Astrophotography

Taking photos of the stars in the sky is something that I have wanted to do for the longest time. I just didn't have the resources to do it. Recently, I was able to get a camera of my own that would definitely have the capability to do astrophotography.

I've done a few trials on our rooftop to see how it would look and I have to admit that it is pretty difficult. I think I have the settings right. The tripod has been set, the lens is enough.

I was just on the wrong place...

In astrophotography there are 2 places you have to consider:

• The place of the stars.
• The place where you're at.

The place of the Stars

This is something you need to study so that you know where to point your camera at on the night sky. It's not as simple as looking at it, your naked eyes won't be able to capture enough light to show you the beauty of the night sky. It takes the right equipment and the right settings to do so.

In order for you to track the 'seasons' of the night sky, you need to study it. There are lots of helpful articles over the web and different applications as well, to help you out in this matter. I personally downloaded 2 different application for my Android phone so that I will know where the constellations are, where some nebulas are, and most specially where the Milky Way is in the sky.

This is actually another photo of the sky - it isn't the same photo as the first one. One way to tell the difference is the satellite I was able to capture in this photo. Around the upper-right part of the screen you'll see a thin stroke of light going upwards. It is actually also noticeable on the first photo however the streak is shorter and is positioned on the lower-right quadrant of the photo near the middle.

I was trying to photograph the Milky Way. It's 'tail' is actually on the lower left side of the photo above where a cluster of noticeable bright stars are in. I used the star rover to know its location.

The place you're at.

In fact, I don't think I'll be able to see the Milky Way properly where I'm at. It's because I'm residing in a city and there are lots of light pollution in the area that will make night sky photos cloudier. We'll be able to capture the stars with a camera's long exposure but I don't think we'll be able to see the 'clouds' in space (dunno what it's called lol). Or maybe I'm wrong, if anyone does know a good set up or guide, kindly share it with a newbie like me. Here are some other photos of the night sky I capture:

There are a great number of stars visible in this photo after editing however there are light pollution and vignetting on this photograph that doesn't make it look clean. The same thing applies for this second photograph where I performed less editing on:

You can also check out this darker sky photograph however not many stars are visible here compared to the earlier photos. The camera was pointed to another direction on this one as well.

I guess a newbie like me in photography still needs to learn a whole lot about this photography subject. It is one of my goal to capture a photo of the Milky Way and I will not give up till I get a beautiful photo of it. Hopefully, that happens soon.

Any suggestions on what I can do better to achieve better photos and improve my technique? Do you think another lens will help me out here? (I'm using the XF 18-55mm kit lens that came with the camera) Anyway, thanks for reading my blog post today!

Check out my previous post published through Steepshot: The Dusk.