Astrophotography Video Tutorial: Shooting the Milky Way on Snowy Glaciers

For astrophotography, what gear should you bring, how do you focus, and which settings should you use?

What is it like to shoot starry skies over snow-capped peaks at the foot of the world's second-highest mountain?

Thomas teaches you how to shoot the Milky Way, live on location in Pakistan!

Video tutorial

HD video link:

https://v.qq.com/x/page/b0505y8up3e.html

Key Takeaways

1. Essential gear for astrophotography:

A camera with good high-ISO performance

A wide-aperture wide-angle lens

A tripod and head

Other optional gear:

A shutter release cable or wireless remote

Spare batteries

2. A bright moon means sparse stars

Moon phase lookup site: http://yueliangyuanque.51240.com/

New moon - first quarter - full moon - last quarter

The Milky Way is hard to capture in the days around a full moon

3. Exposure: the 500 rule for star photography

Maximum exposure time = 500 / full-frame-equivalent focal length

Aperture: wide open

ISO：2000-6400

A common settings combo: 16mm, 30 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 3200

4. Stars are usually focused manually. The infinity mark on most lenses deviates somewhat from true infinity, so it's best to focus manually using a bright star on the rear screen. Turn on the camera's live view, zoom in, find a fairly bright star (or a distant light, or the moon), and slowly turn the focus ring. When the star shrinks from a blurry disk into a crisp point of light, focus is nailed.

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