Online Night Photography Workshops
Part I: The basics of scouting, gear and preparation
Creating a great nightscape requires the planets and stars to align, literally and figuratively. I will share with you the tools and techniques I use to take the guesswork out. By the end of the course you will be well equipped to plan your own dream nightscape.
Camera gear - What is required for each type of nightscape. We will review what you have currently, talk about what it can or cannot be used for, and why.1. Finding a subject in the night sky (milky way, meteor showers, lunar eclipses, iridium satellites)
2. Finding dark skies
3. Find a foreground to complement the sky
4. Decide which type of light source to use
5. Plan the perfect time to go
6. Checking/forecasting/reading the weather
Winter gear - I will cover what gear I use to reach mountain locations in extreme winter conditions
Part II: Understanding night exposures and shooting techniques
How nightscape photography is fundamentally different than landscape photography. In landscape photography we shoot with the lowest ISO possible, a medium size aperture and let the shutter speed land where it may (in general). Nightscapes flip it all around; extremely high ISO's, wide open apertures, and very long shutter speeds that are deliberate.
You will have to relearn how we use ISO, aperture and shutter speeds to achieve desired results.
Setting up your camera before the shoot - a small amount of prep work will allow you to focus on composition and exploring new ideas, rather than fumbling with your gear in the dark.
We will cover shooting techniques for capturing the milky way, meteor showers, panoramas, star trails and lunar eclipses.
Part III: The Shoot
If possible, I want you to take what you have learned and apply it in the real world! After Part I, I will ask you to scout out your own location (hopefully something near you), we will review the location you have chosen (I can help choose if needed), review why it's a good choice or not, and where it might be better.
After Part II is completed I want you to go to your location and apply all the concepts you have learned.
If you're interested in a in-person workshop please visit the Workshops page.
Part IV: Post Processing
Basic editing in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw to achieve stunning results without putting in hours of effort. This will include the essentials of color balance, adding contrast to the milky way, sharpening, noise reduction and removing airglow.
Advanced usage of photoshop to take your nightscapes to the next level. Don't worry though, most of it is done through the use of plugins which are generally simple to use. You will learn how to increase milky way contrast even further, brighten stars, increase color of stars, add star spikes and remove light pollution.
How to create star trails, comet like star trails, panoramas, blending exposures, compositing meteors.
If you were able to capture your own images during Part III we can use these during the training to work on real examples. Otherwise I will provide you with some of my own files for you to practice on.
Investment:
Online Private Night Photography Workshop including 4 sessions: $399For those interested in just the Post Processing section I offer separate sessions for $149
Requirements for the online class:
Classes are conducted over a 'Hangout' on Google+. You will need a Google account which you can sign up for free at Google+, have a microphone (preferably a webcam). You will be sharing your screen with myself and the other members of the class when questions come up so we can all interactively learn together.
Night photography requires a certain level of camera gear to take advantage of the techniques taught in this workshop. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you're unsure, I would be more than happy to guide you. I want this to be money well spent for you, not something you can theoretically do in the future, but a skill you can use today.
When are the workshops?
Workshops start on, or shortly after the last quarter of the moon cycle every month (see below for dates).
After completing the registration you will select the date you are interested in.
March 4, 2013- Spots available
April 2, 2013 - Spots available
May 2, 2013 - Spots available
May 31, 2013 - Spots available
June 29, 2013 - Spots available
July 29, 2013 - Spots available
August 28, 2013 - Spots available
September 26, 2013 - Spots available
October 26, 2013 - Spots available
November 25, 2013 - Spots available
The entire workshop runs for approximately 1-2 weeks. The dates are flexible within a few days to accommodate participant's schedules.
An example of the February workshop:
February 3 - 1/2 hour of introductions, 1 hour class on gear and other misc items
February 5 - 2 hour class on scouting
February 8 - 2 hour class understanding exposure and techniques
February 9 - 1/2-1 hour Q&A - Final preparation for the shoot
February 10-17 - You select a date to go shoot based on your schedule and the weather (this is prime dark sky time around the new moon)
February 18 - 1/2-1 hour, A quick download after your shoot to share with the group what you learned
February 19 - 2-3 hours, Post Processing
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