How an award-winning astrophotographer took stunning photos of the night sky

Astrophotography provides a perfect display of the spectacular beauty of our universe.

However, although taking pictures of the night sky and celestial bodies may seem like a daunting task for photographers accustomed to shooting under ideal light conditions, anyone can do it with the right technique.

Weekly newspaper Talked with three award-winning astrophotographers, all of whom were shortlisted for the annual astrophotographer competition held by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London this year. The trio Benjamin Barakat, Stefan Liebermann and Péter Feltóti shared their astrophotography skills.

How do you determine the best location to take a photo of the sky?

Benjamin Barakat: It is not easy for everyone to locate the Milky Way, but it can be seen almost at most latitudes of our beautiful planet. The easiest way to solve this problem is to download an application called “Photo Pills” or “Plan it Pro” for your phone. These two apps allow you to view the night sky through the camera during the day, and move through time to see where the Milky Way is in the sky, depending on the night time. This is also a great way to plan your composition and benefit from other additional night sky tools.

Stefan Liebermann: Generally speaking, the less light pollution, the clearer our Milky Way. Far away from big cities, islands and high altitude places, it is very suitable for astrophotography due to low light pollution. In addition, the light pollution map helps to find places with low light pollution.

Péter Feltóti: Choosing a good place and time is a key factor in astrophotography. The subject of the photo should always be chosen so that it is as high as possible from the horizon at night. Of course, always try to be as high as possible above sea level.

Can you provide any technical advice for fledgling astrophotographers?

Barakat: Taking a photo of the night sky may be confusing at first, but it is indeed much easier than you think. When I say easy, I don’t mean that images like me are easy to obtain, I mean that almost anyone can go out and take pictures of the Milky Way. My suggestion is to buy a tripod so that your camera is stable to avoid any movement that may blur your image during long exposures. I also recommend using a wide-angle lens first, such as 14mm, 20mm, or 24mm. We need to use manual setup to achieve this, I will give you a rough setup example, you can use it to get started.

The first thing we need to figure out is the exposure time. It varies with the lens we use, and the method we calculated is very simple. We take a calculator and divide by 500 [or 300] Through the focal length [depending on whether you are using a full frame or crop sensor camera respectively.] For example, 300 divided by 14mm gives us an exposure time of 21 seconds, then use the maximum aperture allowed by the lens, whether it is f/1.4 or f/2.8, and enter an ISO of 6400. Use a timer or remote control to avoid shaking when you press the shutter and wait for what you get after taking the image. You can always increase or decrease the ISO based on the brightness or darkness of the image, but ideally, we want to keep the aperture fully open and the exposure length correct to avoid star trails.

Liebermann: First, you need a low-noise and large (full-frame) sensor and a large aperture (below f/2.8) lens to capture as much light as possible. An exposure time in the range of 30 seconds is common for viewing the details of the Milky Way, so a tripod is absolutely necessary. It is recommended to use an ISO value in the range of 1600-6400 (depending on the exact camera model).

Feltóti: Choosing the right shutter speed and ISO depends on several factors. The first is the brightness of the celestial background, which is determined by the degree of light pollution. If the sky is very bright, it is not worth choosing too long a shutter speed, because your photos will light up very quickly. In a sufficiently dark sky, the choice of shutter speed is only affected by how accurately we track the rotation of the sky. If you do not have a tracking mount, you should use a maximum exposure time of 30 seconds or less depending on the focal length of the lens. The best ISO is determined by your camera. Values ​​that are too high or too low are not enough. When the value is low, there will not be enough signal on the image, and when the value is high, the photo will become noisy. We usually find the ideal value between 400 and 3200, depending on the camera’s sensor and other conditions (such as ambient temperature).

Can you offer any suggestions when creating beautiful works?

Barakat: It takes time, experience and vision to create beautiful works. Don’t focus too much on the perfect image at the beginning, but instead focus on trying to gain knowledge and experience that will help in the long run.

Liebermann: Even during the day, you can use planning apps such as PhotoPills to check the exact location of the Milky Way. This can be used to plan and implement interesting combinations of night sky landscapes and objects. Otherwise, please try a lot at night to let your creativity freely play.

Feltóti: Remember, astrophotography is not only amateur astronomy, but also photography. This is why it is worth considering the composition principles proven in traditional photography. Simply combining the celestial bodies in the center of the field of view is not enough, but we should strive to create a pleasantly balanced or tight, dynamic composition. In the case of astronomical landscapes, we also want to capture the landscape in front of the stars. It is worth noting that even if there is no sky, the landscape should be pleasing enough.

Do you need professional equipment to take outstanding night sky photos?

Barakat: Don’t worry about having the best camera, because many cameras can take images of the Milky Way. Some smartphones are even available now, so it is likely that the old camera sitting in the storage room to collect dust is actually still useful and might give you an image of the Milky Way.

Liebermann: Actually, it is suitable for almost any digital camera and lens. Just hold it toward the night sky and wait excitedly for the result. However, a tripod is essential so that there will be no shaking during long exposures. Even current smartphones can take stunning night sky photos! But if you want perfect image quality or more in-depth observation of the universe, special equipment like star trackers, telescopes, and infrared modified cameras are necessary.