Digital photography enables us to capture the beauty of the night sky in unprecedented detail. This astrophotography workshop will introduce students to the wide range of astronomical phenomena that can be photographed using an ordinary digital single lens reflex camera (without a telescope). A full explanation will be provided of techniques to make stunning images of stars, planets, the moon and the Milky Way, in conjunction with terrestrial landscapes. The course also covers photographing star trails as well as rare, elusive and fast-moving astronomical phenomena such as meteors, aurorae and eclipses. The course will be run at the excellent photography training facilities of Lacock Photography in Wiltshire.

Sufficient scientific detail will be included to enable course participants to understand the astronomical phenomena they can photograph and the extraordinary variety of scales of the Universe that can be recorded with an ordinary digital camera, ranging from ~100 km in the case of aurorae and meteors to 25 million million million km for the Andromeda galaxy.

An evening practical session photographing Lacock Abbey at night will enable students to put into practice what they have learned, with guidance in the field. If the sky is clear, we will use moonlight to photograph the Abbey with stars above. Course dates have been selected to optimise moonlight conditions.

To get the most out of the course students should already understand the basics of exposure, shutter speed, aperture and ISO; and be comfortable handling their cameras using manual exposure mode.

Group size: Maximum of 6 participants.

Recommended Photographic Equipment: Digital single lens reflex camera capable of taking acceptable quality images at ISO 1600 or higher, wide angle lens (at least 24mm on full frame or 16mm on cropped sensor) with maximum aperture of at least F/4 (ideally F/2), sturdy tripod, lockable remote cable release, chemical hand warmers and elastic band (to strap round lens to reduce likelihood of dew forming), warm clothes and hat, hand torch and head torch.

Dates: 27 April 2018 (4pm to 11pm) (fully booked)
22 September 2018 (3pm to 10pm)

One day workshop, cost: £149

Included: This astrophotography workshop will provide a comprehensive introduction to landscape astrophotography and all the technical details needed to photograph the night sky with a digital SLR camera. Subjects covered in depth are:
the moon, moonlit landscapes, stars and constellations, planets, Milky Way, meteors, aurora borealis (northern lights), lunar eclipses, solar eclipses, star trails, selecting foregrounds, lighting foregrounds, exposure at night and focus at night.
Refreshments (coffee, tea etc) and light supper prior to the photoshoot.

Not included: Travel to Lacock.