Introduction to Night Sky Photography (2024)
Thursdays, January 18, 25; February 1, 8, 22, 29.
7 – 9 PM online
Members $75, nonmembers $85
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 cameras and ordinary lenses (not through telescopes). How to shoot well-composed and exposed starscapes, night sky landscapes, eclipses, the moon, and 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 the workings of your camera is required. Basic knowledge of image processing software is required. Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom is recommended, but not a requirement. Homework may be assigned each week to photograph using the various concepts.
Below is a synopsis of each week’s class.
Jan. 18 – Why night sky landscapes? Composition, visualization, storytelling. Naturalistic
view. Looking vs seeing in evaluating photos. Camera settings: Working in the Manual mode.
Exposure. The Histogram.
Jan. 25 – Continue with Camera Settings. Planning the shot. Using apps and charts.
Feb. 1 – More planning and how to: moon, star trails, aurora, eclipses.
Feb. 8 – Processing the image. Backing up files, editing – making selections, processing –
working on files in Camera RAW + Photoshop. Single image adjustments. Saving the file.
Feb. 15 –NO CLASS
Feb. 22 – Additional image processing tools, working in layers.
Feb. 29 – Putting it all together. Review of procedures. Class critique.
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, on a documentary book and film, Moving Walls: The Barracks of America’s Concentration Camps was recently published by author Sharon Yamato. A continuing project involves night sky landscapes and is artist-in-residence at seven national parks. Stan has had 9 images selected for NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day webpage (APOD). He is a Board member of the AAA, frequently teaches AAA classes, coordinates the Astrophotography Google Group, and chairs the new Gateway Remote Telescope Project Committee.
Follow Stan and see his pictures at these sites:
website: https://stanhonda.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stan.
