Techniques for photographing stars and galaxies.

Before we begin, let me explain three questions.

First of all, am I? I can't guarantee that others will think what I said is right, but with this knowledge, I can shoot the Milky Way. This article barely talks about an introductory tutorial. Suppose you just look at other people's pictures of the Milky Way and think it's great, but you don't know how to take it. Based on the above assumptions, if you think it's ok. Well, congratulations. You can keep watching.

Then, I will explain what this article can tell you. This article can tell you what kind of camera you need and how to operate the camera in your hand to take pictures.

Finally, this article won't tell you these things: how to find a plane seat and how to fix the film later.

-The dividing line.

Enough nonsense, let's start now.

Camera: It is better to have a machine from Quan Huafu, which is mainly used for high sensitivity. Of course, you can also get a broader perspective. It is recommended to use Quan Huafu machines such as Sony A7 series, Canon 5D3/4 EOS R, Nikon D8 10 850 Z6 Z7.

Lens: Wide-angle lens with equivalent focal length less than 35mm. The maximum aperture of the lens is at least 2.8. The best shot is 1.4. I will explain in detail why a large aperture is needed later. Of course, the equatorial telescope can also be used instead of the large aperture lens. However, the equatorial plane is not considered in this paper.

Quan Huafu I recommend the following lens:14 mm f/1.8,20 mm f/1.4 24 mm f/1.4 35 mm f/. Note: Some shots have coma, that is, when shooting the starry sky, little wings will grow on the edge of the star, commonly known as a small plane. I have a smart 20 1.4 art, and the small plane with this head is more serious. But it's better if you connect the pieces, because the edges are repeated.

Half-frame recommendation Sima 16mm f/ 1.4 and18-35f/1.8art.

Accessories: tripod, you need at least a stable tripod. And it's not that soft little shelf. It is better to have a scale on the platform. It's convenient to know how many angles to turn at a time. Cable release, you need one, but you don't have to.

With the above, you can find the place to shoot the Milky Way. So when and where is the right time to photograph the Milky Way?

First, you have to see the stars in the sky. It must be sunny. It's better to be windy. There is no cloud in Wan Li, and there is no moisture at all.

Then, you have to shoot in the right month, and a galaxy will appear in the night sky in the right month. Yinhe arch bridge rises from the east at 4 am every February. The higher the rise, the higher the monthly rise time will be about two hours in advance. So the annual shooting time of the Milky Way is between February and July. Other times are not without the Milky Way. Either the Milky Way is in the daytime, or you can't see the complete arch bridge.

Then there can't be a moon in the sky. Because the moon will make the starlight of the milky way invisible. Of course, it is not necessarily the beginning of the month or the end of the month. As long as the moon sets.

Plant It is recommended when the galaxy is positioned to rise! . Which is the China version. One in 68 yuan. It's still quite cheap.

Location planning does not teach you how to choose a prospect. But tell you where to shoot. Obviously, it's hard for you to shoot the Milky Way in Beijing. Of course, some people have photographed the Milky Way in the turret, but such extreme abusive behavior should not be a problem for novices.

Because the other thing I am most afraid of when shooting the Milky Way is the light loss, and I can run as far as I can. Run to a deserted place, and there will be no light damage under the sun. As for where to go. This is beyond the scope of this article.

Baidu looks at the light pollution map and can see where the light damage is relatively large. In addition to looking for places with small light damage, we should also pay attention to the fact that when shooting the Milky Way, there should be no light damage in the direction of the silver center. Otherwise the silver heart is not clear.

The starry sky is actually very dim, and the dim starry sky is always moving. The stars revolve around the North Star. Yes, Polaris is motionless. It is the laziest. If your exposure time is too long, then the stars will leave an arc curve on the image, commonly known as drag line. So how long is the appropriate exposure time? There is a standard that the exposure time x focal length (equivalent to 35mm Quan Huafu focal length) cannot exceed 500. For example, if you use a lens with a focal length of 20mm, your exposure time should not exceed 25 s. 24mm lens should not exceed 20 s.

Nani, on such a dark day, the exposure should not exceed 25s. This is the first reaction of many people when they see the photos of the Milky Way: how long will it take to be exposed? . . It doesn't match at all. But that's the truth. So how to get enough brightness in such a short time? This is the main reason why I said in the equipment article that I need a high-sensitivity camera and a large aperture lens in Quan Huafu. If the camera with 20mm lens you use in APSC immediately becomes the equivalent focal length of 30mm, the exposure time will be shorter. I usually shoot the Milky Way with a 20mm f/ 1.4 lens.

I usually choose shooting parameters:

With the above parameters, a clear galaxy can be photographed.

If the Milky Way is found to be too dark, the exposure time can be appropriately increased. If you drag a line with an asterisk, you can increase the ISO.

There seems to be a question about how to focus. Autofocus is not good in the dark. But this road is always better than:

Method a: focus well during the day, so you don't have to move at night.

Method B: A SLR with Lv, or a micro-camera, you can use a flashlight to illuminate the place 180 meters away, and then zoom in on LV manually.

Method C: Taobao has a starry sky focusing lens.

Method D: For the lens with focus window, screw it to infinity first, and then screw it back a little. This is actually the same principle as concentration during the day.

Method E: Star point focusing method, for some camera screens, in the real-life mode of micro-single or SLR, the star point or distant light point can be clearly seen. Switch the lens to manual focusing mode, enlarge the picture to the star position, turn the focusing ring to the infinite position, and slowly turn it back until the size of the star point or light spot is the smallest.

Method F: Some of the latest cameras can directly click on the stars on the display screen to complete autofocus. I have used Fuji GFX50R and EOS R5.

Also remember to check the shooting results after taking the first photo to see if it is clear and the focus is correct. If you go home after a night or even a few days, it will be very painful.

Silver arch shooting

The Milky Way rises about due east. But the most beautiful part of the galaxy, the silver center is in the southeast, and the silver tail is about directly below the Polaris. So the silver arch is very wide. It's so wide that you can't find a lens to photograph the whole silver arch at once.

Isn't that a calf?

No, we can get the film.

Hold the lens upright in your hand and shoot it. First, lift the lens slightly, start shooting from one side of the galaxy and row to the other. At least 1/3 of the two photos overlap, so that the software can connect more accurately. When I shoot with a 20mm lens, I usually choose 1/2 coincidence. If there is a scale on the tripod, you can look at the scale and rotate the lens. Rotate the same angle every time.

After shooting one line in the above way, put the lens flat and scan another line horizontally. In the same way. You can put down the camera and take another row. This row is mainly responsible for the landscape.

After shooting these, you will get all the materials of a silver arch joint. As for how to answer, it is beyond my description.

I shot the above picture horizontally at 20 f/ 1.4 1 1. Took two rows, a total of 22 photos mosaic.

Of course, you don't have to shoot the silver arch, just the silver heart of the Milky Way.

Galaxy will be dim and need to be adjusted slowly in the later software.

As mentioned earlier, it is best to avoid the moon when shooting the Milky Way. What about the Milky Way arching the moon?

We know that the night without the moon is dark. When shooting the Milky Way, many photos and landscapes need to be synthesized later. After all, it has bad feelings for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder like me. Then, in order to get a clear view, you can choose the night with the moon to shoot the Milky Way. The requirements are as follows:

1. The moon rises at the beginning of the month, otherwise it will set.

2. New moon or waning moon.

When the moon is small, it usually rises earlier. When the moon came out, the Milky Way was already relatively high. At this time, moonlight has little effect on the Milky Way. But moonlight can illuminate the scenery. Make the scenery look clearer.

If you choose a suitable time, the moon just rises in the east. It forms the spectacle of the Milky Way arching the moon. It is the best choice for shooting the Milky Way.

I'm sorry, the best window to shoot the Galaxy Arch Moon in May this year was not made because there was no time. I hope the picture here can be made up in the next window. The picture below shows my first photograph of the Milky Way. The moon rises near the silver heart.

Contrast a photo when Zhang Yueliang did not rise on the same plane. A tent was placed in front of the landscape. Note that if you want to shoot a tent, the lights in the tent must not be turned on for too long, just for a second or two. Otherwise the tent will be seriously exposed.

As mentioned earlier, in the absence of moonlight, the landscape is dark and the noise will be quite loud. The general solution is to shoot the scenery and the starry sky separately, but for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, shooting separately may sometimes be unacceptable, or it is a troublesome thing after all. In fact, under some conditions, the scenery can fill the light, and the tool for filling the light can be a flashlight or a flash.

When the camera starts to expose, use the flashlight to quickly sweep the foreground back and forth, especially the person standing in the foreground. Can effectively improve the noise outside the starry sky. If you use a flashlight, you can hold the flashlight in your hand, manually press the flashlight several times where you need to fill the light, and adjust the power output of the flashlight as needed.

Generally speaking, the color temperature of the LED light of the flashlight will be strange, and it needs to be carefully adjusted later. If possible, try to fill the light with flash or special fill light. Whether it is a flash or a flashlight, if the light is too strong, you can consider adding a soft cover and wrapping a paper towel in an emergency.

The picture below shows the Milky Way galaxy I took at Iceberg Beam. The photo was taken at one time, not synthesized. Use a flashlight to fill the light.

Why only talk about stellar orbits? Orbital shooting is different from starry sky. Starry sky, milky way, etc. You need to find a dark night. The orbit is completely different. Track, you need to find a moonlit night. Because then the stars won't be particularly dense. Otherwise, the glistening is not beautiful.

Shooting the orbit of a star does not require long exposure, nor does it require a particularly good camera. The equipment requirements are much lower than those of Galaxy.

The correct posture for shooting the orbit of a star is

Aim the camera at the North Star so that the orbit will be round.

Turn on the camera's intermittent shooting function or cable release (with normal delay)

Set the interval shooting time to 0- 1 sec.

The exposure time is set to 30s (the longer the exposure time, the fewer photos need to be superimposed). Aperture and iso are adjusted by looking at the brightness of the moon. Try to expose one and see the effect. The landscape should be clear and you can see the stars clearly, but it's better if the stars are all over the sky.

Shoot for an hour.

Stack all photos and select the maximum stacking mode.

This seems boring. But it's really important.

First of all, when shooting the Milky Way, you need to pick up the film or expose it for a long time. Others are filming. Walking around is obviously not good for you. So what should we pay attention to?

First of all, if it is a silver arch, then the angle of the silver arch is about 170 degrees. It is more difficult if several people stand side by side. Please note that first come, first served. Reasonable arrangement of staggered time. Or simply find a different location to shoot. Do not interfere with each other.

Secondly, don't turn on the light when others take pictures. You worked so hard to film half of it. Destroyed by someone else's flashlight. You feel bad, too. In addition, if you drive to the wild, please try to get to the shooting location together. Headlights are more lethal.

I don't know. Never used it. It's not that I don't want to use it. I can't afford it.