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Dave Morrow S Night Sky Exploration Adventure Ebook Bundle 02
Dave Morrow S Night Sky Exploration Adventure Ebook Bundle 02
All rights reserved. This book, and all of the photographs and written text contained therein, are the intellectual property of the author
and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
without the prior written permission of the author. Copyright © 2014 Dave Morrow / Dave Morrow Photography
Table of Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................................4
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 17
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 23
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Star Walk – Night Sky & Milky Way Planner ............................................................... 26
Reviews / Equipment...................................................................................................... 32
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 36
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Introduction
As a photographer, there is nothing more intriguing to me than the unknown. What’s
out there and where will it lead me on my next adventure under the stars?
Upon taking my first photo of the stars, I came to realize it wasn’t even close to
replicating what was in the skies above me. Nothing man-made will ever be perfect.
There are always improvements to be made in the never-ending journey to replicate
what nature has been producing for billions of years.
After hundreds of nights out under the stars I was able to break down the physics
behind capturing high quality star shots and start to produce some nice results. Over
time, I’ve been able to perfect this recipe with actions and inputs in my camera; and,
with words and knowledge, teaching others to capture this beauty on their own.
With practice and perseverance you will become a master of the night skies in no time
using the tricks, tips & techniques provided below.
For an even more in depth learning experience check out my Star Photography Post
Processing Video Tutorial, Star Photography Photoshop Actions & Luminosity
Channels or sign up for a Star Photography Workshop or Tour.
PS: There are some discount offers for the tutorials below;) Click here to view
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Dave’s Free Star Photography Tutorial
You can find many other tutorials free & paid over on the Learn Photography Page of
my website.
www.DaveMorrowPhotography.com/learnphotography
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5 Simple Steps to View &
Photograph the Night Sky
Star photography seems like a daunting task, but trust me, with the right tips, tricks,
and step by step instruction it's much easier than you may think. Provided below are 5
simple steps which will help you to better understand, view and photograph the night
sky!
For an in-depth overview which expands on all of the concepts discussed below head
on over to the Free Star Photography Tutorial on my website.
You can use the free Blue Marble Light Pollution Map to find a dark area which is
close to you, or a location you would like to explore on a future trip.
When looking at the Blue Marble Map, locations with more light pollution are shown
in yellow, and dark sky areas are shown in dark blue. The best night sky viewing and
photography locations are shown in dark blue.
In Washington State we have some amazing locations and National Parks with very
dark skies. The Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier
National Park, Palouse Falls State Park, Mount St. Helens, and the North Cascades
provide great night sky viewing areas.
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It is imperative that the sun has set and the moon is not in the sky when viewing the
stars. It’s also best to wait an hour or two after sunset and/or moonset for maximum
darkness.
The best time to view the night sky is three to five days before or after the New
Moon, including the day of the New Moon. During the New Moon we cannot see the
moon in the sky and, therefore, it’s the darkest time to view the stars.
Since the New Moon comes approximately once a month, it’s quite easy to pick a date
and go explore the night sky.
The website Star Date gives a basic overview of the dates for the Moon phase.
For an in depth look at Moon phase and planetary motion check out the free
computer programs The Photographer’ Ephemeris or Stellarium. There are some
other great tools for viewing the night sky provided in the Planning Tools below.
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Step 2: Find Clear Skies
Using the Clear Dark Sky website you’ll be able to find a dark night without many
clouds in the sky.
You can use the National Weather Service weather charts to find out cloud cover
percentages for any location within the US. Usually cloud cover percentages between
0 and 60% will provide the best conditions to view the night sky with 0% being the
best.
Here is an example of the cloud cover charts for the Enchantments in Washington
State.
Clear nights with very low humidity provide the best night sky views. When the
humidity is high, there is excessive water vapor in the air which impedes the view of
the night sky.
1. A sturdy tripod
2. A camera with manual mode that can capture images in RAW Image Format.
3. A wide angle lens in the range of 10-30mm ( out of 35mm / full frame ).
You can find all of the other equipment which can really increase your chances of
getting some nice star photos provided in the Equipment Section below.
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Step 4: Focusing Your Lens at Night
These steps are also covered in more detail in the Focusing at Night eBook provided
below.
I focus at infinity (the furthest point on the horizon) for nearly all of my night photos.
To help your chances of focusing at night, try focusing at infinity during the day time,
and mark that focus point on your lens. Now you can return to this same focus point
later at night for perfectly sharp photos. You can also focus on infinity at night by trial
and error, but it takes much more effort.
Sometimes you’ll need to use focus stacking to achieve full depth of field. This is a
more advanced technique, but well worth learning.
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Step 5: Selecting Exposure Time, Aperture &
ISO Settings
Exposure Time
Reference the 500 Rule Chart on the next page while reading the following
paragraphs. You can also CLICK HERE to view the 500 Rule Chart full size online.
Feel free to print it out and keep it in your camera bag if you like. If you aren’t
shooting with full frame camera, this should be taken into account. The chart includes
different crop factor camera options in addition to the full frame sensor size.
The 500 Rule calculated exposure time is only a function of lens focal length. ISO and
Aperture do not effect the 500 Rule exposure time or vice versa. I will cover the
aperture and ISO settings below, but first we need to calculate exposure time.
To calculate the maximum exposure time your camera take without producing visible
“trails” behind the stars, divide the number 500 by the focal length in which you will
be shooting. The 500 Rule is only a rule of thumb, you may have to adjust the
exposure time up or down a few seconds as required.
Longer exposure times pick up more light, which means you will see stars that are
further away from our planet and not visible to the human eye.
If you take a picture and see star trails in it, decrease the exposure time a few seconds
until you don’t see the trails anymore. If you take a picture and it’s not bright enough,
increase the exposure time until very small star trails start to show up in your photo.
This simple exercise will allow you to nail down your exposure time very quickly.
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For Star Trails, Use the 500 Rule in Reverse
Aperture
An aperture value of f/2.8-f/4 will work very well for taking photos of the night sky,
but f/2.8 is preferred. The goal here is to allow the most amount of light to hit your
camera’s lens / sensor in the least amount of time, so wider is better. I don’t suggest
using an aperture any wider than f/2.8 as it will become very hard to focus at night.
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ISO
Now that we have narrowed down all of the other camera settings, the only one left is
ISO. ISO is the only destructive / noise inducing setting. This is why we selected
exposure time and aperture prior to selecting an ISO setting.
There is no reason to degrade picture quality by increasing ISO (to obtain a brighter
exposure), when you can keep the same picture quality and increase the brightness
using a longer exposure, given your photo is not exhibiting star trails.
That being said, after you’ve adjusted all of your other settings as denoted above, start
with an ISO of 800 and increase it until your photo is bright enough. This will take
some trial and error shots. There is no need to over-exposure your star photos, they
can be fairly dark just like the night sky that surrounds you. The best method is to try
to match your photos to the landscape / stars you’re looking at. The camera picks up
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much more data than is actually displayed on the preview screen, this data can be
brought out in post processing.
Experiment as much as possible and experiment in ways that I may not have
mentioned in this tutorial. After a few nights under the stars you’ll be an expert!
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Special Offer
Dave’s Star Photography Post Processing
Video Tutorials, Photoshop Actions &
Lightroom Presets
This package contains everything you'll need to become a master of the night skies!
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As a member of my mailing list I’m providing you with a special offer to purchase My
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Introduction
Ever since picking up a camera that contained live view functionality a few years back
I’ve constantly used it and found it to be one of the most powerful tools in the age of
digital cameras. I do most (85%) of my focusing using live view, but there are also
some other great non-live view techniques that can be added to everyone’s “Bag of
Tricks”.
An extensive book could easily be written on the vast number of tips & tricks that
photographers use when it comes to focusing in low light. Interestingly enough, some
of the most effective teaching products are short, sweet and to the point. This eBook
will stick to the later format and deliver 3 tricks in a clear, concise & effective manner.
Upon mastering each of the tricks provided below, combine them for even more
powerful methods of focusing in low light & under the stars. I personally use these
techniques along with Focus Stacking Techniques to obtain super sharp low light
images.
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The following settings are great for focusing in low light, but are only for focusing
and should not be used for shooting. Once you’ve focused using the technique below,
adjust your camera back to the settings which you would like to shoot at and fire
away.
1. Set your camera to Manual Mode or Aperture Priority Mode. For my Nikon D800
using Live View in Manual Mode seems to pick up more light than Live View in
Aperture Priority Mode. Try both, and see which works best for you!
2. With live view turned on open your aperture to the widest possible value, meaning
number under the “f” is small. In doing so, more light is able to pass through your
lens allowing Live View to better “see” the low light scene in front of you.
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3. Some (different for each camera) Live View Modes will better “see” the scene
using high ISO values. Try increasing your ISO to 500 when focusing; this may
brighten the scene in your live view window. This works well for my Nikon D800.
By performing these steps simultaneously when focusing you may notice that your
Live View screen gets much brighter and it’s now easier to focus or see the low light
scene in your Live View window. This all depends on camera make and model, but
it’s always worth a try since it may work well for yours.
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photography, getting this step out of the way during the daytime is always best
practice. Even if you never shoot during the night, I’d still highly suggest this tip for
anyone that shoots during twilight or blue hour. If you’re ever stuck finding focus,
this trick will solve 99% of your problems!
1. Set up your camera during the day with the lens you will be using to take your
night / low light photos. You can do this at your house, or anywhere else that’s
easy, it doesn’t have to be at the location where you plan on taking your night
photos.
2. Adjust your lens to focus at infinity, or at a far away horizon. I always like to use
my camera’s Live View Mode, zoomed in, and focus on the furthest horizon in my
composition. This will ensure that you’ve focused at infinity. You can also focus
by looking through your camera’s view finder. This works very well too.
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TIP: If you decide to use Live View for this step, try finding your initial
focus using Auto Focus. Next manually make the final adjustments if / as
required using the focus ring. I find that Auto Focus usually does very well
during the day, but sometimes needs manual input to nail down the final
focus in low light.
3. Take some more practice shots at an aperture of f/8 - f/11 and make sure the
entire photo is in focus.
4. If it isn’t focused, repeat Step 2 and Step 3.
5. Now your lens is focused at infinity.
6. Using a permanent marker Mark both the focus ring, and the barrel of the lens
(non-rotating part of lens). Tape works as well, but may fall off over time. This is a
reference point that you will be able to use when returning to shoot at night or in
low light. I’ve personally marked my lens using a silver Sharpie, allowing me to see
the mark at night without using a headlamp or light.
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Trick Number 3: High Contrast Focusing
At times there is a very high contrast (abrupt transition from light to dark) between
the subjects on the landscape’s horizon and the sky. Effective use of this method
really depends on the time of day or night in which you’re shooting.
This method works best when the ground (directly below the horizon) is very dark, &
there is still some light from the recent rise or set of a large celestial body (Sun and /
or Moon) in the sky.
Perform the following steps to focus using my High Contrast Focusing Method.
1. Turn on your camera’s Live View in shooting mode, and adjust your lenses focus
ring to the “∞” marker. Next use the “+” zoom button on your live view to zoom
in on the high contrast distant horizon. Another option is to look through the
camera’s view finder and manually focus, but Live View works much better.
TIP: You should be able to see the high contrast line where horizon
transitions to sky.
2. Once you’ve zoomed in all the way on this high contrast horizon, slightly turn the
focus ring on your lens clockwise, then counterclockwise. You will notice that this
high contrast line becomes blurry (less contrasted), then get’s sharper again (more
contrasted). You want to find the lens focal setting where the line is most
contrasted and sharp. This means your lens is focused at or near infinity.
3. Turn off your live view, and take a practice shot, making sure your photo is in
focus. You can repeat Step 1 & Step 2 as required.
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Dave’s Top 10 Planning Tools
for Photography & Hiking
Introduction
I use the following tools prior to going on any shoot for both landscape and star
photography. Planning is the MOST overlooked skill in photography. Why even go to
a location if you don't know what the dynamic situation is doing around you? You can
improve your chances for great photography opportunities by learning to scout, read
the weather, and know how the earth, stars and celestial bodies move around us.
Please note, some of these programs take some time to learn. It took me a while to
learn each of them! It’s worth it. The list starts right below the next paragraph!
This tour offers 5 nights and 6 days of instruction in all aspects of photography from
planning and shooting to post processing & editing! In 2015 we will be visiting
Olympic National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Mount Rainier National Park and
the Oregon Coast during this tour!
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It’s worth reading the directions and learning everything you can about this powerful
tool!
I personally have “TO DO” Maps, and regular planning maps for current / past trips.
There is no limit to the number of locations which you can save. There is also an
option to save information about each mapped location.
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Star Walk – Night Sky & Milky Way Planner
This application allows you to see where the Milky Way, stars, planets or any other
celestial body will appear in the sky at a certain time / date. You can also use it in real
time when you’re out shooting, just hold your device up to the night sky and the
application will label all of the stars and planets for you! This is great for learning and
scouting.
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NOAA – National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration Website
NOAA has it all as far as weather, tides and all that good stuff. I really like their
Weather Charts which show Cloud Cover Percentages. This is an example of
the Chart for Forks, WA. Just remember even if there are clouds in your area, if there
are not clouds in areas West of you for sunset or East of you for sunrise you might
still get some great light. Also keep in mind, the weather man is just giving educated
guesses! For more about NOAA check out the EXPLORE NOAA Section on their
Site Map Page
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Clear Dark Sky Website
Clear Dark Sky is a really informative website for finding clear and dark skies
anywhere in the country. You can start on their Chart List Page to find a dark sky
map for your area.
Website
When you’re looking for a dark area to capture the night sky this Google & NASA
collaboration has you covered. Just head on over to their website and look for areas of
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the map that are completely black, or mostly blue, these are areas where you will be
able to find dark skies!
They save the best for last right? Well this is the best free night sky planning program
out there! It will take you an hour or so to read the directions and learn how to fully
integrate this program into your planning workflow. After the initial learning curve
you’ll find out why I love this program so much! ENJOY!
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Online Star Photography Post
Processing Group Workshops
So you're ready to fully unleash the power of Photoshop & Lightroom, allowing you
to take your star photography post processing to the next level?
This interactive online group workshop teaches all of the skills required to take an
image ( straight out of the camera ) as shown on the left, and turn it into a finished
product, as seen on the right. Upon signing up you'll even receive the photo we'll be
working on during the workshop, allowing you to follow along at home.
Scroll to the very bottom of the page linked below & see comments from satisfied
students.
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Photography Tutorials
Reviews / Equipment
What's In My Camera Bag?
Using Your Nexus 10 or Nexus 7 to Transfer Picture Files from
Your Camera's Memory Card to an External Hard Drive
Camera Reviews
Lens Reviews
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Gadgets, Gear & Other Good Stuff
Really Right Stuff Tripod Review
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Photo which is where I order all my camera gear. They don’t charge sales tax which is
a big bonus.
Bringing a full frame camera with lenses in the range of 14mm-24mm and aperture of
f/2.8 is HIGHLY recommended for night photography! Focusing at apertures below
f/2.8 during the night is nearly impossible, there for I don’t recommend anything
wider than f/2.8. Having this sort of setup will yield the best results.
I personally use the Nikon D800 & Nikkor14-24mm f/2.8G for every one of my star
shots.
Nikon D610
Nikon Df
Nikon D4
Nikon D4S
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Rokinon 35mm f/1.4
Canon 6D
Canon 1D X
Canon 70D
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3 Great Hikes for Exploring
the Night
Introduction
Provided below are some of the best hikes in which you can find dark and starry night
skies while exploring the awesome landscapes that Washington State has to offer. Of
course there are thousands of other fantastic hikes which will yield great results as
well, but here are a few of my favorites.
Enjoy!
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The Skyline Divide Trail
Location: North Cascades - Mount Baker Highway
The Skyline Divide Trail provides some of the best views of the Cascades that the
Pacific Northwest has to offer within 1 day hiking distances. Looking east you get
some fantastic views of Washington State’s North Cascades National Park.
Night Hiking on the Skyline Divide Trail - Mount Baker Wilderness, Washington
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Fremont Lookout Hike
Location: Sunrise, Mount Rainier
The Sunrise area on the North East side of Mount Rainier provides great views of the
Mountain along with some fairly dark night skies. During the summer months a night
hike to the Fremont lookout provides some awesome views of the entire area!
The Milky Way Rising Over Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
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Ruby Beach Hike
Location: The Pacific Coast, Olympic National Park
Ruby beach is a fantastic place to view and photography the night sky. It’s also the
darkest location included on this list. There isn’t a better place to spend the night than
Ruby Beach on the Pacific Coast!
The Milky Way & the Pacific Ocean – Ruby Beach, Washington
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About the Author
Dave Morrow is a landscape
photographer, workshop instructor &
word slinger with a passion for travel,
the truth, and all things strange.
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