Thanks everyone for watching the Masterclass. If you have any questions. Please leave a comment! 😜 👉 Also check our super detailed Meteor Showers Photography guide: www.photopills.com/articles/meteor-shower-photography-guide
It seems PhotoPills decided to interview my favorite night photographers I am been following for years. Ian Norman is very talented as astrophotographer and as teacher. I love his crystal clear style of explaining how to approach night photography. Some of his tutorials are so good that I have seen many times.
- 2:40 Night sky example pictures - 9:04 Meteor shower example pictures - 12:56 Plan with Photopills - 24:01 How to scout locations - 29:45 Gear to bring - 42:30 Settings - 50:43 Shooting tips in the dark - 53:40 Question: Use dark frames? - 55:20 Question: Noise because of overheating? - 56:48 When to take foreground exposure - 59:49 Focussing - 1:08:23 Tutorials on RUclips channel - 1:09:22 Processing: Selecting frames with meteors - 1:16:54 Question: Use star tracker? - 1:19:11 Question: Light painting the foreground? - 1:20:48 Question: Capture Neowise and Perseids? - 1:22:07 Question: How to distinguish meteors from satellites? - 1:24:53 Processing: Blending frames with meteors - 1:35:03 Processing: Blend frames to match sky color and brighten meteors - 1:45:34 Processing: Rotate frames to match radiant Great presentation! Thank you so much!
Thank you Ian! I love your presentation style. It was so clear and easy to follow. I will check out your page for more videos for sure! Thank you Photopills.
One thing to keep in mind if you want to use a star tracker for meteors. The meteor trails are very short duration and if your camera is set for low ISO & long exposure (2 minutes), the meteors will be very faint compared to the rest of the sky. I learned this the hard way last year when I shot a few hours with 2 minute exposures at ISO400. This year I'll probably use the tracker again, but keep ISO at 3200 or higher and shutter reduced accordingly.
Yeah, I was wondering about that too. I have a star tracker and was going to use it for this event. My question is that since the stars or Milky Way (i.e. the other point of interest) are static in the frame, can you just stack them together in PS and use the lighten blend mode (as opposed to masking each meteor per this tutorial)?
thats a very good tip actually!! i was gonna plan do exactly the same mistake!!. So what star tracker settings(i mean ss and iso) did you finally figure out to be the best? with tracker?
I learned this lesson the hard way this morning. I was shooting 45 seconds ISO 400 and most of the meteors were not visible. I will be shooting ~ 15 seconds ISO 3200 tomorrow morning for the meteors and I will do the 45 seconds ISO 400 for my sky background.
Thanks so much for providing this. Extremely helpful 👍🏼☺️ I wasn’t aware of Lonely Speck before this video, and it too is extremely helpful as is Photo Pills. Cheers guys.
A tool that I find helpful is the app “LPM”, the abbreviation for light pollution map. It will find areas around the world that have the least light pollution. A really great RUclips sight is “Nightscape Images” where you can get creative ideas for how to compliment the night sky with foreground elements. As a photographer (vs. an astronomer) I really feel Richard has a lot to offer the aspiring astro-photographer.
Very informative, thanks. I am wondering why not use the hyperfocal distance to focus rather than the methods mentioned? With wide angle lens is should be a rather short distance.
Great video. I'm lucky enough to live in the high desert of AZ. Dark skies, no moisture and comfortable temps all night. Biggest issue is smoke from wildfires at times. Unfortunately I don't have PS or LR.
I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to try and go this week for the Persids.. this helped alot :D thank you :D (and i never knew about the photography workflow space... i just recently upgrade from PS CS6 to the 2020 version LOL.. So much better)
Hi, That was a great show. really loved the post processing part. Thanks. I've a question regarding the night sky filter. Which filter/adaptor would you recommend for the Nikon 14-24 mm lens. I'm basically asking about adaptors for large lenses with built in hoods
I haven't heard, I don't think, in all your commentary, what lens Ian Norman uses mostly to shoot the Perseid shower. I am guessing wide lens, but also wanted to know also whether other fixed lenses could be used? Thanks
You said you were shooting with the A7Riii. Why do you need an external intervalometer? The software update should have taken care of that, right? [I shoot with the A7rii, and can't update the software, so the built-in intervalomer is not available to me.] I would love to have the built-in option.
Hi Ian, several years I follow you but first time I watch your masterclass. Very nice, I really enjoyed it. Rafa, Ian, where can we find the link you mentionned around the end of the video about the nice light painting from your friend? I'm now ready for Wednesday evening!!!! :) Thanks, Alex.
Thank you for the great tutorial and the introduction to PhotoPills. Ian, you repeated several times that the interval should be 2 seconds longer than the exposure time. This makes it sound like a series of 20 second exposures should have a delay of 22 seconds between exposures. Is that what you really meant? I typically set the interval on my intervalometer for 2 seconds (not 22 seconds in this example).
Hi! Ian is correct. And you are also correct :) What Ian says is correct because the interval is 22 seconds, because you take a photo every 22 seconds. Then the shooting time for each photo is 20 seconds. If you think it as the time between shots (what you refer it as interval too), is 2 seconds. But's that's more a delay than an interval. We use the word "interval" in the app in the timelapse calculator with the same meaning as Ian use it.
PhotoPills Thank you for the clarification. It seems like having a delay equal to the exposure time would result in missing 1/2 the possible meteor sightings. Additionally, that long delay between images would make stacking for noise reduction difficult.
How would I adjust exposure time if I were shooting with something lighted in the foreground like a lighthouse or lighted bridge? Would that not be blown out with long exposure?
I tried to follow along (for hours now) as a new PS user and there are obviously 'steps' missing in the process - select a black brush (how?), all I can get is white lines which isn't working out. Seeing
The black brush is the brush button in the left toolbar that Ian has already selected. Then select the black color from the color selector in the bottom left and you'll have a black brush.
I notice that instead of positioning your camera in the center of the arc for the perseids shower as it travels through the night, it looks like your camera is positioned such that your looking down the shoot, keeping the camera centered for most of the night on the source direction for the meteors? Perhaps that's been my misstake...I always try to get an Travel arc over my subject?
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so we just look for a composition we like :) and even better if it includes polaris to easily stack the final meteor shots.
No offense intended Rafa but I can’t understand a word you are saying, I may be in the minority, but please concider using someone we in America can understand. Thanks!
PhotoPills Yes, Rafael, you do speak rapidly, which makes it slightly more difficult to understand your English with the accent. Thank you both for the tutorial.
I've found Rafa easier to understand with repeated exposures to his twist on English. Stick with him maybe he'll get easier for you too. Thanks Rafa and Ian - great job!
Thanks everyone for watching the Masterclass. If you have any questions. Please leave a comment! 😜
👉 Also check our super detailed Meteor Showers Photography guide: www.photopills.com/articles/meteor-shower-photography-guide
Thanks so much for putting this class together, I had a great time! -Ian
Ian was a wonderful instructor. So simple for the workflow.
Thank you!!
It seems PhotoPills decided to interview my favorite night photographers I am been following for years. Ian Norman is very talented as astrophotographer and as teacher. I love his crystal clear style of explaining how to approach night photography. Some of his tutorials are so good that I have seen many times.
We love Ian too :)
- 2:40 Night sky example pictures
- 9:04 Meteor shower example pictures
- 12:56 Plan with Photopills
- 24:01 How to scout locations
- 29:45 Gear to bring
- 42:30 Settings
- 50:43 Shooting tips in the dark
- 53:40 Question: Use dark frames?
- 55:20 Question: Noise because of overheating?
- 56:48 When to take foreground exposure
- 59:49 Focussing
- 1:08:23 Tutorials on RUclips channel
- 1:09:22 Processing: Selecting frames with meteors
- 1:16:54 Question: Use star tracker?
- 1:19:11 Question: Light painting the foreground?
- 1:20:48 Question: Capture Neowise and Perseids?
- 1:22:07 Question: How to distinguish meteors from satellites?
- 1:24:53 Processing: Blending frames with meteors
- 1:35:03 Processing: Blend frames to match sky color and brighten meteors
- 1:45:34 Processing: Rotate frames to match radiant
Great presentation! Thank you so much!
Wow! Thanks so much!!
That's a time-saver Viktor. Thanks!!
Such an amazing class!!! Ian's precision and Rafael's excitement is so helpful. Thank you both so much!!
Thanks so much!
Ian was an excellent teacher and explained procedures so well; much appreciated, thank you.
Thank you Stuart!
Very helpful Ian and Rafa. Nicely presented and grateful that you made this a free video. Thank you!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
@@LonelySpeck Really well done Ian. Really happy with the Pure Night Filter down here in light-polluted Southwest Florida. It's a big help.
Excellent master class. Great job Ian.
Thanks Steve!
Awesome master class thanks Ian and Rafa!
Thank you Carl!
Great class, thanks for putting it together....
Thank you Bill!
Thank you for this class. Ian is a terrific teacher.
Indeed he is 🤓
Thank you all for the masterclass. I will plan to visit your website. This was very helpful.
Thanks Jerry!
Thank you, Ian and Rafael!
Thank you Jack!
an excellent tutorial. I've got a camping trip planned for the peak of the shower this week and I'll bring my DSLR and give this a try.
Thank you Marko!
Ian, Rafa this was extremely helpful, all the facets were covered and very informative. I can see how I can be steps closer to being a "Master" now.
Thank you Bruce!
That was spot on and very clear Ian Norman. Thank you for you time.
Thank you!
Thank you for this! Very very helpful for star shooting!
Thanks Jack!
Just superb! Many thanks.
Thanks!
This answered alot of the questions i had. Thank you guys so much for doing this!!
Thanks!!
Thank you! Love PhotoPills and Ian!
Thank yoooouuu!!!
Thank you so much for this class, went out last night for the first time and got a few good results, so much fun!
Cool!
Thank you Ian! I love your presentation style. It was so clear and easy to follow. I will check out your page for more videos for sure! Thank you Photopills.
Thanks so much Liz!
I live in the Chicago area and have been hoping to do some dark sky pix. This has been immensely helpful!! Thanks so much!
Thanks so much James!
Thank you for making this video. This is so helpful!
Thank you Ravi!
On Sony you can set your DISP button to turn off the LCD screen. Really helpful when shooting in the night.
Thanks for the tip!
One thing to keep in mind if you want to use a star tracker for meteors. The meteor trails are very short duration and if your camera is set for low ISO & long exposure (2 minutes), the meteors will be very faint compared to the rest of the sky. I learned this the hard way last year when I shot a few hours with 2 minute exposures at ISO400. This year I'll probably use the tracker again, but keep ISO at 3200 or higher and shutter reduced accordingly.
Thanks for the tip Jeffery!
Yeah, I was wondering about that too. I have a star tracker and was going to use it for this event. My question is that since the stars or Milky Way (i.e. the other point of interest) are static in the frame, can you just stack them together in PS and use the lighten blend mode (as opposed to masking each meteor per this tutorial)?
thats a very good tip actually!! i was gonna plan do exactly the same mistake!!. So what star tracker settings(i mean ss and iso) did you finally figure out to be the best? with tracker?
I learned this lesson the hard way this morning. I was shooting 45 seconds ISO 400 and most of the meteors were not visible. I will be shooting ~ 15 seconds ISO 3200 tomorrow morning for the meteors and I will do the 45 seconds ISO 400 for my sky background.
Thank you for this informative tutorial. Much appreciate!
Thanks Brent!!
Outstanding. Really well explained.
Thanks!!
Thank you, Rafael, and Ian a great explanation loved it.
Thank you James!
Fantastic! Thank you!
Thank you!
Thanks so much for providing this. Extremely helpful 👍🏼☺️ I wasn’t aware of Lonely Speck before this video, and it too is extremely helpful as is Photo Pills. Cheers guys.
Awesome!
Thanks for the presentation
Thanks so much!
Super helpful and lots of new info (for me at least :) ) thanks guys
Thank you!!
wow, excellent teacher! thanks
Thanks!!
A tool that I find helpful is the app “LPM”, the abbreviation for light pollution map. It will find areas around the world that have the least light pollution. A really great RUclips sight is “Nightscape Images” where you can get creative ideas for how to compliment the night sky with foreground elements. As a photographer (vs. an astronomer) I really feel Richard has a lot to offer the aspiring astro-photographer.
We need to include the light pollution map too.
Very informative, thanks. I am wondering why not use the hyperfocal distance to focus rather than the methods mentioned? With wide angle lens is should be a rather short distance.
Hi Yitshak! We always use the Hyperfocal distance but Ian prefers another method. It's a matter of what works for you :)
Great video. I'm lucky enough to live in the high desert of AZ. Dark skies, no moisture and comfortable temps all night. Biggest issue is smoke from wildfires at times. Unfortunately I don't have PS or LR.
Thank you David! Can't wait to go to AZ next year :)
Hi David, you can get a free or much cheaper alternative. Darktable is FREE or Affinity photo is only 50 dollars all in..
I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to try and go this week for the Persids.. this helped alot :D thank you :D (and i never knew about the photography workflow space... i just recently upgrade from PS CS6 to the 2020 version LOL.. So much better)
Great! Thanks so much!
Many thanks for this , planning to shoot Down Under from a Beach Location on the Central Coast.
Cool!
Great video.
Thanks
Thank you Ron!
Outstanding
100%
Man this is great thanks 😎
Thank you Ken!
Hi, That was a great show. really loved the post processing part. Thanks. I've a question regarding the night sky filter. Which filter/adaptor would you recommend for the Nikon 14-24 mm lens. I'm basically asking about adaptors for large lenses with built in hoods
I'd recommend checking out the NiSi or Haida holders for that lens.
Thank you!
I haven't heard, I don't think, in all your commentary, what lens Ian Norman uses mostly to shoot the Perseid shower. I am guessing wide lens, but also wanted to know also whether other fixed lenses could be used? Thanks
He is using an 18mm :)
You said you were shooting with the A7Riii. Why do you need an external intervalometer? The software update should have taken care of that, right? [I shoot with the A7rii, and can't update the software, so the built-in intervalomer is not available to me.] I would love to have the built-in option.
External intervalometers come in very handy. We prefer them :)
Hi Ian, several years I follow you but first time I watch your masterclass. Very nice, I really enjoyed it. Rafa, Ian, where can we find the link you mentionned around the end of the video about the nice light painting from your friend? I'm now ready for Wednesday evening!!!! :) Thanks, Alex.
Thanks!
Thank you for the great tutorial and the introduction to PhotoPills. Ian, you repeated several times that the interval should be 2 seconds longer than the exposure time. This makes it sound like a series of 20 second exposures should have a delay of 22 seconds between exposures. Is that what you really meant? I typically set the interval on my intervalometer for 2 seconds (not 22 seconds in this example).
Hi! Ian is correct. And you are also correct :) What Ian says is correct because the interval is 22 seconds, because you take a photo every 22 seconds. Then the shooting time for each photo is 20 seconds. If you think it as the time between shots (what you refer it as interval too), is 2 seconds. But's that's more a delay than an interval. We use the word "interval" in the app in the timelapse calculator with the same meaning as Ian use it.
PhotoPills Thank you for the clarification. It seems like having a delay equal to the exposure time would result in missing 1/2 the possible meteor sightings. Additionally, that long delay between images would make stacking for noise reduction difficult.
Ian, Rafael. Thanks for the tips! What about mirror lockup?
The fewer vibrations the better of course :)
Thanks, the black brush I figured out. What I don’t see is anything on the inverted mask afterwards?
Hi! He explains it in the vide. You have to press Ctrl+i (Win) / Command+i (Mac)
Thank you!
Thanks John!
How would I adjust exposure time if I were shooting with something lighted in the foreground like a lighthouse or lighted bridge? Would that not be blown out with long exposure?
You’ll need to play with lower ISO and shorter exposure times to nail the exposure.
I didn't hear how many frames we should try to capture (or roughly how many hours)?
As many frames as you can muster!
Yes! the more time you spend shooting the better. More meteors you'll capture :)
OK, got it!
Thanks!
I tried to follow along (for hours now) as a new PS user and there are obviously 'steps' missing in the process - select a black brush (how?), all I can get is white lines which isn't working out. Seeing
The black brush is the brush button in the left toolbar that Ian has already selected. Then select the black color from the color selector in the bottom left and you'll have a black brush.
I notice that instead of positioning your camera in the center of the arc for the perseids shower as it travels through the night, it looks like your camera is positioned such that your looking down the shoot, keeping the camera centered for most of the night on the source direction for the meteors? Perhaps that's been my misstake...I always try to get an Travel arc over my subject?
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so we just look for a composition we like :) and even better if it includes polaris to easily stack the final meteor shots.
what pano head is that ?
Lets see if Ian replies :)
Why the interval 2 seconds longer than shutter time?
2 seconds between shots. If you have 20 seconds of exposure, then it’s 22 seconds of interval. You shoot a photo every 22 seconds.
@@PhotoPills Thank you
Really..... Green River Wildlife Area is only a few miles from me.
Thank you!
Enjoy your videos...but nearly two hours worth of video?!?
It's the time it takes! You'll find a detailed index in the description of the video ;)
1st dislike holy crap I'm a dick
Edit didn't really mean the cislike I have no problem with this. Guy
No offense intended Rafa but I can’t understand a word you are saying, I may be in the minority, but please concider using someone we in America can understand. Thanks!
No Offense at all. I'll try to speak slowly :)
@@PhotoPills Well we love your Spanish accent! ;-)
You are just fine.
PhotoPills Yes, Rafael, you do speak rapidly, which makes it slightly more difficult to understand your English with the accent. Thank you both for the tutorial.
I've found Rafa easier to understand with repeated exposures to his twist on English. Stick with him maybe he'll get easier for you too. Thanks Rafa and Ian - great job!