{"id":13102,"date":"2019-10-17T22:11:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T20:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skynific.com\/portfolio-items\/astrofotografie\/"},"modified":"2020-02-13T19:45:31","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T18:45:31","slug":"astrofotografie","status":"publish","type":"avada_portfolio","link":"https:\/\/skynific.com\/en\/portfolio-items\/astrofotografie\/","title":{"rendered":"Astrophotography Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astrophotography<\/h2>\n<\/div>

Astrophotography is an exciting hobby that combines techniques with creativity and nature. No wonder, then, that more and more amateur astronomers and photographers are focusing on this topic to capture unique images of the night sky.<\/p>\n

In astrophotography, there are different categories you can focus on. I have specialized in panoramic astrophotography because, in this area, extraordinary results are the easiest to realize.<\/p>\n

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Deep Sky Photography: <\/i><\/b>The images were taken with a camera using a telescope. In the first step, this requires an excellent telescope, a good camera and the necessary adapters to connect them together. In the second step, demanding astronomy skills are required to capture the appropriate astronomical objects. The result is greatly magnified images of distant galaxies and planets that few people ever see with their own eyes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Solar System Photography:<\/b> Not only outside, but also in the middle of our solar system spectacular motives can be found, which you can photograph. Some planets and moons are relatively easy to put in front of the lens, as long as you have the right equipment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Panoramic Astrophotography:<\/b> A wide-angle lens is attached to the camera to capture a landscape including the night sky. The interplay of terrestrial landscape and star constellations produces fascinating results, for which photography even a telescope is not required.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Astrovideography:<\/b> The wide-angle camera shoots a subject in time-lapse mode. This requires many individual recordings, which are cut together to a video in the post-processing. The basic technique is wide-angle astrophotography.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Important Basic Settings<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Aperture<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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\"aperture<\/span><\/div>
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The optimal aperture is about:<\/p>\n

f1.4 – f2.8<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m convinced that simply try it out.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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For astrophotography you need a light-strong lens. As a beginner in astrophotography, these lenses are not particularly inexpensive.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

ISO<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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\"iso<\/span><\/div>
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The ISO value describes the light sensitivity of the image sensor. Best is a value of :<\/p>\n

ISO 400 – 3200<\/h3>\n

Due to the dark environment and the comparatively “short” exposure when photographing from the night sky to avoid blurred stars, a high ISO value is absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n

Tip:<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

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Better a noisy picture than no picture at all!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Shutter Speed<\/h2>\n<\/div>
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\"timer-icon\"<\/span><\/div>
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Because you want to capture a maximum amount of light just before the Earth’s rotation creates Star Trails in your image, there is a narrow exposure time window. Fortunately, you can derive the exact duration from physics.<\/p>\n

In short, the longer the focal length of your camera\/lens, the quicker the exposure time must be.<\/p>\n

A 24mm lens on a camera with a format factor of 1 (full-frame) gives you a maximum exposure time of 25 seconds before the stars in your shot are displayed as lines instead of dots.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Further Adjustments<\/b><\/p>\n

I shoot astrophotography in manual mode because here, all degrees of freedom are given to you. So you can influence all variables according to your wishes and correct them quickly.<\/p>\n

I take the pictures in RAW format to get the best picture quality and to be able to adjust my white balance in post-processing.<\/p>\n

A particular difficulty at night is focusing. Especially in almost total darkness, it’s impossible to find the right focus point, so it’s essential to set the focus manually. Some colleagues recommend turning the focus ring of the lens to the infinity setting until the end. My experience is that the actual infinity focus is often a few millimeters before this setting.<\/p>\n

Due to the precise exposure, it is essential to have a stable stand, because even minimal shaking can have maximum influence on the final result. Therefore a safe and stable tripod is not to be renounced. Moreover, the camera does not know that it is firmly fixed, and the image stabilization could still try to compensate for something that does not exist. Therefore the image stabilization should also be switched off.<\/p>\n

After all, settings have been made, it is not easy to give tips on image composition, because everyone has their own ideas about what should be in the image. In general, I would say: Less is more. Try to only include elements in the picture that should be part of it and perhaps have a relationship with your central motif.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Useful Knowledge<\/h2>\n
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Star Constellation<\/h3>\n

You should always know where the constellation of your choice is located and how it fits into the overall composition. Depending on the time of day, night, and season, the orientation of the earth to the stars changes. If you want to photograph a particular constellation, you need to know where it is located. If you’re going to capture the Milky Way, you should know its location. Luckily, you don’t have to be able to interpret star charts for that anymore. There are apps these days that show you exactly where, when, and which constellation is were positioned.<\/p>\n

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Moon Phases (Weather & Environment)<\/h3>\n

To photograph as many stars as possible, you ideally need a clear and unclouded sky.<\/p>\n

It is also important that the moon is not full, because it outshines many stars. By the way, in winter, it is best to notice how bright the full moon actually is. So ideally, you have a new moon, or the moon is below the horizon.<\/p>\n

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Light Pollution<\/h3>\n

Also, try to find a dark spot, don’t take pictures in the middle of town – go out to the country or into the woods. Here you have less light pollution. Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany, you have the best conditions to avoid light pollution in Germany. For all others, there is an interactive & current map with very dark locations: lightpollutionmap.info<\/a><\/p>\n

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StarTrails<\/h3>\n

There are two ways to create Star Trails:<\/p>\n

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  1. Capture the rotation of the earth during your exposure in the image. Exposure times between 30 minutes and 3 hours are recommended. <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Like the Timelapse process, you take several images at a specific interval and then stitch them together during post-editing. This allows you to create a timelapse and generate a Star Trail photo at the same time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

    Design Samples<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
    \"milky-way-above-field\"<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
    \"adventure-arid-barren\"<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>
    \"night-light\"<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

    Skills needed<\/h2>\n<\/div>