Astronomy

WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 53

of the bottom center of the scene, taking
your eye straight to the tree in the distance.
Even though it disregards the rule of thirds
for the placement of the main element, the
overall composition holds true to it, with
the horizon falling one-third up from the
bottom. The message here is don’t be afraid
to break the rules when it helps make your
composition stronger!
The image at the upper left of page 54 is
the meandering variety of leading line. The
glow you see is from yours truly running
back and forth in the wash with a head-
lamp held low to the ground at 1 o’clock in
the morning. Overall, the composition
pulls your eye across and into the scene.
Start out trying these techniques, and don’t
be afraid to experiment.
The final piece of the framework is cre-
ating harmony in your composition. The
best way to describe this is
through a variation on Einstein’s
quote about simplicity: “Include
everything in your composition
that needs to be there, and noth-
ing more.”

Into the night
I define nightscape photography
as a wonderfully challenging
marriage of artistic vision, noc-
turnal exploration, and techni-
cal sophistication — with a dose
of sleep deprivation thrown in
for good measure. You’ll need
an excellent understanding of
your gear, the night sky, the
locations where you plan to
shoot, and how you’ll process
what you capture.
In photography circles, it is
said that better gear doesn’t
make you a better photographer.
That isn’t necessarily the case
with nightscape photography.
While better gear will not help
you compose your shots more
expertly, it can improve the
quality of your photographs. From a cam-
era perspective, you’ll want to use a body
that accepts interchangeable lenses.
Generally, you will not use a focal length
longer than 24mm, but it is nice to have
options. Two other features to look for
when selecting a camera are excellent
dynamic range and relatively low noise at
high ISOs (virtual film speeds). Regarding
lenses, pick an f/2.8 or faster lens with low
distortion.
All optics have some distortion, includ-
ing spherical aberration, chromatic

aberration, and coma. The biggest struggle

starting out in nightscape photography is

making the trade-offs between quality (low

noise, pinpoint stars, and sharp images, for

example) and light-gathering power. With

nightscapes, you will be using settings that

bring out the worst in your lenses because

you want the camera to capture light

quickly. To give yourself the best opportu-

nity for high-quality results, you’ll want

lenses that have the least amount of distor-

tions when used wide open.

Continuing with important gear, a

sturdy tripod with an easy-to-manipulate

ball head is a must. If you’ll be doing a lot

of hiking with your tripod, choose the car-

bon fiber variety because they are light-

weight yet ultrastrong. Finally, you’ll want

To p: The Subaru Telescope is at the center

of this image, with one of the twin W.M. Keck

Observatory telescopes at right. Above them,

the Pleiades star cluster (M45) creates a focal

point. (Nikon D810a, Nikon 70-200mm Nikkor

lens set at 70mm; foreground: f/3.5, ISO 1600,

60 seconds; sky: tracked using a Sky Watcher Star

Adventurer Tracking Mount and is a composite

of six 1-minute exposures at f/2.8 and ISO 3200)

Left: The author superimposed a grid over this

photograph to illustrate the rule of thirds.

Above: The author titled this shot “The Sands

of Time.” He liked the angled Milky Way and

used it as a design element. (Nikon D810a, Zeiss

15mm Distagon lens; foreground: f/3.5, ISO 1600,

120 seconds; sky: f/2.8, ISO 3200, six 15-second

exposures combined)