I think the main thing i got from this video is....get back to the basics. I constantly find myself jumping ahead of my abilities. Great job Richard and thankyou as always.
I think that's a very good lesson for all of us Mark. It's so easy to get ahead of ourselves and we don't often realise til we get back home and look at our images on a larger screen.
I fully concur with you on your tips. Tip number 4 is so important. When shooting the Northern Lights it is of imminent importance to control your camera gear in the dark fast. This why I am recommending my workshops clients before coming, to practice this at home, so you feel confident at prime time. What I also recommend is that you have cameras and lenses on fixed locations in your bag. This will help you to find your gear blind in the dark. This has proven to be very beneficial. Thank you for making these videos. Happy shooting! ---- Hendrik
I can relate to a lot of these, especially the fiddling around in the dark. One final tip, go back through Richards early tutorials when the channel started. I found myself doing that this week and my images went from terrible to OK after watching one old tutorial. Thanks Richard another great video.
Great video to get everyone pumped up for MW season. Santa brought me a shiny new Z6ii and my 20mm f1.8 is ready to go. Come on spring (here in the northern hemisphere) I’m ready to get some MW shots. 😬
Always say practice at night. Many times I get out there and especially if you shoot more than one camera you forget where the buttons are. Always love your videos. A little late commenting on this one.
Richard you are our resource for all thing for night photography. TXS !! One thing I always say to my workshop people is get to know your camera in the dark. Cheers Frank
Hi Richard, great Video as always. The one thing I would add is to occasionally just to stop and look at and enjoys the stars, rarely fails to lighten the soul. 😊
Very true Richard, you can’t beat getting out there and doing it, one tip I need to remember, empty your card before you start and have spares, I’ve made that mistake a few times 😂😂😂. Thanks for sharing
That's a great video, Richard. I certainly subscribe to all those points, and particularly to visiting the chosen location during daylight, and then deciding on the desired compositions. You very modestly didn't mention the 100% value-return on watching your videos! I got into nightscape photography directly as a result of your videos, your tuition and guidance....and of course, your amazing images!! I would also recommend watching them during those cloudy nights when there's little point trying to shoot the stars but you need to keep the motivation up!! Thanks again for another superb video, and reminding us all of what is important.
I think the “get back to basics” is so important, it’s easy to forget things when you become more proficient and confident and with confidence comes mistakes sometimes and the mistakes alway seem to be more pronounced simply because it’s dark, I usually do all my setting up the way I think it should be then just stand back and think “is this right is that right” and sometimes it’s not, something as simple as checking focus and then touching the focus ring without knowing and if your doing multiple shoots for say star trail it can be a lot of waisted time. Thanks Richard
Great advice! It does seem that nightscape photography has become incredibly complex in recent years, with as you say people thinking they have to have trackers and modified cameras and special filters and on and on. No! You can get great shots with simple gear and techniques. First and foremost, it’s location. Then secondly, it’s location! Then timing. Down the list is gear. Cheers and happy new year!
I've only barely gotten past the beginner stage but I feel like I need to add this for other beginners who might read your comment.. Yes, location matters, I've personally not experienced bortle 9 skies, but I've been to Gran Canaria (bortle 1, i believe) and although single exposures have insane clarity and color, I'm pleasantly surprised that with my own bortle 4/5 skies, and just a phone and stacking software, I'm still getting juicy milky way astro landscapes. Location is key, but don't stress about not being in a prime bortle 1 location. Sometimes the composition is more important than the clarity of the sky, and not taking the picture would be a waste!
Thanks for this video Richard! I expected a lot of the tips I've seen/read over and over. However, you managed to name a few surprising but definately important ones who are easy to forget after a while.
@@nightscapeimages.richard thank you, the same goes for you ofcourse! Now hoping for some clear skies. It's been nothing but clouds and rain here for the past 4 weeks. Terrible 😅. How is it down under?
Basic but essential tips to succeed at nightscape photography. Keen to get out under the stars as always for some Summer Milky Way shots in the next two weeks! 👍😁👌
Great advice, I also have just left the house thinking all my gears in the bag. Another thing I fall victim to is letting the cloud forecast and moon talk me out of going out for the night, I always regret it the next day. Look forward to your videos this year Richard.
Great reminders and advice. I left my SD card in the reader on my desk the other night when I was out in the backyard doing some deep sky imaging. Grabbed my camera bag which was outside with me, grabbed my SD card holder and popped in a new card. Thankfully I was prepared (could have gone inside to grab it). Also liked your reasoning for using the lens hood. I usually don't use it when doing night photography, but you gave some good reasons as to why I should start using it.
Thanks for watching Cheryl. Yes I have saved a few lenses from damage by having the lens hood on the camera . .not to mention the dew build up at night.
WOW!! Looks like I have violated all of these tips, but what good tips they are! Thanks for reminding me of these issues and especially your tip on trying new things -- I am an old dog (71) but I feel if I sop learning - I stop living! Thanks again, Richard - look forward to your next video!
Very nice video. Sometimes I forgot this important tips and suffer then later. Thats is its so important follow your channel and check out again your videos. Thank you so much for it!!
Thank you, Richard. Great tips and advice. For me I also like to make a check of the area before I leave that area, for any equipment that I might have used in getting that shot, especially on top of my vehicle, But that’s another story about tripods and coffee cups.
Nice video Richard and lots of home truths. Yes, I have made most of the mistakes you mentioned ! Worst ever was in post processng. I made a great timelapse of my telescope tracking with the sunset in the background. Only in processing did I realise that it was a fly magnet and the little buggers were everywhere. I ended up clone stamping the flies out in every single frame!
Happy new year to you and your family Richard, I wish you all the best for 2023. Another very useful video with good tips on making sure you are prepared for taking night photos and day photos. Thanks again for sharing these with us 😁👍
Looking forward to trying to get some shots this year after last years blank in my locality in the UK, weather just did not play ball whatsoever, every good opportunity was thwarted by overcast skies at the critical times. I’m a complete beginner when it comes to night photography, don’t have the optimum gear and don’t use Photoshop or Lightroom so my chances of getting some reasonable images are pretty remote to begin with but I am mad keen on trying. Managed a few practice shoots on clear nights in the garden just to see what results are possible with my kit and I am encouraged to persevere. Planning a shoot is part of the fun even if you don’t get the chance, the Milky Way and my subject are going nowhere so just need the clear skies and I’ll be there trying 🤞🌌
Another great video Richard, so many home truths in their that I"m sure we all can relate too, including myself. They are the basics that will ultimately deliver the great results with practice and as you say knowing your gear and locations. Looking forward to 2023 :)
Last summer I drove to a dark sky area, set up, got perfect polar alignment with my tracker in record breaking time. Was incredibly chuffed with myself with that and how I was 30 mins early before the show started. Took a test shot and then I saw it, "DEMO". Yep i had forgotten to put my SD cards back in the camera and left them at home on the table. To say i was devastated is an understatement lol. Top top it off that as the last clear night for a while.
Happy New Year, another fab video Richard, my new years resolution is to get out and attempt some Astro, and that's down to you buddy. I hope I can manage with the limited lenses available to MF. Take care and have a great week 🙏🙏🙏
Good on you Izzy. Happy new year to you as well mate. I'm sure you'll manage to get something awesome. . I'll be following your journeys through 2023 with interest my friend.
Such good advice, especially before Milky Way Core season for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Last year I concentrated on my editing using two shots (foreground/sky) and this year I hope to add a tracker. "Measure twice, cut once " was my dad's favorite saying along with "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right". I have both of those ingrained and going through my head every time I shoot. Happy New Year and looking forward to future videos in 2023!
Good tips! I practice setting my camera with gloves on developing muscle memory. I spend a lot of time shooting during the winter months. Also, just head out at night practicing lens focus, etc.
I normally scout the location in daytime the same day I shoot at night. To minimise the petrol cost as much as I can. And that is one of the reason why I bought a7IV to get fully articulated LCD screen 😆 And copying what other people have done is the process of learning though. Just to apply them to our workflow because we don't really know everything on earth. Thanks for this video.
Thank you Richard for this video, the observation of these fundamentals are without a doubt the principle for success in any type of photography and especially in night photos. Happy New Year Richard
An idea - maybe - using a star tracker for panos. There is a lot of info on setting up star trackers and on taking panos. There is a lot of information on the processing of the images. Where I struggle is the actual process of using the star tracker and shooting panos. Maybe only me but....... Thanks.
That's the Alyn Wallace designed "V Mount" by Move shoot Move. See here: www.moveshootmove.com/products/z-v-platform-designed-with-alyn-wallace-preorder
One tip I've learnt over the years shooting cars is always have a second local in mind in case someone has parked the Ford Transit (other vans are available ! ) in front of were or what you want to shoot
As always great advice to photography and life in general. BTW I'd be curious to know what you're file management procedures are (if not already explained).
Thanks again for watching John. Well I always back up my files to external hard drives after completing projects. If I'm on a road trip I'll always backup my SD cards but never wipe them clean until after I've returned home .. so I have a lot of spare cards with me. For my home computer I have all my images in date order, in monthly folders under each year. So it's always easy to find what I'm looking for later on. When importing photos from the camera I use the standard Windows import dialogue system. I don't use Lightroom to import photos. That enables me to allocate a specific name including date so it sorts properly on the computer.
Hi Richard - Happy New Year! Have you experimented with any new AI Denoising software recently or are you using Adobe to do that? Are there any new software products for astrophotography that we should be aware of?
@@nightscapeimages.richard The cost for that program is reasonably priced. Luminar Neo has an upgraded denoise as well. It is a more comprehensive program than Topaz AI. Just looking at different programs at the moment. Thanks for your input!
Hi Richard, is there any advantage to using the "silent photography" AKA electronic shutter setting on the Z camera, as far as taking milky way images? Thank you!
I use the silent shutter mode a lot when taking timelapses but rarely for my general nightscape work. The only advantage is less wear and tear on the mechanical shutter in the camera. That's why I use it for timelapse as I'm taking hundreds of photos at once. Thanks for watching David.
Processing is my brick wall. Too many directions to go with it. Tried watching videos on how to do it and I don't get the same results (I suspect it could be the data is not the same). My attention span can't do more than two hours and not seeing anything really good to keep me going is the other issue. My tracking and focus is good, but still, processing is evil. I'm in construction and I can build a commercial building with no issues, but processing an astrophoto, nope.
Have you tried my Interactive Editing Tutorials ..?? They're free and you can use some of my images to practice with. See here: www.nightscapeimages.com.au/editing-tutorials.html
