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Tuesdays, 7 PM. Oct. 26 (NEW), Nov. 2, 16 (field day), 23, 30; Dec. 7

Don’t put your camera away when the sun sets! Learn how to shoot the night sky with landscapes with a digital SLR or mirrorless camera and ordinary lenses (not through telescopes). How to shoot well composed and exposed starscapes, night sky landscapes, eclipses, the moon, astronomical phenomena. This will be an in-depth course about wide field night sky photography.

Requirements: a digital camera (DSLR or mirrorless) with interchangeable lenses (point and shoot cameras won’t work) and a tripod. Basic knowledge of photography and workings of camera. Basic knowledge of image processing software (Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom recommended, but not a requirement).

Homework will be assigned each week to photograph the various concepts.

Below is a synopsis of each week’s class.

October 26 – Why night sky landscapes? Composition, visualization, storytelling. Naturalistic view. Looking vs seeing in evaluating photos. Basic overview of camera settings, equipment.

November 2 – Camera settings. Working in the Manual mode. Exposure: how to get there. The Histogram. Exposure equivalence. LENR, lenses, perspective. Focus. Tripod use.

November 16 – Field trip in Central Park (Weather permitting, date may vary depending on weather).

November 23 – Planning the shot. Apps. Analogue tools for remote locations. Fitting objects into the frame. The Moon. More on perspective.

November 30 – Processing the image. Backing up files, editing – making selections, processing – working on file in Camera RAW + Photoshop. Single image adjustments. Saving the file.

December 7 – Putting it all together.  Review of procedures. Class critique of images taken during the course.

Time: 7-9 PM ET, Tuesdays

Location: Classes will be online using Zoom, except for the field trip. Sign-in to Google Classroom with the link in your email once you register. Class recordings and documents available during and for a time after the course.

Instructor: Stan Honda
Stan Honda is a New York-based photographer and worked as a photojournalist for over 38 years. His photographs for Agence France-Presse from the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center were widely published and three images are on display in the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Currently working independently, a documentary book and film, Moving Walls: The Barracks of America’s Concentration Camps, was recently published with author Sharon Yamato. A continuing project involves night sky landscapes and he has worked as an artist-in-residence at seven national parks. Stan has had 8 images selected for NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day website. He is a member of the AAA and coordinates the Astrophotography Google Group. Follow Stan on Instagram or Facebook or see his pictures at his website.