatitudeawayfromthepoles.Duringhighsunspotactivity,whentheamountofchargedparticlesspikes,theycanevenbeseeninpartsofthecontiguousUnitedStates.Toseetheaurora,themostimportantfactoristobenearthisbandofactivity.

Some of the best and easiest-to-reach locations for photographing auroras includeFairbanks,Alaska;Jökulsárlón, Iceland;Tromsø,Norway;WhitehorseandDawsonCityin the Yukon, and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Canada; Kangerlussuaq,Greenland; and Jukkasjärvi, Sweden.Remember to get away fromcity lights andothersourcesoflightpollution.

Someaurorasarelittlemorethangauzyglowingregionsinthesky.Discreteaurorasarewelldefined,flowinglikecurtainsinabreeze.Aurorasareusuallygreenbutsomeglowwhite,red,violet,oracombinationofallthree.

Forreasonsnotentirelyclear,thetimeperiodsaroundtheequinoxes(March–AprilandSeptember–October)tendtohavemoreauroralactivity.Inthesummeratlatitudesclosetothepoles,theskydoesnotgetdarkenoughtoseeauroras;however,abigsolarstormmayextendtherangeofaurorasasfarashalfwaytotheequator.

Consideranyphaseof themoonforphotographingauroras.Abrightmoonwillwashoutthestarsbutitslightwilldefinethelandscape.Thedarkofnewmoonrevealsthemostintensecolor,buttheforegroundlandscapemaybecomeasilhouetteunlessyoudosomelight-painting. Light from the auroras can apply some definition to the landscapedependingontheintensityanddirectionoftheaurora.

Figureoutthelocationofthemoonbeforeyougoout.Ifit’spositionedinthesameareaastheauroras,itwill likelybeinyourframe.Withawide-openaperture,themoonwillbecomeabigwashed-outbloborproducelensflare.Atf/16,asmall, fullmoongivesastar effect, a nice accent in the composition. Clouds covering the moon can provideinterest.

Aurorasaremostactivefrom10PMto2AM,butcanbeseenatanytimeatnight.Don’tpackupyourbagswhentheaurorasfirstdisappearsincetheymayreappearlater.Waititout.Often,auroraslastabouthalfanhourandrecureverytwohourswhenactivityishigh,but they may also continue for hours or not appear at all. Auroras are not constantphenomena.Theycomeinwavesduringtheevening,calledauroralsubstorms.

Theintensityandfrequencyofaurorasdependsontheeleven-yearsunspotcycle.Bothsunspotsandsolarflaresarisefromintensemagneticdisturbances.Theyear2024willbethe next peak year.At the height of the cycle, auroras appear brighter andwith greater

frequency,butauroraspersist,atreducedfrequency,throughoutthecycle.

Thesunproducesmoreandlargersolarflaresatthepeakofthecycle.Thesunejectsastream of electrons, ions, and atoms, briefly sending as much as one-sixth of its totalenergy into space during the flare. This releases as much energy as many millions ofvolcaniceruptions.Whentheparticlesinteractwiththeatmosphere,weseetheresultingauroras.

For the daily aurora forecast, check out this website:www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/,ortheAuroraForecastapp.Keepinmindthisisjust a forecast, so you can get bright lights even on a night predicted to have lowlikelihood. It is still worth waiting for, so don’t sleep in just because you see that theforecastpredictsalevel1,astheauroramightturnouttobereallybeautiful.Ourcamerassee more than our eyes can see. Sometimes you can see light aurora activity in thephotographwithgreen,purple,orredcolorsthatyoucan’tseewithyoureyes.

Ifyouareoutatnightwaitingfor theaurora,stay in thecarsoyoudon’tgetchilled.Keeplookinginalldirectionsforaurorasfromthecar.Turnofftheinsidecarlightssoasnottodisturbyournightvision,orreplacethemwitharedlightbulborusearedgeloverthelights.Ifyouareoutsideandwaitingforauroras,keepthelenscapontopreventfrostanddewaccumulation,orpointthecameralensdowntokeepfrosttoaminimum.

Aurorasaremuchbrighterthanthestarsbutmovefaster.Wideanglesgiveyouenoughspacetocapturetheaurorawithoutgivingittimetowanderoutoftheframe.

Whereintheskyshouldyoulookfortheaurora?Thebestregionsareinthenorthwestor southeast parts of the sky.Generally the greatest intensity is to the northwest.Also,lookdirectlyup.Aurorassometimesoccurasanarchfromthenorthwesttothesoutheast,buttheycanalsoappearinanydirection.

Trytostayawayfromcitylights,keepingthematdistancetoprovideawarmhueonthehorizonline.IfIamphotographingtothenorthwest,whenthecitylightsarenearby,Ipreferthecitylightsbehindme,atthesoutheast,tominimizetheirimpact.

Bristleconepinetree,WhiteMountains,California.Itlookedlikeanormalnighttomyeyes,butthecamerapickedupthecolorsinthesky.f/1.4,20seconds,ISO2000,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Left:Aurorawithtrees.BrooksRange,Alaska.f/2.8,13seconds,ISO1600,16mm,EF16–35mmf/2.8LIIUSM,CanonEOS5DMarkII.Right:NorthernlightintheBrooksRange,Alaska.f/1.4,10seconds,ISO1600,24mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

DETERMININGEXPOSURE

Forfaintauroras,tryf/1.4withashutterspeedof10secondsandISO400to800.Atf/2.8use 13 seconds and ISO 1250 to 2500. Stop down by one stop when possible.Whenaurorasarebright,youwillwanttorechecktheexposureandcompensatethroughoutthenight.Note thatauroraexposuresare threestopssmaller thanforstarsaspointsof light

duetotheincreasedamountoflightinthesky.Rememberthattheserecommendationsarejuststartingpoints,andyouwillneedtoadjusttheexposurebasedonhowmuchlightisbeingemittedfromtheaurorasas theychange.Checkyourhistogramtomakesureyouhavenotblownoutthebrightestareas,astheycangetverybrightinspots.Dependingonthe scene, the histogrammay have information in all five of its sections. I usemanualmetermode for auroras, but using aperturepriority for the changing lighting conditionscouldworkaswell.

Left:Lookingstraightupatanaurora,M´yvatn,Iceland.f/4,13seconds,ISO2500,14mmlens,CanonEOS-1DX.Right:Auroraandcrater,M´yvatn,Iceland.f/2.0,6seconds,ISO1600,EF24mmf/1.4LIIUSM,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

Shutterspeedsforaurorasvary.Iftheauroraisnotmovingtoofast, thena15-secondexposureispossible.Iftheauroraismovingtooquickly,try10secondsorless—downto1 second if it is really bright. The faster-moving auroras require faster shutter speeds;otherwise,theimagewilllosealldefinition.

Iftheforegroundistoobrightfromthemoon,ortoodark,usetheblackglovetechniquedescribedinchapter6,StarsasPointsofLight.Iftheblackglovetechniquewon’tworkbecauseofanunevenskyline, take twophotographs:oneof the foregroundwithproperexposure,andanotherwithsettingsadjustedfortheauroras.Combinethetwoimages.Seethe“ProcessingCombinedImages”sectioninchapter11.

Ifitisamoonlessnight,incorporatingastartrailcanbefun.ConsiderthepositionoftheNorthStar,astheaurorasoftenappearinthenorthwest.

It’s important to remember to remove all filters, including UV filters, whenphotographing auroras. Filters can cause ugly rings in the image that are impossible tocorrectinpost-processing.

SHOOTINGWITHJENNIFER

Chasing auroras can be an adventure.We researched auroras, looking for a good spotwithclearskiesbycheckingtheweatherforecasts,onlytofindthatourdesiredlocationinthesouthofIcelandwascloudyafterall.Wedrovemanyhoursfarthernorth,wherethe predictions for clear skies were more favorable. After several nights going outlookingforauroras,wewerefortunateenoughtocatchamostspectaculardisplay.Iwillnever forget the incredible feelingofbeingunder the auroras as theydanced, at timesslowlyandatothertimesmovingrapidly—likemusicalnotesplayingineverydirectioninthesky.

Usethesamesettingsasthoseforphotographingstarsaspointsoflight.However,trystartingoutwiththeKelvintemperaturesetto4400soasnottochangethecolorsoftheaurorastoomuchwhilestillcapturingadarkbluesky.Aurorasareusuallygreen,whichimpartsacolorcasttotheentireimage.Whenprocessingyourimages,addmagenta(viaatintslider),asneeded,toreducetheoverpoweringgreencolor.

Sinceauroraphotographytendstotakeplaceinwinterinthenorthernlatitudes,makesuretokeepyourselfandyourcamerawarm.Seethe“FieldConditions”sectioninchapter3.

VOLCANOESPhotographing volcanoes is a thrilling, awe-inspiring experience.A volcano emits lava,rocks,andgasses,sometimesviolently,sometimesnot.Wecanphotographanangrypillarofsmokealongwithashlitbylightningboltsorsomeslow-moving,ropeylavaflowingno faster than a lazy stroll. Lavamay gush into the sea amid steam and surf or ignitenearbyforests.

Safety is important.Make sure thewinds are not blowing in your direction, becauseinhaling sulfur dioxide or hydrochloric acid gassesmay do permanent damage to yourlungsorkillyouon thespot.Don’t trustnewly formedcrustand lavabenchesnear theocean’sedge.Youmaystepright though them,asyouwoulda thinsnowbridgeoveracrevasse.Dosomeresearchbeforeyouventureouttophotographvolcanicactivity.

To photograph a volcano, there are several factors to considerwhen determining theexposure.Foravolcanowithexplosions, themost important factor is theshutter speed,followedbythef-stop.Whenphotographinganysituation,decidewhatismostimportant—f-stop for depth of field or shutter speed to stop motion—and set that first. Shutterspeeds of 5 seconds or longermake volcanic explosions look toomisty.Using a fastershutter speed of 2.5 seconds allows for some trails from explosions without too muchmist.IncreasetheISOwhenshootingatnighttogetafastenoughshutterspeed;tryISO640. During the day, the red in volcanic explosions is not visible because the sunlightwashesitout.Thecolorbecomesapparentattwilight.SettheISOtothecamera’snativeISOsetting.Theambientlightattwilightwillallowforasufficientlyrapidshutterspeed.

Kilauea,Hawaii,attwilight.f/9,2seconds,ISO100,16–35mmIIlensat20mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

When photographing a lava flow, a slower shutter speed adds a bit of motion blur,keepingtheflowfromappearingcrystallineandstatic.Thisissimilartophotographingaslow-movingstream.Asmalleraperture,lowerISO,orboth,willallowtheuseofaslowershutter speed.Theshutter speedneededwillvarybyhowfast the flow ismoving,withslow-moving flow requiring a slower shutter speed. So review the image on the LCDscreen to get a silky look.Another factor to consider is the focal length of the lens.Awide-angle lenswill require a long shutter speed as themovement of the flow appearsslower within the wide coverage area. A telephoto lens can work with a faster shutterspeedbecausetheflowisviewedasmovingfasterthroughtheframe.

Kilauea,oneoftheworld’smostactivevolcanoes,exposedatf/4.5,2.5seconds,ISO640,24mm,EF24–70mmf/2.8LUSM,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

Kilauealavaflow.Theshutterspeedof0.8secondworkedwelltoshowthesmoothlookofthelavaflow.f/20,0.8second,ISO100,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

KilaueaCalderaatduskwiththree-stopgraduatedneutraldensityfilter.TophotographtheKilaueaCalderaatdusk,Iusedathree-stophard-edgegraduatedneutraldensityfilteroverthelowerpartoftheimage.Thedarkpartofthefilterwasonthebottomoftheframe,coveringthebrightareaofthevolcanotobalanceouttheexposureinthesky.f/4.0,30seconds,ISO1000,24–70mmlensat24mm,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

MilkyWay,KilaueaCaldera,andHalema’uma’uCrater.Iusedthree-andtwo-stophard-edgegraduatedneutraldensityfiltersoverthebottomtoholddetailinthecrater’sedge,butitwasnotenoughforthevolcanicactivity.f/2.0,20seconds,ISO3200,EF24mmf/1.4LIIUSM,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

11POST-PROCESSINGNIGHTIMAGES

Moon,stars,andvolcanoattheBigIslandofHawaii.f/3.5,6seconds,ISO3200,EF16-35mmIIat16mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

N owthatyouhavetakenyourphotographsofthenightsky,youhavetherawmaterialsforthenextstageinproducingnightskyimages:processing.Thefollowingsections

takeyou through thestepsofadjustingcontrast, saturation,vibrance,andothersettings;reducingdistortionsandnoiseinyourimages;andcombiningimagestocreatecompositesthat showcase theeffectsof light-paintingandmultiple-exposure techniques.Processingstars as points of light is presented first, and the section discusses how tomake basicadjustments to your RAW files that will be useful for processing all types of images.ConvertingyourfilestoJPEGs,TIFFs,orPSDsisanotherkeysection,asyou’llneedthatinformationforcombiningimages.Whileprocessingimagescaninvolvealotoftechnicalinformation,it’sessentiallyacreativeandplayfulprocess.It’swheretheworkyoudidinthefieldcoalescesintotheimagerythatoriginallyinspiredyou.

PROCESSINGSTARSASPOINTSOFLIGHTInterpretingadigitalimageisamatteroftasteandartisticsensibility,partofyourcreativeprocess. I follow these steps to produce a cooler color impression of the night sky. Iencourageyoutoplaywith thecolor temperature,contrast,oranyotheradjustment thatcreatesthelookthatmatchesyourvision.

ThesestepsapplytoAdobeCameraRAW,theRAWeditorinPhotoshopCS6.AdobeLightroom5employsalmost identical toolswithoutgoingthroughAdobeBridge.OtherRAWeditorssuchasApple’sAperture,CaptureOne,andDxOoffersimilartools.

1. Double-clickontheimageinBridgetoopenitinAdobeCameraRAW.

2. MoveslidersintheBasictabtooptimizeexposure.

MovetheTemperaturesliderandTintslideruntilyougetacoloryoulike.Try3000to4000K.Or,youmightlikeawarmtoneat6500K.

Increasecontrastasdesired.

IncreaseordecreaseexposurewiththeExposureslidersothattheimagelooksproperlyexposedtothedesiredbrightness.Takecareinincreasingbrightnessasitcreatesnoise,andavoidclippingtheblacksandhighlights.Ifthehistogramtouchestheleft(black)orright(white)edgeofitsboundaries,itstopsrecordingchangesintonebeyondthatpoint,renderingeverythingbeyondaspureblackorpurewhite,thatis,“clipping.”Iftheimageisasilhouette,therewillbeclippingintheblacks.

Toaddedgedefinition,movetheClarityslidertotheright,ifyou’reusingnoisereductioninPhotoshoporLightroom.Claritysignificantlyincreasestheintensityofthestarsandmakesdimmerstarsstandout.Watchthestarspopasyoumovetheslidertotheright.Ifusingthird-partynoise-reductionsoftware,leavetheClaritysliderat0.

AdjusttheVibranceandSaturationslidersasdesired.

Theoriginalimagewithoutanysettingsapplied.

AftertheBasictabsettingswereapplied.Thesettingsusedforthisimagewere:Temperature:3000;Tint:+7;Contrast:+17;Whites:+10;Clarity:+15;Vibrance:+15;Saturation:+3.Allothersliderswereleftatthedefaultsettingof0.

3. ClickontheDetailstab.

Viewat100percentorgreaterzoom.Thenoisereductionandsharpeningcannotbeseenatlessthan100percent.

IntheNoiseReductionsection,usetheLuminanceandLuminanceDetailsliderstoreduceluminancenoiseuntilthegrain-likedotsarereduced,butnotsomuchthattheimagegetstoosoft.Thehigherthenumber,thesmallerthedotsandthefewerthestarsasthedimmeronesbecomefainter.Itisatrade-off.ThemaximumIuseis35–45pointsonLuminanceandLuminanceDetail.Forolderversions,CS5andLightroom3,usesettingsupto50.Anyhigherthanthatandtheimage

becomestoosoft.Ifyouseecolornoise(colorfuldotsintheimage)movetheColorsliderupuntilyouseeitreduced.

LeavethesharpeningsettingsattheirdefaultsfortheAmount,Radius,andDetailsliders.Thisworkswell,butyoucanalsoslightlyincreasetheAmountandDetailifyouwish.Dosharpeningafternoisereduction.

UnderSharpening>ApplyMasking,youcangainsmootherskytonesbyincreasingthemasking,whichpreventssmoothareassuchassilkywaterorskiesfrombeingsharpened.Whenthesmoothareaoftheskyissharpened,itaddsunwantednoise.HoldtheOptionkeyonaMacortheAltkeyonaPCandmovetheMaskingslidertotheright,withAmountsethigherthanzero(bydefaultitissetto25).Astheslidermoves,awhiteoverlayshrinkstoapatternalignedwiththeimage’sedges.Whiteindicateswhatwillbesharpened,andblackshowstheareaswheresharpeningwon’toccur.Tosharpenstars,movetheslidertotherightuntilyoustillseethestarsaswhitedotswhilemostoftheskybecomesdark.Thisway,thestarswillbesharpenedwhiletheskydoesn’tbecomegrainyfromthenoisebeingsharpened.

4. ClickontheLensCorrectiontab.

WithinLensCorrection,clickontheProfiletab.Besure“EnableLensProfileCorrections”isnotselected,otherwiseitwilllightentheimagetoomuchresultinginadditionalnoise.

WithinLensCorrection,clickontheColortab,thenclickonViewat100percent.

a. Checktheboxthatreads“RemoveChromaticAberration.”ClickthePreviewcheckboxatthetopofthescreentoseetheeffectsandlookatthecorners.

b. IleavetheDefringeslidersalonebecausetheyproduceadarkhaloaroundotherstars.

WithinLensCorrection,clickontheManualtab.UnderLensVignetting,toequalizetheexposurebetweentheedgesandthecenter,movetheAmountandMidpointsliderstotheright,lighteningthecornerstomatchtherestoftheimage.Theamountswillvarydependingonyourlensandaperturesetting.

Withoutnoisereductionapplied.

Withnoisereductionapplied.Noticesmoothertonesintheskyandreducedcolorandlightnoise,thedigitalequivalentoffilmgrain.

MaskingappliedwhileholdingdowntheAltorOptionkey.

5. Saveyoursettings(optional).Youcansaveyoursettingssoyoucanapplythesestepstoanimageallatonce.

GototheBasictab.

ClickontheCameraRAWSettingsmenu,thelittleblacktriangleontheright.

ChooseSaveSettings.

Giveyoursettingsaname,suchasStarSettings.Save.

Younowhaveamacroforapplyingthesettingstoanyimage.

Toloadallthesesettingsatoncetoanewimage:

a. FindtheCameraRAWSettingsmenubyclickingthelittleblacktriangleontherightsideoftheBasicsbar.ThisopenstheRAWsettingsmenu.SelectLoad.

b. AnotherwaytoapplythesettingsisfromBridge.Right-clickontheimageinBridge,chooseDevelopSettings,andselectthesavedfile.

6. ClickonOpenImageorDone.

PROCESSINGSTARTRAILSThereareseveralmethodsforprocessingstartrails.MethodsinPhotoshopandLightroomwill be covered in this section.Additional information and several software sources forstackingstartrailscanbefoundintheResources,includingsomethatarefree.Startrails(www.startrails.de/html/software.html) is a goodone if you are usingWindows. Single-exposurestartrailimagescanbeprocessedusingthesamesettingsasusedforprocessingstarsaspointsoflight.Multiple-exposureimageswillneedtobecombinedinamultistepprocess that typically includes convertingyour images fromRAW to JPEG file formatsandusingPhotoshopbyitselforinconcertwithscripts.TheNoGapMethodusesascriptbyFlorisVanBreugel,andtheStack-A-MaticmethodusesascriptfromRussellBrown.

TIPSometimes you’ll end up with streaks of light from planes in your star trailsimages.Ifyouwanttobefastidious,gointoPhotoshopandlassothestreakswiththePatch tool.For star trails, thismeansworkingone frameat a time if youarestackingmultipleimages.Here’show:

1. First,createanewlayer(Command+JonaMac,Ctrl+JonaPC)andworkonthenewlayersoyoucantryagainifyoumessuptheimage;you’llstillhavetheoriginallayer.

2. ActivatethePatchtool.

3. Zoomto100percentorlarger,andlassotheoffendingstreaksbetweenmajorstars.Ifyouneedtoremoveasmalltailonastar,switchtotheClonetooltoeraseit.

FILEFORMATCONVERSIONS:JPEG,PSD,ORTIFF

MakeJPEG,PSD,orTIFFimagesfromyourRAWfilestostacktheimagestogetherinPhotoshop.Howyouprocessyour imageswilldependonhowmuchRAMyouhave inyourcomputer. Ifyouhave justa fewfiles, then full resolutionTIFForPSDshouldbefine;otherwiseusecompressedJPEGfiles.IfyourcomputerisnotabletoprocessalltheJPEGfiles, then tryreducingfilesizeor includingfewer images,asJPEGswillprocessfasterthanTIFFfiles.

1. ProcesstheRAWfiles.Usethesamesettingsasforstarsaspointsoflight.See“ProcessingStarsasPointsofLight”above.

Chooseimagesthatareincontinuoussequenceandwithoutplanelightsordistractingcarheadlights,assumingyouhaveplentyofimagestoputtogether.

DonotmakeSmartObjects.Thedefaultiswiththisfeatureturnedoff,soyoudon’tneedtodoanythingunlessyouhavepreviouslysetyourprocessortoopenimagesasSmartObjects.Ifso,clickonthebluetextthatlookslikeahyperlinkatthebottomofthepage.Makesurethereisnocheckmarknextto“OpeninPhotoshopasSmartObjects.”YoudonotneedtoworryaboutthisifyouareusingLightroomtoprocessyourimages.

2. ConverttheRAWfilesintofull-sizeJPEGimagestosavecomputertimeassemblingthefiles.UsingeitherAdobeBridgeorLightroomsoftware,selecttheimagesyouwishtoconverttoJPEGsbyclickingontheimagesoneatatimewhileholdingdowntheCommandkeyonaMacorCtrlonaPC.Ifalltheimagesyouwantareinanunbrokensequence,selectthefirstimageinthesequence,holddowntheShiftkey,andclickonthefinalimage.Theentiresequencewillbeselected.

Clickonthetextatthebottomofthescreenforadditionalchoices,andselect8-bitifyouwanttokeepfilessmall.

InBridge,selectTools>Photoshop>ImageProcessor.

IntheImageProcessordialogbox,usethefollowingsettings(seeillustration):

a. Check“SaveinSameLocation”(radiobutton)

b. UnderFileType,checkthe“SaveasJPEG”box.(YoucanuseTIFFfilesifyouhaveonlyafewfilesandplentyofprocessingpower.)

c. Type“12”intheboxlabeledQuality.

d. Checkthe“IncludeICCProfile”box.

e. ClickRun.

InLightroom,selectFile>Export,orclicktheLibraryModuleandclickonExport.

a. IntheExportTodrop-downmenu,select“Samefolderasoriginalphoto.”ThiswillplaceyourfileswithinaJPEGfolderinyouroriginalfolder.

b. FromtheImageFormatdrop-downmenu,selectJPEG.

c. FromtheColorSpacedrop-downmenuselectAdobeRBGorwhateveryounormallyuse.

d. IntheImageSizingsection,uncheckResizetoFit.

e. ClickExport.

Bridgeimageprocessor.

ExportforJPEGinLightroom.

THEPHOTOSHOPMETHOD

Notethatthismethodforstackingstartrailsleaveslittlegapswhenusedwithwide-angleimages.SeetheNo-GapMethodinthenextsectionifyou’veusedawide-anglelens.

1. InBridge,selecttheJPEGimagesyouwanttoincludeinthestartrails.

2. FromthemenubarchooseTools>Photoshop>LoadFilesintoPhotoshopLayers.

3. Clickonthetoplayertoselectit,pressandholdtheShiftkey,thenclickonthe

bottomlayer.Thiswillselectallofthelayers.

4. Withalllayersstillselected,changetheBlendmodefromNormaltoLightenfromthedrop-downbox;itwillchangeallthelayersatonce.InolderversionsofPhotoshop,youmayneedtochangetheBlendmodetoLightenforeachlayerindividually.

5. Flattenthefile.FromthemenubarselectLayer>FlattenImage.

6. SavethefileasaTIFForPSDfile.

THENO-GAPMETHOD

Use this method to eliminate gaps in the star trails that result from using wide-anglelenses.

1. First,processyourRAWimagestoleavemostofthesettingstotheirdefaultof0includingtheExposure,Contrast,Shadows,Whites,Blacks,andClaritysliders.Donotsharpenmorethanthedefaultsettingintheprocessor.DonotdarkenyourimageinAdobeCameraRAW.Youmightthinktodothistohaveproperexposureinthefinalimage;however,itwillresultinreducedcontrastandcolor.Processthefinalimageafteryoucombineimagestogether,ratherthanbefore,forbestresults.

ChangingBlendmode.

ExampleoflayersinPhotoshop.

InprocessingtheRAWfile,youcanadjusttheVibrance,Saturation,NoiseReduction,andWhiteBalancecontrolsasdesired.

ChecktheboxforChromaticAberrationfoundintheLensCorrectionstab.IsuggestusingtheautosettingforChromaticAberrationbecausethemanualmethodresultsinadditionalchromaticaberrationsonotherstars.Besuretocheckthecornersoftheimagetomakesurethatithasnotlightenedtoomuchandcheckforincreasednoiseinthelightenedareas.

2. CreateTIFForJPEGfilesofthestartrailimages.Keeptheminaseparatefolderandinorder.Seeinstructions,above,oncreatingJPEGs.

3. DownloadthefollowingfilebyFlorisVanBreugel:www.artinnaturephotography.com/page/startrailstacker/.Itisascripttoputtogetherthestartrailimages.

4. Locatethefileyoujustdownloaded.Clickonthefilenamed“star_trail_stacker_by_floris_v0.21_flat.”Therearetwofiles,onethatleavesallyourstackedimagesasaflattenedfileandonethatleavesallofthelayers.Wedonotneedthelayersandtheymakethefilelarger,sousethefilethatendsin“flat.”

5. Whenthedialogboxappearsthataskswhetheryouwanttorunthescript,clickYes.

6. SelectyourfolderwiththeJPEGorTIFFimages.ClickOpen.YourstackedimageswillopeninPhotoshop.

7. Thefinalimagewillbeaboutonestoptoolight,itwilllackcontrast,anditwilllookdull.ProcesstheimageinPhotoshoptomakeitlookasyouwouldlikeit,adjustingContrast,Vibrance,andDarkening.Wedon’tcoverbasicPhotoshopprocessinghere,buttherearemanyfreetrainingvideosontheadobe.comwebsite.

8. SaveasaTIFForPSDfile.

Toperformthesameoperationmanually—withoutthescript—dothefollowing:

1. Dosteps1and2intheaboveNo-GapMethod(skipsteps3-6).

2. OpenAdobeBridge,andselecttheimagesyouwanttoincludeinthestartrails.

3. Fromthemenubar,chooseTools>Photoshop>LoadFilesintoPhotoshopLayers

4. MakeaduplicatelayerofeachlayerexceptthetopandbottomlayersbyclickingonthelayerandpressingCommand+J(Mac)orCtrl+J(PC).

ForexampleyouwillstartwithLayer1(backgroundlayer),Layer2,Layer3,Layer4,Layer5,Layer6(toplayerinthisexample).AfterthisstepyouwillhaveLayer1(backgroundlayer),Layer2,Layer2copy,Layer3,Layer3copy,Layer4,Layer4copy,Layer5,Layer5copy,andLayer6(toplayer).

5. IntheLayerspanel,youwillseethenamesofLayer1,Layer2,Layer2copy,etc.ClickonLayer2(notLayer2copy),whichwillhighlightit,andchangetheBlendmodetoScreen.Clickonthedrop-downmenuunderNormalandselectScreen.

6. Nowyouaregoingtobeginmerginglayers.SelectLayer2thenpressandholdtheShiftkeyandclickandreleasethemouseonthelayerbelow(inthiscaseLayer1).Thiswillhighlightbothlayers.Nowwithtwolayersselected,pressCommand+E(Mac)orCtrl+E(PC),whichmergesthelayers.SettheBlendmodeonthisnewlayertoLighten.YoucandothisbygoingtotheLayerspanelandclickingonthedrop-downmenuunderNormalandselectingLighten.

7. NowselectLayer2copyandLayer3andrepeattheprocessfromStep6ofmergingthelayersandsettingtheBlendmodetoLighten.Repeatwiththeremaininglayerpairs(Layer3copyandLayer4,Layer4copyandLayer5,Layer5copyandLayer6).

8. Whenyouarefinishedwiththelayers,flattentheimagebychoosingLayerandFlattenImagefromthemenubar.

9. Thefinalimagewillbeaboutonestoptoolight,itwilllackcontrast,anditwilllookdull.ProcesstheimageinPhotoshoptomakeitlookasyouwouldlikeit.

10. SaveasaTIFForPSDfile.

THESTACK-A-MATICMETHOD

Star trails with a single exposure can be created in Photoshop. Use this link:russellbrown.com/scripts.html,readthedirectionsatthetopofthepage,scrolldown,anddownload this file: “CS6 Script: StackingMultiple Images with Dr. Brown’s Stack-A-Matic2.3.1.”See“Composites fromSeparate Images,”below, for refining the final startrailimage.

PROCESSINGCOMBINEDIMAGESBeyondstackingimagesforstartrails,therearemanysituationswhereyoumaywanttojoin your photographs together. Four techniques are covered below, each with uniqueadvantages and purposes. Whether you want to print panoramas, blend light-paintedimagestogether,orcreatefantasticalcomposites,Iencourageyoutoviewthesemethodsassimplystartingpointsforyourcreativeexperiments.

PHOTOMERGEFORPANORAMAS

PhotomergeisacommandinPhotoshopthatstitchesseveralimagestogether.Itperformsmanystepsautomaticallyandwillyieldgoodresultsifyoutakecarewhilecapturingtheimage.

1. ReachPhotomergeunderFile>Automate>Photomerge.

2. ChooseAutoLayout.IfAutoLayoutdoesn’tlookgoodthentrychoosingRepositionandseeifitdoesabetterjob.

ThisisasingleimageofthestarsinDeathValleyNationalPark,California,atf/1.4,20seconds,ISO2000,CanonEOS5DMarkII.

ThisisthesameimageusingDr.Brown’sStack-A-Matic.

3. ClickBrowse,findtheimagesyouwishtomerge,andselectthem.

4. Check“BlendImagesTogether”and“VignetteRemoval.”

5. ClickOK.Ifyoushotwithenoughoverlap,Photomergeopens,tiles,merges,anddisplaysthenewpanorama.

6. Atthispoint,thepanoramawillhaveirregularborders.CreatethelargestpossiblerectanglebyselectingtheCroptool(“C”onyourkeyboard),andcroppingoutemptyspacebydraggingthetoolacrosstheimage.Ifyoudon’tlikeyourfirstcroppingattempt,clickEsctocancel.Onceyou’resatisfied,hitReturn(EnteronaPC)tocompletethecrop.Thiswillcutsomeoftheimage,leavingacleanpanorama.

LAYERMASKTECHNIQUEFORLIGHT-PAINTEDPHOTOGRAPHS

Thismethod,usingalayermask,wasusedforcombiningalightforegroundanddarkstarsfor the image at Cathedral Lakes and for the stars in the ice cave in Iceland (see“CombiningImages”inchapter1).Usethismethodwhencombiningtwostarimageswithdifferentexposures,whencombininganimagefocusedontheforegroundandoneonthebackground,orwhenyouwanttousealayermaskintheStack-A-Maticmethodforstartrailstohidetheforeground,whichcanbecomeblurryontheedges.

1. ProcesstheRAWfiles.Usethesamesettingsasforstarsaspointsoflight.

2. OpenAdobeBridgeandselecttheimagesyouwanttouse.

3. FromthemenubarchooseTools>Photoshop>LoadFilesintoPhotoshopLayers.

4. ClickonthetoplayerintheLayerspanel(itshouldbetherebydefault).Thelayer

youareonwillbehighlightedinblue.Ifyoucan’tseetheLayerspanel,gotothemenubar,chooseWindows,andselectLayers.Therewillbeacheckmarknexttoeachwindowthatisvisible.

5. PressandholdtheAltkeyonaPCortheOptionkeyonaMacandclickontheAddLayerMaskiconatthebottomoftheLayerspanel.Thiswilladdalayermaskandfillitwithblack.Dothisforeachlayerexceptthebackground.

6. Theblacklayermaskwejustcreatedhidestheeffectofthatlayersoweonlyseethebackgroundlayerbelow.InPhotoshop,whiterevealsandblackhides.Sowithblackactivated,theeffectishidden.Nowwewanttoshowthered-paintedtree,butnottheforegroundthathastoomuchredlightonit.

7. SelecttheBrushtool.PresstheDkeytogetthedefaultcolors.PresstheXkeytotogglebackandforthfromblacktowhitefortheforegroundcolor(thatis,thecolorofthetopbox).Settheforegroundcolortowhite.Seetheimagenextpage,right,fortheBrushtoolandforeground/backgroundcolorpicker.

8. SettheBrushtooltothedesiredsizeandsoftness.IntheBrushtoolmenubar,Isettheflowtoabout20percentbutusewhateversettingyoudesire.Loweringeitherthefillortheopacitywilllessentheeffectofthepaintingwithwhite,andyoucankeeppaintingoverituntilyouhaveyourdesiredeffect.

AddLayerMaskicon.

Brushtoolandforeground/backgroundcolorpicker.

9. Paintwithwhiteontheareaswhereyouwantthelight-paintingtoshowthrough.Ifyoumakeamistakeandpainttoomuch,presstheXkeytotogglebacktoblackfortheforegroundcolorandpaintwithblack.

10. Continuepaintinguntilallareasarepaintedin.

11. Ifyouhavemorelayers,clickoneachlayerandpaintinasdesired.

12. SavethefileasaTIFForPSDfile.

Iuseasoftedgebrushsetto125sizewithFlowat20percent.

OriginalimagehaslightontheforegroundthatIdidnotwanttoinclude.

Finalimagedoesnothavelightonforegroundinlowerrightcorner.

Thisimagewasexposedforthesky,buttheforegroundistoodark.

Thisimagewasexposedfortheforeground,buttheskyistoobright.

Layermaskusedtorevealthedarkskywiththelightforeground.PressingandholdingtheAltkeyonaPCortheOptionkeyonaMacandclickingonthelayermaskwillrevealitinthepreviewwindow.

Herebothimageswerecombinedandalayermaskwasusedtoblockthedarkforegroundbypaintingtheskywithawhitepaintbrushontheblacklayermask.

ChangingtheBlendmodetoScreen.

BLENDMODECHANGESFORCOMPOSITES

ProcesstheRAWfiles.Usethesamesettingsasforstarsaspointsoflight.InPhotoshop,openAdobeBridgeandselecttheimagesyouwanttouse.

1. FromthemenubarchooseTools>Photoshop>LoadFilesintoPhotoshopLayers.

2. IntheLayerspanel,youcanselectthelayerandchangethemodefromNormaltoScreen.Thisallowstheblacktobecometransparenttoshowthelightervaluesoftheimagesonlycomingthough.Ifyoucan’tseetheLayerspanelgotoWindows>Layers.

3. TryusingtheLightensettinginBlendmore,orexperimentwithotherBlendmodesettings,fordifferenteffects.

Foranexampleof theeffectofusingScreenBlendmode,see the“CombiningImages”sectioninchapter1foraphotographofawaterfall(Seljalandsfoss)andstars.

COMPOSITESFROMSEPARATEIMAGES

Therearemanyuses forcombiningstar images.The image in the“CombiningImages”sectionofChapter1oftheicecavewithstarsintheskyinsteadofawhiteskyusedthismethod.It isoneexampleofhowyoucanletyourcreative juicesflowasyoucomeupwithwaysofcombiningstarswithothersubjects.IcanonlyimaginewhatJerryUelsmannwould do with stars! Check out his images for inspiration on making composites(www.uelsmann.net/).

Foryourfirstattempts,startwithtwoimagestocombineandaddmoreasyougetbetteratcombiningtheimages.Lookfortwoimagesyouwouldliketoputtogether,suchasalandscapebytwilightandanimageofthestarsinthesky.Starimagesmaycombinewellwith trees, buildings, or other features of the landscape.There are somanyways to becreativewiththis,andIencourageyoutoexperimentandkeeplearning.

1. ProcesstheRAWfiles.See“ProcessingStarsasPointsofLight”forsettingstouse.

Ifyoudidstartrailswithmultipleexposures,combinethoseimagesfirstandmakeanewfile.

Ifyouhavemultipleforegroundimages,youcanselecttheminAdobeBridge.Combinethosefirst.ChooseTools>Photoshop>LoadFilesintoPhotoshopLayers.InLightroomchooseEditIn>OpenasLayersinPhotoshop.

2. IntheLayerspanel,holdtheShiftkey,selectallthelayers,andthenclickontheOpacitysliderandloweritasyouwouldlikeoradjustanylayersindividually.Savetheforegroundfile.

3. InAdobeBridge,selecttheforegroundandbackgroundphotographsyouwanttocombine.Selectthefirstimage,pressandholdtheCtrlkeyonPCortheCommandkeyonaMac,andclickontheadditionalimageorimagesyouwanttoinclude,suchasaforegroundimageandnightstarimage.Theforegroundlayerisbestasthefirstselection,orbottomlayer,andthestarsasthetoplayer.

4. FromthemenubarchooseTools>Photoshop>LoadFilesintoPhotoshopLayers.ThiswillloadallthefilesintoonelayerinPhotoshop.

5. IntheLayerspanel,youcanselectthelayerandchangethemodefromNormaltoScreen.Thisallowstheblacktobecometransparenttoallowonlythelightervaluesoftheimagestocomethough.Ifyoucan’tseetheLayerspanelgotoWindows>Layers.

6. IntheLayerspanel,clickontheAddaLayerStyleiconatthebottomofthepanelandchooseBlendingOptions,thefirstchoice.ThisbringsuptheBlendingOptionsdialogbox.

7. Atthebottom,underUnderlyingLayer,clickontheblacktrianglesliderandslideittotherighttorevealtheforegroundorbottomlayer.Movetheslidertotherightuntilyouseetheamountoftheforegroundlayeryouwant.Nextseparatetheslidertofurtherreducetheeffectofthetoplayertoblenditmoreintothebottomlayer.HoldtheAltkeyonPCortheOptionkeyonaMacandclickontherightsideoftheblacktriangle.Thiswillseparatetheslidersandmakethetransitionofthelayerssofter.Movetheslidertotherightwhereitlooksgood.ClickOK.Youcanmakechangesanytimebyclickingonthelayerandthefxicon(itlooksliketwosquareboxesonthatlayer)tobringupBlendingOptionsagainandmovethesliderswhereyouwant.

8. Alternatively,skipsteps6and7.IntheLayerspanel,clickonAddLayerMask.

SelecttheBrushtool,presstheBkey.SetyourforegroundandbackgroundcolorstothedefaultbypressingD.ThenyoucanpresstheXkeytotogglebackandforthbetweenwhiteandblack.Paintwithblacktorevealthelayerunderneath.Isettheopacityat100percentforthisanduseasoft-edgebrush,asettingoftheBrushtool.

Whiteshowsandblackhidestheimageonthetop.Paintwithwhiteinanyareaswhereyouwenttoofarwiththeblack.

9. Theedgesofthestartrailscangetstretchedout,soIcropalittleofthatout.

10. Saveyournewstartrailsfile.

AFINALNOTEOFENCOURAGEMENTThepossibilitiesofphotographingthenightskyareasendlessastheskyitself.Withthecapabilities of modern digital cameras and the tools of the digital darkroom, we cancaptureephemeralmoments,craftapersonalvisionoftheuniverse,andportrayaglimmerofitsimmensityinourart.

We hope you will use this guide to hone your techniques for capturing the stars aspointsoflight,creatingstartrailimages,andusinglightinallitsforms,whetherfromasliverofmoon, the last raysof the setting sun,or theglowof anaurora.Our aim is toinspire you to use your newknowledge to shoot the stars and themoon in all kinds ofsettingsandtogiveyounewwaystothinkaboutcomposition.

Contactusthroughourwebsitesifyouwishtoshareyourcreativeviewsofthecosmosoryourthoughtsaboutthebookandnightphotography.Welookforwardtoseeingyouruniquetakesonthenightsky.Happyphotographing.

BristleconepinetreeintheWhiteMountains,California.Lightpairingwithhouseholdflashlightdiffusedwithanairsicknessbagfromabout10feettotherightofthecameraandtree.f/1.8,20seconds,ISO3200,24mmlens,CanonEOS5DMarkIII.

RESOURCESCheckoutadditionalnightphotographyimagesandblogpostsandshareyourimagesoryourthoughtsaboutthisbookandnightphotographyat:

JenniferWu:www.jenniferwu.com.

JamesMartin:www.jamesbmartin.com.

AURORAS

App(iPhone):AuroraForecast

AstronomyNorth:www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

GeophysicalInstituteAuroraForecast:www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/

NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA):

OVATIONAuroralForecast(NOAA):http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/

Polar-orbitingOperationalEnvironmentalSatellite(POES):www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/index.html

SpaceWeather:www.swpc.noaa.gov/today.html

Spaceweather.com:www.spaceweather.com

CAMERAOPERATIONSANDHYPERFOCALFOCUSING

CanonDigitalLearningCenter:www.usa.canon.com/dlc/

HyperfocalFocusing:dofmaster.com

JenniferWu’sblogpost“HyperfocalFocusing,”atwww.jenniferwu.com/hyperfocal-focusing/hasahandoutwithhow-toandacharttohelpyougetasmuchinfocusaspossible.

LensAngleofViewCalculator:www.sweeting.org/mark/lenses/canon.php

DARKSKIES

DarkSkyFinder:www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/

InternationalDark-SkyAssociation(IDA):www.darksky.org

TheNightSkyintheWorld:www.lightpollution.it/dmsp/

ECLIPSESANDNOCTILUCENTCLOUDS

NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA)EclipseWebsite:eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html

NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA),ScienceNews,“StrangeClouds”articleonnoctilucentclouds:science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/19feb_nlc/

IRIDIUMFLARES

Apps:Sputnik!(Android),HeavensAbove,IridiumFlares

HeavensAbove:www.heavens-above.com

MacWidget:www.dashboardwidgets.com/showcase/details.php?wid=1411

VisualSatelliteObserver:www.satobs.org/iridium.html

METEORS

StarDate:stardate.org/nightsky/meteors

STARTRAILSTACKINGSOFTWARE

ArtinNaturePhotography:www.artinnaturephotography.com/page/startrailstacker/.Discusseshowtoreducegapsinstackedstartrails.

Dr.Brown’sStack-A-Matic2.3.1:russellbrown.com/scripts.html

ImageStacker:www.tawbaware.com/imgstack.htm

ImagesPlus:www.mlunsold.com.WorkswithRAWfiles.Watchtutorials.

StarTrailsPhotoshopAction:www.schursastrophotography.com/software/photoshop/startrails.html

StarStaX:www.markus-enzweiler.de/software/ware.html

Startrails:www.startrails.de/html/software.html.Youcanuseadarkframetohelpreducenoisewiththisprogram.WindowsOSonly.

STARSANDMILKYWAY

Apps:StarWalk,HeavensAbove

MoravianCollegeAstronomy:www.astronomy.org

StarryNightsSoftware:www.starrynighteducation.com.IuseStarryNightEnthusiastforthepathofsun,moon,MilkyWay,andmore.

Stellarium:www.stellarium.org.Freedesktopplanetariumsoftware,showsthepathoftheMilkyWay.

SUNANDMOON

Apps:SunSeeker,SkySafari,LightTrac,Photographer’sEphemeris

GoldenHour:www.golden-hour.com

NavalOceanographyPortal:www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications

TheOldFarmer’sAlmanac:www.almanac.com/astronomyandwww.almanac.com/weather

ThePhotographer’sEphemeris:photoephemeris.com.

TheSun/MoonCalculator:www.largeformatphotography.info/sunmooncalc/

SunriseandSunsetTimes:www.timeanddate.com

SunriseSunset:www.sunrisesunset.com

YosemiteMoonbow:uweb.txstate.edu/~do01/moonbows2010.html

WEATHER

7Timer!:7timer.y234.cn.Web-basedmeteorologicalforecasts.

ClearSkyChart:cleardarksky.com/csk/.Astronomer’sforecasts.

Spaceweather.com:www.spaceweather.com.Sun-eartheventsandforecasts.

WeatherUnderground:www.wunderground.com

GLOSSARY500rule:Aruleofthumbfordeterminingtheminimumshutterspeedforstoppingstarmotion:divide500byfocallengthtogettheshutterspeedinseconds.

angleofview:Thearcofdegreescoveredbyagivenfocallengthandsensorsize.

aperture:Thediameteroftheopeningwithinthelensthatallowslighttoreachthesensor.

aurora:Colorfulatmosphericlightscausebyenergeticparticlesaffectedbytheearth’smagneticfieldatthepoles.

barreldistortion:Straightlinesbowedinfromtheedgeoftheframe,foundinphotostakenwithwide-anglelenses.

BeltofVenus:Abandofpinklightthatappearsbrieflyaftersunsetandbeforedawn.

bluehour:Twilight—thetimejustafterthesunhassetorjustbeforeitrises,whenthereissomelightinthesky.

candlepower:Aunitofmeasureofluminanceintensity,nowknownas“candela.”

colortemperature:Adescriptionofthecolorofalightsource,usuallymeasuredindegreesKelvin.Daylightis5500K.

coma:Lensaberrationthatcausesoff-axisdistortionseenaslinesorblobsinthecornersofimages.Mostcommoninwide-anglelenses.

cropsensor:Anysensorcoveringlessareathan35mmfilm;afull-framesensorisonethatcoversthesameareaas35mmfilm.

DSLR:Digitalsingle-lensreflex—atypeofcamerathatallowsviewingthroughthelensviaamirror.

earthshine:Sunlightreflectedfromtheearthtothemoon,brighteningthepartofthemoonthatisinshadow.

effectivefocallength:Thefocallengthofalensthatwouldproducethesameangleofviewifusedonafull-sizesensor.

exposetotheright:Overexposingwithoutclippinghighlightstocapturemoretonalgradationsonadigitalsensor.

falsedawn:Seezodiacallight.

f-stop:Ameasureofthesizeofthelensopeningthatreferstotheratiobetweenthefocallengthandopening.

gel:Acoloredsheetofflexibleplasticusedtochangethecolortemperatureofalightsource.

gibbous:Thephasesofthemoonbetweenhalfandfull.

graduatedneutraldensityfilter:Afilterthatisdarkontopandlightonbottom.Itisgenerallyusedtobalanceexposurefromtheskytotheforegroundsothattheskydoesn’twashout.Availableinhard-andsoft-edgegradientsanddifferentf-stop

densities.Ahard-edgefiltermeansthatithasahardlinegradationandasoft-edgefilterhasagradualtransitionfromdarktolight.Aone-stopfiltermeansthatthereisonestopoflightdifferencebetweenthetopandbottompartsofthefilter.

histogram:Agraphicrepresentationoftonalvaluesofaphotographasabarchart.

intervalometer:Adeviceforprogrammingexposuredurationandintervalsbetweenshots.

ISO:Ameasureofsensitivitytolight.

LCD:Liquidcrystaldisplay;ascreenonacameraforviewingimagesandmenus.

LED:Light-emittingdiode;asmall,efficientlightsource.

lightpollution:Lightintheatmospherecreatedbyparticlesreflectingground-basedlightsources,e.g.,citylights.

meteor:Thebrighttailofafallingmeteoroid;itformerlyreferredtothemeteoroidaswell.

meteoroid:Asmallbitofrockandiceorbitingthesunthatfallstoearth.

mirror-lesscamera:Acamerausinganelectronicviewfinderinsteadofanopticalviewfinder.

neutraldensityfilter:Asolidfilterwithnogradation.Itcomesindifferentf-stopdensitiesandisavailableasvariableneutraldensityfiltersthatcanchangetheamountofdarknesswithrotationofthefilter.

newmoon:Thedaythemoonisclosesttothesunintheskyandisthereforeinvisible.

RAW:Thefileformatfromacameraimagecontainingalltheinformationcapturedbythesensor,includingmetadata.

reciprocityfailure:Film’sexponentiallydiminishingresponsetolowlightlevelsduringlongexposures,whichleadstocolorshifts.

script:Asequenceofcommandsthatperformacomplexfunctionwithasinglecommand.Similartoan“action”inPhotoshop.

sensor:Adigitalsensortakestheplaceoffilmemulsion,convertinganopticalimagetoanelectricalsignalthatisdecodedinsoftware.

starburst:Astarbursteffectderivedfromdiffractioncausedbyasmallaperture.

startrail:Eitherasinglelongexposure,oraseriesofexposures,thatrecordsthetransitofstarsovertime,showingthemascurvedorstraightlinesinsteadofpointsoflight.

strobe:AflashoftenusedwithDSLRcameras.

time-lapse:Aphotographictechniqueinwhichaseriesofconsecutivephotographsisassembledasamovie.

tungsten:Anincandescentlightbulborlampthatproducesawarmcolortemperature.Usedforlight-painting.

whitebalance:Acamerasettingforcolortemperature.

zodiacallight:Acolorlessglowonthehorizongeneratedbyathincloudofdustinspacepositionedalongtheecliptic;mosteasilyseenbeforedawnandafterduskneartheequinoxes.

Acloseupofseastacksattwilightjustbeforeitbecametoodarktoseeatall,BodegaBay,California.f/6.3,30seconds,ISO100,EF100-400mmat135mm,CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSI want to thank Canon USA for their sponsorship and for selecting me to join theirExplorersofLightprogram.IamgratefulfortheexperiencewithCanonandveryhonoredtobeapartoftheprogram.

AllofthephotographsinthisbookwereshotwithCanonequipment.Photographsusedinthisbookweretakenoveraspanofmanyyears,andcamerasandlensesvaried.

Camerasinclude:

CanonEOS-1DX

CanonEOS-1DsMarkIII

CanonEOS5DMarkIII

CanonEOS5DMarkII

CanonEOS5DMarkI

CanonEOS7D

Lensesinclude:

EF8–15mmf/4LFisheyeUSM

EF14mmf/2.8LUSM

EF14mmf/2.8LIIUSM

EF15mmf/2.8Fisheye

EF16–35mmf/2.8LIIUSM

TS-E17mmf/4L

EF24mmf/1.4LIIUSM

EF24–70mmf/2.8LUSM

EF70–200mmf/2.8LISIIUSM

EF70–200mmf/2.8LISUSM

EF100–400mmf/4.5–5.6LISUSM

EF300mmf/2.8LISUSM+1.4x

EF400mmf/4DOISUSM+1.4x

EF800mmf/5.6LISUSM+2.0x

JenniferWu

INDEXTheindexthatappearedintheprintversionofthistitlewasintentionallyremovedfromtheeBook.PleaseusethesearchfunctiononyoureReadingdevicetosearchfortermsofinterest.Foryourreference,thetermsthatappearintheprintindexarelistedbelow.

Aabsolutezero

AdobeCameraRAW

angleofview

aperture

aperturespeed

auroraborealis

auroras

autofocus

Bbacklight

barreldistortion

battery

BeltofVenus

BigDipper

blackglovetechnique

blackbody

blendmode

boulders

bubblelevel

bulbmode

Ccamerasettings

Canoncameras

celestialphenomenon

chemicaltoewarmer

chiaroscuroeffect

chromanoise

chromaticaberration

citylights

clearskies

clothing,cold-weather

clouds

coldweather

colorcorrection

colortemperature

coloredgels

coma

combinedimages

compass

composition

condensation

crescentmoon

cropsensor

CustomShootingBank

Ddarkframe

darkness,shootingin

depthoffield

diffusingoflight

digitalsingle-lensreflexcamera

distortions

Eearthshine

eclipse

editing

8mmf/4fisheyelens

8–15mmf/4fisheyelens

equinoxes

exposure

forauroras

formoon

fortwilight

forvolcanoes

Ff/1.4lens

f/2.8lens

fieldconditions

15mmf/2.8lens

50mmlens

filters

fisheyelens

500rule

focallength

focus

focusingpoint

foreground

combiningimages

establishing

light-painting

withtwilight

unwantedlightingon

14mmf/2.8lens

14–24mmf/2.8lens

framing

frontallight

frost

f-stop

fullmoon

G

gibbousmoon

gloves

graduatedneutraldensityfilter

Hhalf-moon

halos

highISOnoise

histograms

horizon,straight

horizontallevel

hyperfocalfocusing

Iintervalometer

inversesquarelaw

iridiumflares

ISO

JJPEGfiles

KKelvinscale

Llayermasktechnique

LCD

lenses

Leonids

light.Seespecifictypeoflight

lightpollution

lightsensitivity

light-painting

LiveView

location,scoutingof

longexposurenoisereduction

“looneyf/8”rule

luminancenoise

lunarbows

lunareclipse

Mmasking

meteoroids

meteors

MilkyWay

mirrorlock-up

moon

moonbows

moonlight

NNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration

nativeISO

Nikoncameras

noctilucentclouds

no-gapmethod,forstartrailprocessing

noisereduction

NorthStar

NorthernHemisphere

Ppanoramas

Photomerge

Polaris.SeeNorthStar

polarizers

pre-focusing

primelenses

processing

combinedimages

startrails

starsaspointsoflight

PSDfiles

QQuadrantids

RRAWconverter

RAWeditors

RAWfiles

reciprocityfailure

redlight

remotecontrol

resolution

resources

SSagittarius

satelliteflares

satelliteglints

scoutingoflocation

70–200mmf/2.8lens

shadows

shooting

shutterspeeds

forauroras

formoon

forvolcanoes

sidelight

silhouettes

singularstartrails

16mmf/2.8Dfisheyelens

16–35mmf/2.8Dlens

skyglow

SouthernHemisphere

Stack-A-Maticmethod

stackedimages

stackedstartrails

star(s)

camerapresetsfor

manualfocusingon

aspointsoflight

startrails

starburstmoon

straighthorizon

streetlights

strobelighting

subject

Ttelephotolenses

testexposures

35mmf/1.4lens

TIFFfiles

tripod

tungstenflashlight

24mmf/1.4lens

24–70mmf/2.8lens

twilight

Uunwantedlight

U1/U2mode

VVenus

vignetting

volcanoes

W

whitebalance

wide-openaperture

Zzodiacallight

ABOUTTHEAUTHORS

JENNIFERWUJenniferWu is a nature and landscape photographer specializing in night photography.CanonnamedJenniferasanExplorerofLightforhernightphotography.TheExplorersofLight are a groupof internationally recognized, elite photographers.Canon states, “TheExplorers of Light program is a group of forty-two of the world’s best photographers,unitedin their loveandpassionforphotographicexcellence.Theyalsoshareacommondesire to contribute back to the industry with a willingness to share their vision andpassionwithothers.”

She receivedaBA inPhotography fromCaliforniaStateUniversity,Sacramento,andhasbeenphotographingformorethantwenty-sixyears.Herimageshavebeenfeaturedinnumerousmagazines and books, and she also displays her images in galleries. Jenniferenjoysgiving lectures and seminars aswell as leadingworkshops forCanon and aFilmInternationalFilmWorkshops.She leads tours to locations asvaried asNamibia,DeathValley,Greenland,Montana,Alaska,Hawaii,Iceland,andSpainandmakesSacramento,California,herhomebasebetweenadventures.Viewherimagesatwww.jenniferwu.com.

JAMESMARTINJamesMartin haswritten and photographed professionally since 1989with articles andphotographsappearinginSportsIllustrated,Smithsonian,Outside,Backpacker,Climbing,Boys’Life,OutdoorPhotographer, andmanyother publications.Hismost recent booksare: Photography: Outdoors (Mountaineers Books) and Planet Ice (Braided River), asurveyoficethatelucidatestherelationshipbetweenclimateandice,andtheactionoficeon the landscape.HewroteMastersofDisguise:ANaturalHistoryofChameleons, thefirstcomprehensivebookonchameleonsinEnglish,withphotographsbyArtWolfe,andcreated a series of coffee table books on the mountains of the West, includingNorthCascades Crest,Mount Rainier, and Sierra. Extreme Alpinism (Mountaineers Books),written and photographed with Mark Twight, concerns techniques for climbing andsurvivingthemostdifficultmountains.Hehasalsowrittenbooksforchildrenonnaturalhistorytopics.

His travelshave ledhim toAfrica,Madagascar,Antarctica,Europe,andall southeastAsiancountries,andhehashikedandclimbedextensively.HehasledphotographytoursaroundtheworldforJosephVanOsPhotoSafarisandnowoperateshisowntours,bothsolo and in association with other photographers. View his images atwww.jamesbmartin.com.

MOUNTAINEERSBOOKS is a leading publisher ofmountaineering literature and guides—including our flagshiptitle,Mountaineering:TheFreedomof theHills—aswellasadventurenarratives,naturalhistory,andgeneraloutdoorrecreation. Through our two imprints, Skipstone and Braided River, we also publish titles on sustainability andconservation.Wearecommittedtosupportingtheenvironmentalandeducationalgoalsofourorganizationbyprovidingexpert information on human-powered adventure, sustainable practices at home and on the trail, and preservation ofwilderness.

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LeaveNoTracestrivestoeducatevisitorsaboutthenatureoftheirrecreationalimpactsandofferstechniquestopreventandminimizesuchimpacts.LeaveNoTraceisbestunderstoodasaneducationalandethicalprogram,notasasetofrulesandregulations.

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