About focusing, remember that you not only find a bright star to get it to its smallest pinpoint, but *pay attention to the dim stars!* Dim stars will completely vanish when out of focus and reappear when in focus. It's best to pick a bright star surrounded by dim stars to watch the dim stars appear as the bright star narrows into focus. Nice video, Nick!
I also use a eye magnifier glass, the one use for looking at negatives,, and I focus several times a night to make sure focus doesn't fall off.That infinity mark I would say its represents a close focus, but there's are a 1/16 of an inch where you might get a good focus, but I never trust those marks.
Agreed on the not going alone. I was doing some star shots just south of Moses Lake and the breeze going through the weeds and the random noises while surrounded by pitch black is super unnerving.
It's so refreshing to see a person like you on here, producing videos that any camera enthusiast, particularly new ones will find easy to understand and feel comfortable with. I have been shooting photographs for over 40 years and make much of my income from my fine art images, yet I still find myself watching RUclips videos, always in search of a new tidbit of information to help me. So often videos are produced by people who should never do so. Your down to earth attitude and demeanor makes your videos the perfect resource for novices. The last thing they need is to be overwhelmed with a pile of technical jargon when trying to learn. As well, more advanced enthusiasts will find your videos a pleasure to watch and they just might learn something! Well done!
In Russia due to still fresh memories of our grandparents about WW2 this wish can also mean "let there be no war", basically meaning let there be no war planes in the sky
If you go out alone (like I usually do) be sure to tell someone where you're going and when you expect to be back. I've done many night sessions without trouble but last November I tripped in a hidden hole and broke my wrist. (The camera was okay!...we all know that is our first thought :) !) Luckily it wasn't my ankle and I was able to get to my car and drive to ER. Although healed, the wrist occasionally sends me reminders that I broke it when I am focusing or holding the camera for long periods. So, keep shooting and be smart!
You're a rare kind, dude. You share your stuff very spontaneously and with all honesty. You're like a talking book. You don't wate words. You don't stutter. Damn, you're so inspiring. Keep it up.
Wow, it isn't often I sit and watch a 14 minute RUclips tutorial, but this video was so informative. Thank you for being as descriptive and detailed as possible while keeping the explanations free of the heavy jargon.
this is the only thing on my bucket list. this is the only sight i want to see. i've never seen our galaxy before and i will cry once i see it. i can't wait.
Me and my cousin went to the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago at about 1am with no moon in the sky. I shit myself that night. You can see the milky way with the naked eye almost as clear as this picture. Seeing it gives you a understanding of why our ancestors worshipped the night sky.
@@Mr_Glenn SO is it possible to see the milky way at night without all this photo editing stuff or no... Like can you see it with the naked eye?????????
Mate, thank you so much I've looked at taking up photography for a while, you have just pushed me into doing it. Not to bring the moment down, I have leukaemia. I just want to have a hobbie. Your videos are inspiring. Thanks so so much
9:53 lol, me the other night at the lake during the Quadrantids meteor shower while practicing astrophotography, a pack of coyotes that at first seemed distant, ended up right next to me. It'd be a better and safer experience with a shooting buddy, especially when shooting in the pitch black as it needs to be for the photo. The sound from a conversation alone will keep most wildlife from bumping into you in darkness.
This video was perfect. Thank you so much for sharing. I especially love how real you are and how simple you made everything. Can't wait to take my first shot!
Thanks Nick, This really helps. I'm an old pro but for the life of me since my D2X wore out I have not been able to take a shot of the stars that wasn't blurry or just awful. This really helps. In 1984 I went out to the desert in Arizona to spend the night at the Rodin Crater project. I brought along a 4x5 camera, and the high speed polaroid (3000 ISO?) I had a 90mm Schneider lens. I focused it, on what I don't remember. Pointed the camera up at the sky, took a 15 second exposure (I think this is correct, no longer than a minute) and got two meteor trails. Of course my first thought was, "This isn't so hard....." It was about 8 years and many rolls of high speed Ektachrome before I saw another meteor trail in one of my photos. I'm impressed that you shoot a 1.4 lens wide open. Normally a lens like that should be a bit soft. But your results are great, so cool.
Nice video mate. Tip for your light painting - face the palm of your hand towards the subject you want to be "painted" shine your headlamp or flash light off the palm of your hand. Now you can move the palm of your hand back and forth slightly like you were doing in the vid. It will reflect off your hand onto your "painted object" and take away any of the harsh light. Then you can grab the milky way / painted object all in a single exposure or two if you're really close to the subject and out of hyper-focal range for the complete image. Enjoyed the vid:)
Great video +Nick Page How do you guys handle condensation on the lenses at night? On a cold or windy night I'm having a hard time keeping my lens from fogging up. I have heard people say to put a hot hand packet on the lens, but I don't know if that would even work.
Heading out to Utah's mighty 5 in a few months. Really looking forward to giving astrophotography a shot. This video was a huge help! Thanks for the info, dude!
It doesn't appear so. He was probably at infinity focus and far enough away from the tree that it wouldn't be in front of minimum focus and blurry. The suggestion to shoot in manual focus is to prevent the camera from changing focus accidentally by a half shutter button press when starting the timer.
So glad to see that someone else gets creeped out by the being alone in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. But here is one bit of advice: take practice shots with 1/3 to 1/2 of the exposure time to set the composition. That way you don't have to wait for the full 20-30 seconds of exposure multiple times before setting the desired composition.
I totally understand the comment. Nothing makes you feel more like a child than being out in the dark, by yourself wondering what that sound in the bushes was!
yeah man haha I'm going tomorrow night up in WV and I convinced my roommate to bring his camera and come with me; I'll be somewhere I've never been and really don't want to be there alone!
i actually get your comment now and it makes sense. i actually tried this for the first time a few days ago but could only go by my self and I admit that it was kinda creepy.
The first one at 6:56 was actually my favourite one by far! Great tips altogether, and I love the irony of how important light sources are to 'take photos of the sky'. Thanks for the great video!
Great video man, I had to laugh to myself when you said dont do it alone....I actually moved my tripod to the back of my ute and sat inside with the doors locked one night as I got freaked out.....lol...The human mind.:)
I just come home from a photoshoot of the Perseid meteor shower and I can just highlight your sentence " You should not do this alone, it's creepy" Great tutorial, respect!
I have a 16-24 Nikon lens. When figuring the 500 rule that you mentioned, do I have to adjust for the crop sensor. The lens itself is for Fx, and my camera is the d7200. Thanks
Lol this was the first video I saw of you and I had to come back and comment on it. It cracked me up when you said “don’t do it alone” while your voice almost cracked... you’ve come a long way on your videos.
Great video Nick, thank you for sharing. One question however, the only setting you don't mention is Whitebalance! What shoukd it be for optimum quality please?
Our camera club in Vancouver, WA invited Nike Page to do a class room and field class for us. We scouted out the best place in our area of that and one for light painting in case it clouded up. It turned out we got to do the both. Since the Milky Way was not going to become really visible until around 1:30 AM we went and did the light painting at the Cedar Creek Griss Mile and then off to the Yale Park on the North side of Yale reservoir. We all gather on the shore like and got some brief instructions and then spread out. As we were at one end to the other part of the park shore line it took Nike awhile to stop and check on each one of the photographers. He helped me a lot and then by following this tutorial I was able to post process and got some great results. Thank you Nike, it was our pleasure having here in Vancouver, WA.
5:58 But hey... what about "backfocus" on a photo lens? On a professional videocameralens you can adjust the backfocus (distance from lens to sensor). the photo cameralenses are not backfocus calibrated, right?
Your advice is very helpful. I usually shoot in RAW and I use a 55mm f2.8 macro lens because the stars at the edge of the frame retain their shape better than when using a 50mm f1.8, the Rokinon 12mm f2.8 180 degree fisheye works well too. I also turn off all long shutter speed/high ISO noise reduction in the camera and apply noise reduction during post processing in the computer.
Hey Nick. For some reason, only your astro photography tutorials were the most helpful ones for me. I would consider myself as a beginner, but most tutorials are either way advanced or too basic to be of any help. Thanks for the effort you put into the videos :) I use a d3200 and a roikinon 16mm f 2.0. I can only shoot upto ISO 1600, but even then it has a lot of noise :( The foreground shot technique using ISO 400 will be of big help to remove noise from the objects. But the sky will still loose a lot of the detail on 1600. Do you think I should go upto 3200 and use some other techniques to remove the noise from the sky? I have only Ps Lightroom. Sorry for the lengthy question :)
OhNoYouDidnt Thanks for the feedback! its tough to know if I am talking over, or under people's heads sometimes! I would love feedback on video ideas! 1600iso at f2 will let in enough I think for a pretty good sky image. just make sure you increase the contrast and put some noise reduction on that frame and it should give you a pretty interesting sky. you can try higher then do a little noise reduction. One trick is to bring down the blacks which will hide a lot of the noise hope this helps!
***** D3200 is a perfect beginner DSLR. But since its still a beginner level cam, its sensor isnt that powerful so has a lot of noise build up beyond 800 ISO. 1600 ISO is what i use for astro photography but it has a lot of noise in it and no where near the silky smooth pics in the tutorials :) Still cant complaint too much, its a really good camera. Check out D3300, its the new version.
***** D5300 is definitely better. Budget was an issue for me so stuck with D3200 but if you can, then get D5300. This might be of help too watch?v=LQlbH57Ebj0
Hey Nick! I am so thankful to you for posting this video tutorial, I just took my first successful starry milky way picture over Mount Rainier at Sunrise Point and your advice helped me succeed. More power to you! Thanks a lot, really appreciate your teachings!
Just getting started working with Nightscapes, this was very helpful, I really appreciate the way you broke all the components down thru examples. Highly recommend this video, and yes I've subscribed. Looking forward to more well done tutorials!
Absolute awesome tutorial, by far one of the best I've seen on astrophotography. Will definitely be using your videos for referencing when I'm in the field...Happy New Year 😉
Great video Nick, I saw your old film and I think you really did a good job of this new version, supercool that you included your light painting tips too.
Much respect to you Sir, i don't think i have ever learned so much in a 15:00 min. video and on top, you seem to so much enjoy doing those videos, so for that, thank you so much. New subscriber and forever follower for sure.. Best regards, Jean-Marc from Québec Laurentians.
Hey Nick. Good video man. Listen: i have a Nikon D610 full-frame with 24-85 1:3.5-4.5f aperture. I will go in 2 weeks to take pictures to the Matterhorn in Switzerland. Is my camera with this lens capable to take a picture of the milkway? I'm really confused. Hope you can help me.
I usually set my shuttertime to 25 seconds and my ISO to 3200. I have a 18-55mm lens and always shoot as wide as you can, in my case it's 18mm. You should always have your aperture as low as you can. Then ofcourse you need to go to manual focus, I usually focus on something like a really bright star and then tape the focus wheel so it won't change. If you're out shooting for a longtime there will sometimes come fog on your lense and it will become blurry, one way to prevent this from happening is to take a cloth made for the glass on the lense. Shuttertime: 25 seconds ISO: 3200 - 6400 Aperture: as low as you can for the most part Shoot as wide as you can 24mm in your case Those are my tips, hopefully this will help you😀
I found an old ruin of a castle today and I thought this would be great in the dark for a starscape! So this video has just blown my mind and prepared me totally for what I need to achieve! Thank you Nick awesome episode!
Thanks for the video. Really useful stuff. I took a few photos recently up in the mountains in Tenerife, but made a few mistakes (used only my intuition). I also agree that is super scary doing it all alone with all the nature waking up at night.
Very cool tutorial, where in eastern Washington, that's where I live! Secondly I see several shots from different people, some are pointing South and others North. This makes me confused haha
This is really helpful. Cant wait to do some milky way photos. Just got the Rokinon. And I really appreciate the part when you showed us how to light paint the tree.
No, you need to know what time you'll be able to see the best part of the milky way. There are apps for that, I think the best one is called Sky Guide! Good luck!
typically its always going to be to the south, or south east. There is a free app called Stellarium that can tell you exactly when and where the milkyway will pop up!
The milky way only really shows up in the summer months. Infact this week would be stellar for finding the milky way with no moon. If you find a place with no light polution you can use darksitefinder.com/map/ to find a place with no light pollution in your area... Its pretty easy to see the milky way by your eye once you figure out what your looking at... Like the others said stellarum is the best app but S to SE can be a no brainer... however the milky way tranverses all the way to the north and NW.
This was an incredibly helpful video thank you, started doing astrophotography about a year ago and having videos such as this to learn from is amazing - thank you
Planning my first Milky Way shoot this April and my lens is only an 18mm kit lens f3.5 but I’m told it’s still possible to get a decent image. Will have quite a bit of time to play with on the night (weather permitting) and the ISS should enter the frame just about perfectly during the shoot. Foreground will be a local windmill and will try it silhouette and light painted. Hopefully everything will come together as it will be 04:00am 🤪 great video Nick especially showing your light painting technique. If I fail there are 3 other opportunities to have another go🤞🌌🛰📷
I laughed at the creepiness of being outside alone at night. I work midnight shift, outside and alone and it took me about six months to get over being creeped out constantly. Now I love it!
Nick, the final result looks Awesome! The tree almost looks 3 dimensional. There is so much depth perception in the picture. Thanks for sharing this video.
Yes you can but it depends where you live.. Just get out of the city on a clear night with no moon, way out to a rural area. If you are in the US and are in the west, especially the desert, it is easiest to see because of low humidity. Humid air obscures the stars somewhat. The moon would blow out the Milky Way so you want to do this on a moonless night. Then you need to wait in darkness for about 15 minutes so your eyes adjust to the darkness. Use no lights. The only exception is a dim red led light, which won't ruin your night vision. At this point, if you are are away from streetlights, etc. you can see it. I live in Utah and am actually close to a city of about 60,000, and I can actually see the Milky Way in my back yard most nights. Just check online to see when it is going to be up in your area.
The opening scene on this video is a friggin' sweet lead-in. Hooked me to watch the video. good educational & 5D Canon sample video, overall. Rolled in your tips here.. Nice tip on the lens, Rokinon 24mm F1.4. Shooting stars tips: Dark night, no street lights, away from city, need a foreground element, so the image won't be boring. @3:02 open aperture all the way, lower number is open more. Shutter speed 500 rule (/mm focal length of lens), so 24mm lens = 20-21 second exposure, 16mm = up to 31 second exposure. @10:18 ISO 5k, F1.4, 20 second for sky frame. With big flashlight ISO 200, F4, spotting tree 12:54, then backside 13:02, summary 13:50. Did you merge these images using a blue screen technique? Any specific software used for that? What was used, and what were the settings for the video intro?
thank you for explaining and showing your technique visually like this ! I just bought myself a camera kit, the SL1 Canon. Very excited to begin this new hobby ! thank you much sir !
That is so helpful. I took my first night shot this evening before watching you Vid and was so amazed that I wanted to see what I could do to improve it and you answered all my questions.....can't wait to get out again.
From the Netehrlands: clearly spoken, easy language. A hint: please show what you set on your camera or what you see on the display when talking about settings. Thanks for this great tutorial.
Very Interesting.. I don't have a rokinon, but I do have a sigma 14mm f1.4 right now that a friend has lent us, and our 5D mkIII. I want to try this. I love milky way and landscape photos combined. Thank you for sharing your process of how you get these great photos. In PS do you use photomerge or stack to combine your images. And were you shooting in CR2? Most do, but your didn't mention it. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for posting this video. I was looking for direction in a lens for the milky way and you pointed me in the right direction....annnnd gave me a ton of pointers that Iwas wondering about. I have been out twice taking pictures messing with settings finally get what I think is amazing and gorgeous to only get home to realize I was way out of focus cause I forgot my glasses. Uploaded them to the news and they get shared on fb. 800 likes lol. I know why people liked it, it was the place, not the photo. I read the comments. Because of you I cannot wait to get back there to take some shots again. People said they were going to print that photo out and hang it up in there living room....and it's honestly a horrible picture, I think. There was the milky way and a heart tree which I shined my red light from my headlamp on for 2 seconds of a 25 second exposure at iso 2000.....I thought I was an innovator lol. The only thing you said in this video that I already knew was foreground was EVERYTHING. Every other word you spoke? I can't wait for the next moonless night. Sweet beard Thanks! :)
Back in the days of darkrooms....the type with chemicals....this was called dodge and burn and we used....as you probably know...long-handled shapes and empty holes to 'paint' in much the same way. Love your video and it makes me want to do MUCH more photography than I currently do so THANKS.....and Cheers from Canada North
I fell asleep in a cow pasture while skyshooting and awakened with a cow staring into my face.
😄
😂😂😂
Lucky it wasnt a Bull! they can be crabby.
that's an awesome memory! Glad nobody has stolen your gear, though.
MOO
About focusing, remember that you not only find a bright star to get it to its smallest pinpoint, but *pay attention to the dim stars!* Dim stars will completely vanish when out of focus and reappear when in focus. It's best to pick a bright star surrounded by dim stars to watch the dim stars appear as the bright star narrows into focus.
Nice video, Nick!
I also use a eye magnifier glass, the one use for looking at negatives,, and I focus several times a night to make sure focus doesn't fall off.That infinity mark I would say its represents a close focus, but there's are a 1/16 of an inch where you might get a good focus, but I never trust those marks.
Desert Gecko oh yeah I use that trick quite often even in my bortle 7 skies
Agreed on the not going alone. I was doing some star shots just south of Moses Lake and the breeze going through the weeds and the random noises while surrounded by pitch black is super unnerving.
TheGreatMunky or just dont be a little nancy girl...
Glowing eyes in the dark make me jump a little. That's happened twice, but I don't get to freaked about the dark.
I never go alone, I always take someone that I can outrun!
Pat Burt lol
Pat Burt Company seems to minimize-the-spooks.
It's so refreshing to see a person like you on here, producing videos that any camera enthusiast, particularly new ones will find easy to understand and feel comfortable with. I have been shooting photographs for over 40 years and make much of my income from my fine art images, yet I still find myself watching RUclips videos, always in search of a new tidbit of information to help me. So often videos are produced by people who should never do so. Your down to earth attitude and demeanor makes your videos the perfect resource for novices. The last thing they need is to be overwhelmed with a pile of technical jargon when trying to learn. As well, more advanced enthusiasts will find your videos a pleasure to watch and they just might learn something! Well done!
Clear Skies everyone!
+no light
In Russia due to still fresh memories of our grandparents about WW2 this wish can also mean "let there be no war", basically meaning let there be no war planes in the sky
If you go out alone (like I usually do) be sure to tell someone where you're going and when you expect to be back. I've done many night sessions without trouble but last November I tripped in a hidden hole and broke my wrist. (The camera was okay!...we all know that is our first thought :) !) Luckily it wasn't my ankle and I was able to get to my car and drive to ER. Although healed, the wrist occasionally sends me reminders that I broke it when I am focusing or holding the camera for long periods. So, keep shooting and be smart!
You should show us the processing part as well!
My thoughts exactly. I'd love to see how you dealt with the post part of stitching together all those pictures
you can use lightroom and do the photomerge option then do hdr.
Great video, incredibly helpful!
Melissa Griffith use M mode instead of A mode or get a lense that has an apeture ring and then use M mode
Melissa Griffith m.ruclips.net/video/CXaEzUfEM_4/видео.html
You're a rare kind, dude. You share your stuff very spontaneously and with all honesty. You're like a talking book. You don't wate words. You don't stutter. Damn, you're so inspiring. Keep it up.
Very informative. I didn't know that light painting was even a thing until now. Thank you.
ive seen and talked to many people about astro shooting and your summary is one of the best i've come across. good work man
Very useful video. I think I learned something from almost every sentence! Thanks.
ditto......brilliant and informative
me too
me 3. great video. very informative.
Wow, it isn't often I sit and watch a 14 minute RUclips tutorial, but this video was so informative. Thank you for being as descriptive and detailed as possible while keeping the explanations free of the heavy jargon.
this is the only thing on my bucket list. this is the only sight i want to see. i've never seen our galaxy before and i will cry once i see it. i can't wait.
Did you make it in 2018? :)
Me and my cousin went to the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago at about 1am with no moon in the sky. I shit myself that night. You can see the milky way with the naked eye almost as clear as this picture. Seeing it gives you a understanding of why our ancestors worshipped the night sky.
@@Baldwin_media lies, you cannot see the milky way that clearly even with no possible light pollution, but it is close I do agree
@@natejohnston480 have you every seen it with no light pollution at all?
@@Mr_Glenn SO is it possible to see the milky way at night without all this photo editing stuff or no... Like can you see it with the naked eye?????????
For whatever it's worth, your cinematography is on point. It's real. It speaks to the story. You've earned a subscription.
Mate, thank you so much
I've looked at taking up photography for a while, you have just pushed me into doing it.
Not to bring the moment down, I have leukaemia. I just want to have a hobbie.
Your videos are inspiring. Thanks so so much
Lots of free tutorials online. CreativeLive is amazing. Along with RUclips.com
Hope your doing well bro, god bless
Hey mate, how are you doing? Is everythink ok?
This guy is so down to earth, there was no filler content, only education!
9:53 lol, me the other night at the lake during the Quadrantids meteor shower while practicing astrophotography, a pack of coyotes that at first seemed distant, ended up right next to me. It'd be a better and safer experience with a shooting buddy, especially when shooting in the pitch black as it needs to be for the photo. The sound from a conversation alone will keep most wildlife from bumping into you in darkness.
So cool! I'm going to try it in Bryce later this summer!
This video was perfect. Thank you so much for sharing. I especially love how real you are and how simple you made everything. Can't wait to take my first shot!
Thanks Nick, This really helps. I'm an old pro but for the life of me since my D2X wore out I have not been able to take a shot of the stars that wasn't blurry or just awful. This really helps.
In 1984 I went out to the desert in Arizona to spend the night at the Rodin Crater project. I brought along a 4x5 camera, and the high speed polaroid (3000 ISO?) I had a 90mm Schneider lens. I focused it, on what I don't remember. Pointed the camera up at the sky, took a 15 second exposure (I think this is correct, no longer than a minute) and got two meteor trails. Of course my first thought was, "This isn't so hard....." It was about 8 years and many rolls of high speed Ektachrome before I saw another meteor trail in one of my photos.
I'm impressed that you shoot a 1.4 lens wide open. Normally a lens like that should be a bit soft. But your results are great, so cool.
I have always wanted to learn and seeing how you composed your images is wonderfully explained. Thank you.
I really like the image at 6:56 the best - the light in foreground (from your car dome lights) gave it the feel of a renaissance painting
Nice video mate. Tip for your light painting - face the palm of your hand towards the subject you want to be "painted" shine your headlamp or flash light off the palm of your hand. Now you can move the palm of your hand back and forth slightly like you were doing in the vid. It will reflect off your hand onto your "painted object" and take away any of the harsh light. Then you can grab the milky way / painted object all in a single exposure or two if you're really close to the subject and out of hyper-focal range for the complete image.
Enjoyed the vid:)
+Dave Morrow good tips Dave thanks
+Nick Page Nick can you list the lens you used please?
its the Rokinon 24mm f1.4
Great video +Nick Page How do you guys handle condensation on the lenses at night? On a cold or windy night I'm having a hard time keeping my lens from fogging up. I have heard people say to put a hot hand packet on the lens, but I don't know if that would even work.
Cool down the camera before heading out?
This is the most awesome video I have seen about artistic photography. Photography is an art form. Thanks for the useful tips Nick.
Heading out to Utah's mighty 5 in a few months. Really looking forward to giving astrophotography a shot. This video was a huge help! Thanks for the info, dude!
HelloGreedo I
HelloGreedo! I always watch your Star Wars vids, didn't know you were into astrophotography
Hay HG You do photography also! That is awesome! It is nice to have you as a fellow photographer! I cant wait to see your work!
Didn’t expect to see you here
Hehe, I get it... shot
Thanks for taking the time to film this. It really was super helpful and I look forward to testing these tips out on the field.
This was such a thorough tutorial! Thanks for getting straight to the point. Great video!!
your video was soooooo sooo helpful I can not describe how good and precious this video is! thank you Nick
Thank you Sara! this spring/summer I hope to update this video with some a little bit newer and hopefully better
Did you change the focus on your lens at all for the foreground images of the tree?
Steve Odom no clue was gonna ask same question just a year later gaga
It doesn't appear so. He was probably at infinity focus and far enough away from the tree that it wouldn't be in front of minimum focus and blurry. The suggestion to shoot in manual focus is to prevent the camera from changing focus accidentally by a half shutter button press when starting the timer.
It's a wide angle it probably has a very large focal range. Usually if an object is more than a meter away, even at infinity it'd be in focus.
Sagie Levy if I make this with my 10-18 f 4.0 at 4.0 the tree Wouldn‘t be Sharp 🙈
it didn't look like it he just changed to f/4
So glad to see that someone else gets creeped out by the being alone in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.
But here is one bit of advice: take practice shots with 1/3 to 1/2 of the exposure time to set the composition. That way you don't have to wait for the full 20-30 seconds of exposure multiple times before setting the desired composition.
Thank you so much for making this tutorial, alone in the dark. Love it!
Canon! Yessss!
Man, you are down to earth for being an astrophotographer. Great video. Thanks!
do you have the processing follow up? I'd love to know how you incorporated the light painted layers
So far one of the best and most informative videos I've watched - thank you
If going out into the wilderness I always bring my two friends, Mr. Smith and Mr Wesson!
light painting is the neatest thing ever, shows the creative aspect of photography. well done!
I dressed myself like a man the first time I did this, the whole experience still creeps me out to this day.
what?
Lol what a strange comment
I totally understand the comment. Nothing makes you feel more like a child than being out in the dark, by yourself wondering what that sound in the bushes was!
yeah man haha I'm going tomorrow night up in WV and I convinced my roommate to bring his camera and come with me; I'll be somewhere I've never been and really don't want to be there alone!
i actually get your comment now and it makes sense. i actually tried this for the first time a few days ago but could only go by my self and I admit that it was kinda creepy.
Very nice video. Well explained. Exactly what i needed To see To start my first milky way picture. Thanks
Thank you for the video. This made me improve a lot. Step by step and i made similar with kinda more editing but im happy with it. You are the best
what is the name of this aparate? i want to buy
Very valuable Especially the hint about the brightness of the viewfinder. Yes the tree was much more fun with light painting. Really great.
Nicely done. Cool tutorial. All I wanted in one place.
The first one at 6:56 was actually my favourite one by far! Great tips altogether, and I love the irony of how important light sources are to 'take photos of the sky'. Thanks for the great video!
Do you have any tutorial of the post processing you did on this image?
This guy is so wholesome! What a great, helpful, informative video. Thank you!
Great video man, I had to laugh to myself when you said dont do it alone....I actually moved my tripod to the back of my ute and sat inside with the doors locked one night as I got freaked out.....lol...The human mind.:)
Good understanding there, must scary alright.
Been there
ive been freaked out when there were 4 of us. being alone in the middle of nowhere at night in complete darkness really is a different experience.
I just come home from a photoshoot of the Perseid meteor shower and I can just highlight your sentence " You should not do this alone, it's creepy" Great tutorial, respect!
I have a 16-24 Nikon lens. When figuring the 500 rule that you mentioned, do I have to adjust for the crop sensor. The lens itself is for Fx, and my camera is the d7200. Thanks
yes, you do...500/(16*1,5)
For crop sensor divide by 300 instead of 500
Probably the most practical and succinct tutorial for night/star shots I have yet to see (or read). Thanks!
You're so lucky with that tree. Every single time I go out to shoot, the wind ruins my foreground :(
Lol this was the first video I saw of you and I had to come back and comment on it. It cracked me up when you said “don’t do it alone” while your voice almost cracked... you’ve come a long way on your videos.
Great video Nick, thank you for sharing. One question however, the only setting you don't mention is Whitebalance! What shoukd it be for optimum quality please?
4200K
Shoot raw
You can change it afterwards
Our camera club in Vancouver, WA invited Nike Page to do a class room and field class for us. We scouted out the best place in our area of that and one for light painting in case it clouded up. It turned out we got to do the both. Since the Milky Way was not going to become really visible until around 1:30 AM we went and did the light painting
at the Cedar Creek Griss Mile and then off to the Yale Park on the North side of Yale reservoir. We all gather on the shore like and got some brief instructions and then spread out. As we were at one end to the other part of the park shore line it took Nike awhile to stop and check on each one of the photographers. He helped me a lot and then by following this tutorial I was able to post process and got some great results.
Thank you Nike, it was our pleasure having here in Vancouver, WA.
5:58 But hey... what about "backfocus" on a photo lens?
On a professional videocameralens you can adjust the backfocus (distance from lens to sensor). the photo cameralenses are not backfocus calibrated, right?
Your advice is very helpful. I usually shoot in RAW and I use a 55mm f2.8 macro lens because the stars at the edge of the frame retain their shape better than when using a 50mm f1.8, the Rokinon 12mm f2.8 180 degree fisheye works well too. I also turn off all long shutter speed/high ISO noise reduction in the camera and apply noise reduction during post processing in the computer.
Hey Nick. For some reason, only your astro photography tutorials were the most helpful ones for me. I would consider myself as a beginner, but most tutorials are either way advanced or too basic to be of any help. Thanks for the effort you put into the videos :)
I use a d3200 and a roikinon 16mm f 2.0. I can only shoot upto ISO 1600, but even then it has a lot of noise :( The foreground shot technique using ISO 400 will be of big help to remove noise from the objects. But the sky will still loose a lot of the detail on 1600. Do you think I should go upto 3200 and use some other techniques to remove the noise from the sky? I have only Ps Lightroom. Sorry for the lengthy question :)
OhNoYouDidnt Thanks for the feedback! its tough to know if I am talking over, or under people's heads sometimes! I would love feedback on video ideas!
1600iso at f2 will let in enough I think for a pretty good sky image. just make sure you increase the contrast and put some noise reduction on that frame and it should give you a pretty interesting sky. you can try higher then do a little noise reduction. One trick is to bring down the blacks which will hide a lot of the noise hope this helps!
Nick Page Thanks mate :)
***** D3200 is a perfect beginner DSLR. But since its still a beginner level cam, its sensor isnt that powerful so has a lot of noise build up beyond 800 ISO. 1600 ISO is what i use for astro photography but it has a lot of noise in it and no where near the silky smooth pics in the tutorials :) Still cant complaint too much, its a really good camera. Check out D3300, its the new version.
***** D5300 is definitely better. Budget was an issue for me so stuck with D3200 but if you can, then get D5300. This might be of help too watch?v=LQlbH57Ebj0
By far the most useful video for starting astrophotography... Congrats
Just found this, must be a new old one now 😀. Subbed to see more.
Hey Nick! I am so thankful to you for posting this video tutorial, I just took my first successful starry milky way picture over Mount Rainier at Sunrise Point and your advice helped me succeed. More power to you! Thanks a lot, really appreciate your teachings!
Absolutely top shelf tutorial man! Great video, hit on tons of really key points. I'm subscribed.
Just getting started working with Nightscapes, this was very helpful, I really appreciate the way you broke all the components down thru examples. Highly recommend this video, and yes I've subscribed. Looking forward to more well done tutorials!
Thanks for the tutorial , is it possible Astrophotography photos in entry level DSLR like cannon 1300d?
youll be pushing it to the fullest but its possible. just get a really fast and wide lens so you dont need to bump up iso
Sure have a look here with entry level T2i and T3i even the old Canon rebel XSi XTi.
www.flickr.com/photos/rcfmitch/32992152271/in/dateposted-public/
Absolute awesome tutorial, by far one of the best I've seen on astrophotography. Will definitely be using your videos for referencing when I'm in the field...Happy New Year 😉
Incredible stuff. Thank you.
probably the best tutorial that i have seen on how to do astrophotos thank you !!!!
Very helpful. Would love to see how you edit your shots as well
Great video Nick, I saw your old film and I think you really did a good job of this new version, supercool that you included your light painting tips too.
Great video mate!! learned a lot!
Much respect to you Sir, i don't think i have ever learned so much in a 15:00 min. video and on top, you seem to so much enjoy doing those videos, so for that, thank you so much. New subscriber and forever follower for sure..
Best regards, Jean-Marc from Québec Laurentians.
Hey Nick.
Good video man.
Listen: i have a Nikon D610 full-frame with 24-85 1:3.5-4.5f aperture.
I will go in 2 weeks to take pictures to the Matterhorn in Switzerland.
Is my camera with this lens capable to take a picture of the milkway? I'm really confused.
Hope you can help me.
Yes, no problem, you only need a camera with manual mode and tripod and you're good, I have a Nikon D3300 and it works perfectly fine.
Thank you for reply. How should i use the manual mode? Can you give some tips?
I usually set my shuttertime to 25 seconds and my ISO to 3200. I have a 18-55mm lens and always shoot as wide as you can, in my case it's 18mm. You should always have your aperture as low as you can. Then ofcourse you need to go to manual focus, I usually focus on something like a really bright star and then tape the focus wheel so it won't change. If you're out shooting for a longtime there will sometimes come fog on your lense and it will become blurry, one way to prevent this from happening is to take a cloth made for the glass on the lense.
Shuttertime: 25 seconds
ISO: 3200 - 6400
Aperture: as low as you can for the most part
Shoot as wide as you can 24mm in your case
Those are my tips, hopefully this will help you😀
I think the milkyway is much more visible in the summer in the northern hemisphere, but you will hopefully manage to capture it even if it's winter.
Wow! You explaned it perfectly! Thank you very much. Have a good day sir!
I found an old ruin of a castle today and I thought this would be great in the dark for a starscape! So this video has just blown my mind and prepared me totally for what I need to achieve! Thank you Nick awesome episode!
Watching this in 2019, time to update again ;) cheers!
Watching this in 2020, need updating yet again!
Watching this is in 2051. Still updating again
Thanks for the video. Really useful stuff. I took a few photos recently up in the mountains in Tenerife, but made a few mistakes (used only my intuition). I also agree that is super scary doing it all alone with all the nature waking up at night.
Very cool tutorial, where in eastern Washington, that's where I live! Secondly I see several shots from different people, some are pointing South and others North. This makes me confused haha
This is really helpful. Cant wait to do some milky way photos. Just got the Rokinon. And I really appreciate the part when you showed us how to light paint the tree.
How do i know where isthe milky way ?? should i just take the picture randomly and start to looking for it?
No, you need to know what time you'll be able to see the best part of the milky way. There are apps for that, I think the best one is called Sky Guide! Good luck!
typically its always going to be to the south, or south east. There is a free app called Stellarium that can tell you exactly when and where the milkyway will pop up!
The milky way only really shows up in the summer months. Infact this week would be stellar for finding the milky way with no moon. If you find a place with no light polution you can use darksitefinder.com/map/ to find a place with no light pollution in your area... Its pretty easy to see the milky way by your eye once you figure out what your looking at... Like the others said stellarum is the best app but S to SE can be a no brainer... however the milky way tranverses all the way to the north and NW.
If you can't see the Milky Way with your own eyes before imaging, that means your location is not dark enough (or during moon)
are you dumb, pick a direction and there is the milky way
This was an incredibly helpful video thank you, started doing astrophotography about a year ago and having videos such as this to learn from is amazing - thank you
Chucky approves, Chucky subscribed, Chucky wants to play.
Great video, thanks. :)
Planning my first Milky Way shoot this April and my lens is only an 18mm kit lens f3.5 but I’m told it’s still possible to get a decent image. Will have quite a bit of time to play with on the night (weather permitting) and the ISS should enter the frame just about perfectly during the shoot. Foreground will be a local windmill and will try it silhouette and light painted. Hopefully everything will come together as it will be 04:00am 🤪 great video Nick especially showing your light painting technique. If I fail there are 3 other opportunities to have another go🤞🌌🛰📷
Lol 😂 you kept saying “ we”, as you explained everything so I assumed you had someone with you.
Hahaha
I laughed at the creepiness of being outside alone at night. I work midnight shift, outside and alone and it took me about six months to get over being creeped out constantly. Now I love it!
I acidently started with a iso 40000 once. XD
Learned allot, thanks. Especially the focusing. I was making micro adjustments and then reviewing each shot magnified.
I don't go out alone. I always take my AK with me lol I'm not alone
Nick, the final result looks Awesome! The tree almost looks 3 dimensional. There is so much depth perception in the picture. Thanks for sharing this video.
Imagine a dark shadow showing up on the image :D
Great video. The comment about not being alone made me smile, I had exactly the same thought when I was out last night.
could you actually see Milky Way with naked eye?
Sadly , you can't. There's too much light pollution, however in some really dark places, it's visible :)
well,at least there's a way to see it,so it's not that sad though
Yes you can but it depends where you live.. Just get out of the city on a clear night with no moon, way out to a rural area. If you are in the US and are in the west, especially the desert, it is easiest to see because of low humidity. Humid air obscures the stars somewhat. The moon would blow out the Milky Way so you want to do this on a moonless night. Then you need to wait in darkness for about 15 minutes so your eyes adjust to the darkness. Use no lights. The only exception is a dim red led light, which won't ruin your night vision. At this point, if you are are away from streetlights, etc. you can see it. I live in Utah and am actually close to a city of about 60,000, and I can actually see the Milky Way in my back yard most nights. Just check online to see when it is going to be up in your area.
Sure you can! Just need to be in a somewhat dark area. All 50 states have such areas. But don;t expect to see it in most medium or dense cities...
yes and when first time i saw it i coudnt look down for straight 15mins.then i was looking up again every after few mins. it was awsome
The opening scene on this video is a friggin' sweet lead-in. Hooked me to watch the video. good educational & 5D Canon sample video, overall. Rolled in your tips here.. Nice tip on the lens, Rokinon 24mm F1.4. Shooting stars tips: Dark night, no street lights, away from city, need a foreground element, so the image won't be boring.
@3:02 open aperture all the way, lower number is open more. Shutter speed 500 rule (/mm focal length of lens), so 24mm lens = 20-21 second exposure, 16mm = up to 31 second exposure. @10:18 ISO 5k, F1.4, 20 second for sky frame. With big flashlight ISO 200, F4, spotting tree 12:54, then backside 13:02, summary 13:50.
Did you merge these images using a blue screen technique? Any specific software used for that?
What was used, and what were the settings for the video intro?
"The thing I see most people mess up is the focus..." shoots majority of tutorial video with himself out of focus.
Turns out, filming yourself at night by yourself in the dark at f1.4 is hard....
@@NickPage who woulda thunk thatd be difficult right? Lololol
It's like Magic! Thank you for sharing very kool picture taking.
I liked the fact that you mentioned about the back screen review of the photo.
Night to se light painting in action and the explanation of shutter speed and focal length. Look forward to trying I tour myself.
thank you for explaining and showing your technique visually like this ! I just bought myself a camera kit, the SL1 Canon. Very excited to begin this new hobby ! thank you much sir !
Thank you for this video and all tips!!! I just came back from holidays in Canada where I managed to do my first starry night photos. Super exited !
Awesome!
I'm a night photography enthusiast and I found this video very helpful. I can't just perfect the way you use the flashlight on the tree
That is so helpful. I took my first night shot this evening before watching you Vid and was so amazed that I wanted to see what I could do to improve it and you answered all my questions.....can't wait to get out again.
From the Netehrlands: clearly spoken, easy language. A hint: please show what you set on your camera or what you see on the display when talking about settings. Thanks for this great tutorial.
Very Interesting.. I don't have a rokinon, but I do have a sigma 14mm f1.4 right now that a friend has lent us, and our 5D mkIII. I want to try this. I love milky way and landscape photos combined. Thank you for sharing your process of how you get these great photos. In PS do you use photomerge or stack to combine your images. And were you shooting in CR2? Most do, but your didn't mention it. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for posting this video. I was looking for direction in a lens for the milky way and you pointed me in the right direction....annnnd gave me a ton of pointers that Iwas wondering about. I have been out twice taking pictures messing with settings finally get what I think is amazing and gorgeous to only get home to realize I was way out of focus cause I forgot my glasses. Uploaded them to the news and they get shared on fb. 800 likes lol. I know why people liked it, it was the place, not the photo. I read the comments. Because of you I cannot wait to get back there to take some shots again. People said they were going to print that photo out and hang it up in there living room....and it's honestly a horrible picture, I think. There was the milky way and a heart tree which I shined my red light from my headlamp on for 2 seconds of a 25 second exposure at iso 2000.....I thought I was an innovator lol. The only thing you said in this video that I already knew was foreground was EVERYTHING. Every other word you spoke? I can't wait for the next moonless night. Sweet beard Thanks! :)
Back in the days of darkrooms....the type with chemicals....this was called dodge and burn and we used....as you probably know...long-handled shapes and empty holes to 'paint' in much the same way. Love your video and it makes me want to do MUCH more photography than I currently do so THANKS.....and Cheers from Canada North