An in-depth course about wide field night sky photography with 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, the sun, and astronomical phenomena. Requirements: digital camera with interchangeable lenses (point and shoot cameras won’t work). Basic knowledge of photography and workings of camera. Basic knowledge of image processing software (Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom recommended, but not a requirement).
Below is a synopsis of each week’s class. See the syllabus for details.
January 14 – Why Night Sky Landscapes?
Composition, visualization, storytelling. Looking vs seeing in evaluating photos.
January 21 – Camera Settings
Working in the Manual mode. Exposure: how to get there. Exposure equivalence. Histogram, LENR, lenses, perspective. Focus. Tripod use.
January 28 – Planning the Shot
Apps. Analogue tools for remote locations. Fitting objects into the frame. The Moon. More on perspective.
February 04 – Processing I
Backing up files, editing – making selections, processing – working on file in Camera RAW + Photoshop. Single image adjustments. Saving the file.
February 11 – Processing II
Layers – non-destructive processing. Star trails. Preparing for printing.
February 18 – Putting it All Together
Review of procedures. Class volunteers present planning, shooting and processing of a picture. Instructor will also process a class member’s file.
Location: Classes will be online using Zoom. Sign-in with an ID code given to you the weekend before the first day of class. Class recordings available during and for a time after.
Time: 7-9 PM, Thursdays
Cost: $60, AAA Members only. Not a Member? Join for $35.
Instructor: Stan Honda
Stan Honda is a New York-based photographer who 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 board member of the AAA and coordinates the Astrophotography Google Group. See Stan’s pictures at his website or follow him on Instagram or Facebook.