Night-time Photographers from 16 to 100 years old will enjoy this experience.

This course is suitable for all levels - beginner to expert.

We'll take you through the essentials even if you don't have any kit, and we'll give you some advice on buying and using the right kit if you're thinking about that.  Things to think about bringing are:

• DSLR camera & tripod
• Laptop (to learn about processing your images.)

If you are bringing your own DSLR we'll help you get the best out of it, but it'll help if you can email us your camera details so we can prepare.

Additionally - specific questions can be emailed to our experts in advance, email us at roy@astro.ventures

This extended course will give you ample time to get to know your camera and photography techniques followed with supervised imaging sessions, including taking your own pictures in what is one of the best dark sky locations in England. No previous knowledge is required. Bring your camera, tripod and laptop (if you have one).

5:30pm – Nightscape photography course. 

• Getting to know your camera
• DSLR basics, getting off the “auto” setting
• The exposure triangle
• Composition
• Nightscape.  Learn how to determine the best settings to use if you want to capture the night sky, including how to plan and visualize your images in advance of going outside with your camera as well as some more advanced techniques like shooting a time-lapse.  Wide-angle lenses (focal length <50mm) are ideal for this session.
• Topics that you can ask for help on are: Nightscapes/Milky Way, Aurora and NLC’s, Nightscapes including the Moon, Capturing Shooting stars.
• Introduction to basic image processing

7:30 pm - Break

9:00pm Taking Pictures

Our resident nightscape photographer will ensure that this part of your experience is tailored to your experience level and equipment - if you have a specific thing you'd like to focus on then drop us an email and let us know.  Putting into practice the afternoon session nightscape photography guests will have the exclusive use of the observatory to take their own pictures with the tutor on hand to provide advice and guidance. 

In the event of inclement weather, the evening will be split between practical hands-on tuition learning how to get the best from your equipment. The second part of the evening will be an introduction to basic processing, using your own existing data or the tutors'.

As of yet, we're unable to control the weather, so observing and photographing the skies can only go ahead if it's clear but you'll be pleased to know that all events will go ahead in any weather conditions.

Topic Covered

In addition to the general tips and advice listed above we'll focus on the follwing:

• An introduction to processing using Lightroom