 
Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing well and is healthy and safe. This topic is a spur of the moment one that just occurred to me that I haven't talked about astrophotography before. While attending a Zoom meeting with my camera club, a lady gave a great presentation on astrophotography, and I just wanted to jump in and give my 2 cents worth. But I didn't want to be that guy, you know, Mister Know It All. So this morning I figured I would just send a link to our group of one of my blogs about the subject and there wasn't one. So this one is going to be it. Now, I'm no expert on shooting at night, but I have done it a couple of times with both successes and some failures and wanted to share the little that I know with y'all.
Moon Shots. When trying to get the exposure right on a very bright moon against a dark black sky, you just end up with a white dot if you let your camera do the work. You need to go into manual to take this shot. Let's think a little about what shooting a full moon is anyway. You're shooting the reflecting light of the sun. So you can leave your white balance on "auto" if you're shooting in RAW, which you should be, or you can place it on "daylight" because that is what it is. The best rule of thumb for me is to use the sunny 16 rule. This is an old rule developed by Kodak when they were trying to teach people how to use a camera back in the beginning of the consumer camera photography. The rule states "put your aperture on 16 then match your ASA(ISO) and shutter speed and the photograph will be properly exposed in sunlight." This rule works great for shooting the moon. Now, you will need a tripod and a telephoto lens, and I would suggest using a remote trigger to keep the camera shaking down to a minimum. This should give you a properly exposed moon. The gear I used for this shot was a Sony A6500 (a crop sensor camera) and my Sony 70-350 mm lens. There are all kinds of moon phases, and you can just google and find out when the full moon, half moon, etc. will appear. So good luck with shooting the moon! LOL No, not that kind. LOL Taking a photo of the full moon can be a challenge.
Shooting Stars. Shooting stars is a whole different thing to shooting the moon. The moon is very bright and shining, but stars are far away and have very little light. So capturing that light is the trick. I break shooting stars into two categories: pinpoint stars where the stars are focused and are points of light (shooting the Milky Way also falls into this category) and star trails where the light of the stars makes a trail across the frame of your camera.
For both types of shooting of the stars in these categories, place your camera in RAW and your white balance to AUTO, and that will take care of these settings and can be adjusted in post production very easily. We will be shooting in manual mode and will be focusing in manual also. Auto focusing has a hard time picking out stars to focus on, and manual will be much easier. A large aperture wide angel lens will be needed. Remember, we want to catch as much light as possible, so the larger aperture will come in handy. An "F-stop" of 2.8 to 1.4 is recommended, the largest one you have; a sturdy tripod with a remote release; a head lamp or flashlight with a RED setting is best for working in the dark to preserve your night vision; and of course getting away from light pollution, sources from a town, street lights, or anything that produces light. Really the farther away from civilization the better. Shooting in a new moon, which means "no moon or moonlight," is better for this type of photography. Let's start with star trail since this is the easier of the two.
Star Trails. The example that I have put here is of what not to do. Notice the light pollution on the right,
and the composition sucks. But I did get some trials. This was a single shot long exposure. The first thing to remember when shooting stars is that they are not a stationary subject. The stars move, or really the earth moves. To get trails the exposures need to be 30 seconds or longer. Now, you can take some longer exposures of
the stars and get small star trails, say a minute or so, you have to play with the times to get what you like. Set up your scene with your camera and wide angel lens. Put your aperture one click from wide open. If you have it wide open, you could have trouble focusing because of diffraction. Focusing is one of the hardest things about astro-photography. This is what I've done. During the day get your lens that you're going to use and focus on something at infinity and slowly get it as sharp as you can. I mark this on my lens with a sharpie. You'll notice that the infinity mark on your lens might not be the actual spot that it's in focus. When you have this at night when you're back in the field, put your lens at this mark for starters. Using live view you should be able to magnify what the screen is seeing and pinpoint one star and try to get it in focus as much as you can. Then have your live view, go back to normal, and you'll be pretty sharp. My starting points for star settings are aperture is one click from wide open, Shutter 25 sec ISO 3200 take a shot and see what you get. Make adjustments and trial and error until you get what you
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want. If you want trails, make the shutter longer until you get the length you want. Not too long because you'll be grabbing more light. Then if your camera has a time lapse feature, use that so your camera will automatically take a photo just past your shutter speed time. You'll have to figure out how many shots you want to take. Let your camera do the work. When you get them in post production like Photoshop, you can stack the images together, and you will have very long light trails and sharp ones also. This is something that takes lots of practice and experimenting, but don't forget the basics of photography like composing a good scene. Try to have something in the foreground to give interest and contrast to your image. An intervalometer could be useful if your camera cannot do time lapse. You can get these on Amazon for not too much, but make sure they are for your model of camera.
Star scenes and the Milky Way. Just about all of the settings are the same with this type of shooting stars as
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with the star trails, except we want our shutter to be 25 seconds or shorter because we don't want the blurry stars; we want pinpoint stars. Focusing will be the same as above, and the starting point settings are the same. Remember, unless your are really out in the middle of nowhere, you will have trouble seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye. Finding the Milky Way and certain stars and constellations will be the hardest part because the earth is rotating and the subjects are constantly moving. Using an app on your phone can be very useful. Shooting during the new moon (NO MOON) will also be very useful. I use the app Photo Pills, and it is a fantastic app for seeing where and when the moon, sun, and Milky Way will be moving through your scene. It has a virtual horizon that you can use with your camera, and it will show you where the Milky Way will be while you're scouting during the day. And then when it's the best time to shoot at night, you can go and set up and not have to struggle with location of the Milky Way or stars. Setting up your scene is still very important with foreground interest and experimenting with shutter speeds and ISO settings. Remember, the lower the ISO setting, the less noise. The higher the setting, the more sensitive it is to light. So there is a balancing act you will have to do to get this right for your camera. Full frame sensor cameras tend to have better light gathering capabilities, but you can use smaller sensors also. I use a crop sensor camera and do just fine. My equipment for shooting night skies is a Sony A6300 or A6500 (Crop Sensor Camera) and a Rokinon 12mm f 2.0 manual lens.(18 mm full frame equivalent). In lenses, use what you have, the widest aperture. Maybe a 35 or 24 or even a 50 mm with a 1.4 to 2.8 f-stop will work fine. Use what you have at first, but wide would be better.
This is a fun type of photography that some photographers really specialize in. There are all types of gizmos and things you can get to help you with your star photography. I just covered some of the basics. You can get devices that track the stars and move while you're taking a long exposure to keep your stars sharp. There are telescopes and all kinds of things. You can have GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) overload or you can be like me and just dabble a bit. Either way it's great fun. So until next week, get outside and shoot some stars!
Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week. This is a continuation on basic topics of Photography that I have been doing the last month or so. This is the first time that I have reposted a Blog of mine. This was originally written two years ago and posted and got a fairly good viewing with over 400 views. I recently went on a Natural Light Portrait workshop and one of the participants asked me why the instructor was talking about hand held meter instead of using the meter in his camera. I gave her an explanation but then thought about writing a Blog on it but researched and found that I already had but thought it was worth rehashing. So here it is. This week I want to talk about light meters. There are basically two camps on this: those who are for light meters and those who are against them. I am for light meters in certain situations. Let's talk about light and how your camera works. First, light is the basis of all we do in photography. Without light, it's just a black square. Being able to measure light accurately is important when taking photographs.
All modern cameras have built-in light meters that measure the light coming off of your subject. Your
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camera sees this and makes corrections via a computer for the shot, and you have a great photo. But the reflective light can be misleading, causing your camera not to get the best exposure. When you're shooting a dark subject, the light that comes off of it will be darker than everything around it and cause your camera to lighten your photo incorrectly, creating an over-exposed shot. And if your subject is white, just the opposite will happen. Your camera can get fooled. This usually only happens in very extremes of the light spectrum, and you will have to override your camera by some sort of compensation. Your camera is set to expose all of your photos to 18% gray. So technically, if you are over or under 18% gray tones in your shot, your camera will try to get you to that 18%. Most of the time you won't notice this except on the extremes, and you can usually fix it in post-production software. The type of metering in your camera is reflective metering, meaning it measures what is reflecting off of your subject.
A handheld light meter works in a different way. It measures what it sees. For example, if you're taking a photograph of a dark subject, you measure the light at the subject. If you measure the light before it hits and reflects off of the subject, you will get a truer reading. So if you're taking a photo of a dark subject and you set your camera manually to the readings your meter got and take the shot, you will get a perfectly metered shot. If the light stays the same, you can move a white subject into the
same spot, take the shot, and the same settings will apply because the light didn't change. Take the shot and you will have a perfectly metered shot. If you're doing a landscape, measure the sun and set your camera to the meter's readings, and you will have a perfectly metered shot. Using a handheld meter is incident metering. You are measuring what hits the meter not what bounces off of the subject.
So when should you use a handheld meter? Should you use it all the time? Okay, now let's get practical. You could use a handheld meter all the time and get great photos, but it's not practical to do so. The meter in your camera will work great for 90 percent of the photography that is done. Landscapes, sport,
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wildlife, and street photography are things that can happen fairly quickly, and using a handheld meter would get in the way. The one type of photography that I always use a handheld meter for is when doing off-camera flash and/or portrait photography with or without strobes. I find this to be the best way to set your lights and get the metering perfect each and every time. If you have a model, go to the model's face, point the meter at the light and pop the flash, and you can set your camera to what the meter says and have a perfect exposure. If your lights and subject stay in the same place, you don't have to meter again. With your
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camera in manual, you just shoot and everything will be properly exposed. Others will say, "Well, I only have to take a couple of test shots and adjust my camera or lights until I get it right in camera." And that is true. But to me it's sloppy, and I can meter once and have it perfect. Then I only have to think about my subject, posing, and composition. So in my humble opinion, when doing off-camera flash/strobes, it's much easier to use a meter, put everything in manual, and shoot that way. So I am in the for meters camp of thinking. There are many ways to get a light meter. And of course, the old saying "buy nice or buy twice" applies here. I have an older meter that I have had for years and it works great but you can get apps on your phone that may also work. But I cannot recommend them because I haven't tested or used them. Sekonic is a very popular and reliable brand name that is the industry standard for photography light meters.
So if the weathers bad and you're stuck inside, do some Portraits and use a handheld meter and see how easy it is to use. Until next week, pull out that meter and shoot!
Hey Everyone! Hope y'all had a great week. This weeks blog might be more of a hiking blog than a pure photography blog but there is some photography in it as well. This week I want to talk about what I have been doing a lot of the last few months. Day Hiking. The gear that I use for this is kept to the minimum. I'll be talking about the gear that I use when I take a day hike and or a photography scouting trip. They are almost the same except for a few items. I haven't really done many photography scouting trips because I haven't had the time before. I would have to get to work or this would be my only chance to check out this cool waterfall or what ever I was looking at. Now that I'm retired I have the time I will be doing more photography scouting trips to find places to shoot and then come back when the light is
 Walking down the PathWalking down the Path First edits with Luminar as a plugin to lightroom. I think I'm going to like it. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #Getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #SonyA6300 #alphashooter #NorthCarolinaPhotographer #NorthCarolinaLiving #visitNC #NorthCarolina
just right.
Day Hiking, Here recently I have been using day hikes as my exercise to get me back in shape. I am fortunate to have a state park only 10 miles from my front door which makes a hike real easy. For exercise I prefer going on a hike instead of just urban walking down a sidewalk. Of course any type of walking is good for you. I like it because the terrain is uneven and your body needs to use more muscles to help keep you in
balance. I usually take the day hike with my faithful companion Forrest the Wonder Dog and he really likes the hikes. I think he likes the smells more than anything. I have been going out to this state park for 10 years now and use it for training and trying out new gear for hiking or backpacking. I'm the guy that you will see at this little park with a big pack on my back hiking the trails. I'm trying to get used to the weight before I go on a backpacking trip. But for day hikes I use a small pack made by Mountain Smith. Its a 25 liter bag and its plenty big enough to carry what I need on a day hike. So lets get into the list of things I take on a day hike.
Backpack, Like I said earlier I use a Mountain Smith Backpack but you could use almost any type of pack that can carry the essentials that you will need for a hike.
Clothing, Depending on the weather I'll have maybe gloves, stocking cap, rain coat, fleece sweater. I tend to dress cold because after you get walking you warm up. But I have always the room in my pack if I need to take off a coat and carry it if I get too hot. What I wear is also dependent of the weather but I never wear 100% cotton for hiking. If you sweat the cotton will stay wet for a long time and could cause hypothermia.
The old saying is that Cotton Kills. I use blends or water wicking material that will dry quickly if I get wet for some reason. Almost anything from expensive hiking clothes to Walmart brand as long as it doesn't hold water. A good hat is also good to have. It can be a baseball cap or a big brimmed hat. I usually have a baseball hat on.
Footwear. Probably one of the most important clothing choices is footwear. This is not where to save money and skimp. You want good socks and shoes that fit properly. The socks preferably wool socks cushion your feet and wick water away to prevent blisters. Shoes shouldn't be too tight because your feet
swell with prolonged walking. Try to break shoes in before taking a long hike . Wear them around the house or to the store to get them comfortable before a long hike.
Food and Water. Keeping hydrated is very important especially during hot humid weather. Keeping some sort of food with you like a power bar or something sweet if your a diabetic and your blood sugar gets to low will help you get out of the woods. I always have these things with me.
Toiletries. I always have a kit that has some toilet paper or wet wipes with me . If I'm out many miles and the urge hits me I can get off trail and take care of business during an emergency. A small first aid kit with some band aids is also handy if you get a cut or blister. I also always have chap stick and bug repellent and sun screen. I buy these in small one use packets to keep the weight down.
Medications, Any medications that you might need. Tumms , aspirin etc...
Trekking poles. This may have been the best purchase that I have ever made for hiking. I'm not talking about a big stick but special designed poles kind of like ski poles that will
help you keep your balance and help up and down hills. They will save your knees and give you the confidence to look at your surroundings instead of just the trail in front of you. I have one that I use when Forrest the Wonder Dog is with me and on small hikes and a pair of poles when I'm taking longer hikes over 5 miles and when I'm backpacking. The single one that I have has a mounting spot on it where you could put a small tripod or camera mount and use it as a bipod . I mount a Go-Pro when I go some where new and I can quickly turn it on or use the pole as a selfie stick and photograph myself. With my double pole set up I have a little device that I don't even know if its made anymore but its called a Stix Pix and you can attach a GoPro Mount or a Phone Mount as I have shown here. This attaches to the pointy end of the Trekking Pole and you can use as a selfie stick to video or photograph.
Camera- My main Hiking/Scouting Camera is the Canon G7XMII that I have talked about in the past. Its a great little point and shoot that I use as my EDC Camera (Every day Carry) . This is the link to the blog about it. EDC (Every Day Carry) Camera It is small and I have a peak design clip on my backpack strap that I can attach it to for easy access.
Fanny Pack. I know , I know nobody likes a fanny pack. Except me. LOL I like the convince of having it sitting right in front. I usually have my phone , wallet and keys in the pack . If I'm somewhere I need a map the map goes there and a snack. If its cold I usually have a vest of some sort that has lots of pockets so I don't need the fanny pack.
Forrest Stuff. If Forrest the Wonder Dog is going with me I have a collapsable bowl , poop bags, Leash, His Harness , and Jacket if colder than 40 degrees. When we hike to keep my hands free I have a small belt that I wrap around me and on the end of his leash is a carabiner that I hook to the belt and then I'm hands free. The carabiner will slide around me on the belt. I don't hook to my pants belt because it tugs at your pants if he see's a squirrel or something. It's much easier with the separate belt. You need to practice with this set up so you don't get tangled up in the leash and trip. Small commands like Stop, Come do really come in handy. Its taken a while but I can tell Forrest to stop when we get to a road without touching the leash. Of course if you're on a longer hike water and snacks you'll have to tote.
For Scouting I usually have all of the above and add a Go-Pro to the top of the Trekking pole that I talked
about earlier. I'll also take a mini tripod that I can use for my EDC camera or the Go-Pro. I rarely take a big boy camera unless I know that there is a waterfall or some feature that I know that I'm hiking to just for the photo. Then I would add the camera and maybe a tripod. But usually if I'm going that far I will take my Landscape backpack with all my gear and it has room for all of the gear mentioned above.
Well that's about it for Day Hikes and Scouting Gear. Until next week get out and take a hike and Shoot!
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