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elicius · 03-01-2015, 09:32 AM

Hi guys,

I took some pictures of the sky yesterday with my new pentax. I randomly caught Capella, Haedus, and a few Per stars.

Do you have any tips on how to get the most out of the picture?

Night-sky CC BY-SA 4.0

Also anyone knows what the red cloud at the bottom is? Is it just light pollution from the city?

Thanks

narual · 03-01-2015, 12:19 PM

David Kingham | Night Photography Lightroom Presets

narual · 03-01-2015, 04:14 PM

Originally posted by dcshooter

I have no clue what gives the guy who wrote this article the idea that night photography is "fairly new."

Did he say that in the video or something? When I watched it, I had the sound turned off. It did a pretty decent job for the one time I've actually had an opportunity to use it. Too much light pollution here for it to be worthwhile. Lucky if I can see half a dozen stars most nights.

elicius · 03-02-2015, 01:39 AM

After a bit of more editing here is what i got. What do you think?

---------- Post added 03-02-15 at 09:57 AM ----------

[CC BY-SA 4.0]

Attached Images

**Digitalis** · 03-02-2015, 05:17 PM

I presume this is the effect you are going for?

Pentax K5IIs - Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 ART@ f/1.8

The only way to do this is to get a fast lens, with a short focal length of f/2 or faster, and keep your exposure under the 1/focal length rule. Having clear skies helps a lot with this as well. Unless you have a way of tracking the stars with an astrotracer.

narual · 03-02-2015, 10:06 PM

Originally posted by dcshooter

It's right in the intro on the homepage.

I skimmed over that, I guess. I looked at the pretty pictures and downloaded the presets.

**Ian.morgan** · 03-04-2015, 01:25 AM

Stacking is definitely the way to go in the long run.
For free tools:
DeepSkyStacker tends to be best for stars, nebulae and galaxies , and for me avistack2 was best for planets and the moon (from a few seconds of video). (However, I needed a few tools to be able to convert video to avi to get good results).
There are some good PS plugins, but the best gradient removal tool I found (to get rid of light pollution) was about 50 usd.
I'm still a beginner though, so doing it on the cheap !

The other thing that's really useful is astrometry.net.
You can upload a photo and it will tell you what you caught.
Very useful to learn how to read the sky.

03-01-2015, 09:32 AM	#1
elicius New Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 17	How to get the most out of pictures if the night sky? Hi guys, I took some pictures of the sky yesterday with my new pentax. I randomly caught Capella, Haedus, and a few Per stars. Do you have any tips on how to get the most out of the picture? Night-sky CC BY-SA 4.0 Also anyone knows what the red cloud at the bottom is? Is it just light pollution from the city? Thanks

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03-01-2015, 12:19 PM	#2
narual Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: South Bend (Notre Dame), Indiana Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,988	David Kingham \| Night Photography Lightroom Presets

03-01-2015, 04:14 PM	#3
narual Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: South Bend (Notre Dame), Indiana Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,988	Originally posted by dcshooter I have no clue what gives the guy who wrote this article the idea that night photography is "fairly new." Did he say that in the video or something? When I watched it, I had the sound turned off. It did a pretty decent job for the one time I've actually had an opportunity to use it. Too much light pollution here for it to be worthwhile. Lucky if I can see half a dozen stars most nights.

03-02-2015, 01:39 AM	#4
elicius New Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 17 Original Poster	After a bit of more editing here is what i got. What do you think? ---------- Post added 03-02-15 at 09:57 AM ---------- [CC BY-SA 4.0] Attached Images

03-02-2015, 05:17 PM	#5
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,695	I presume this is the effect you are going for? Pentax K5IIs - Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 ART@ f/1.8 The only way to do this is to get a fast lens, with a short focal length of f/2 or faster, and keep your exposure under the 1/focal length rule. Having clear skies helps a lot with this as well. Unless you have a way of tracking the stars with an astrotracer.

03-02-2015, 10:06 PM	#6
narual Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: South Bend (Notre Dame), Indiana Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,988	Originally posted by dcshooter It's right in the intro on the homepage. I skimmed over that, I guess. I looked at the pretty pictures and downloaded the presets.

03-04-2015, 01:25 AM	#7
Ian.morgan Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 152	Stacking is definitely the way to go in the long run. For free tools: DeepSkyStacker tends to be best for stars, nebulae and galaxies , and for me avistack2 was best for planets and the moon (from a few seconds of video). (However, I needed a few tools to be able to convert video to avi to get good results). There are some good PS plugins, but the best gradient removal tool I found (to get rid of light pollution) was about 50 usd. I'm still a beginner though, so doing it on the cheap ! The other thing that's really useful is astrometry.net. You can upload a photo and it will tell you what you caught. Very useful to learn how to read the sky.

How to get the most out of pictures if the night sky?

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