Where to start? Start small. You can get some pretty stunning pictures of the night sky without going to very much trouble. You might already have what you need packed away in your closet. Here’s what you’ll need:
- DSLR camera
- Tripod
- Shutter cable release or intervalometer
- 50mm kit lens that came with your camera or a wide-angle lens
- Dark skies
The first thing on the list is a DSLR. DSLR’s or “digital single-lens reflex” cameras have a “B” for Bulb setting on the shutter speed knob or you can find it under “M” for Manual Mode. The Bulb or Manual setting allows you to keep the shutter open for as long as you like to capture faint objects in the sky.
Since the shutter will be open longer it’s imperative that you stabilize the camera on a tripod to prevent blurring of the image. A shutter release cable or remote shutter release is an must to keep vibration down when you take the picture. You can use the “timer or shutter delay” option that is typically a standard feature on base model DSLR’s but this will get tedious. Additionally, some newer cameras allow you to control them remotely via an app on your phone/tablet and Bluetooth connection. If you have this ability use it otherwise invest in a cable release or intervalometer.
Be sure to use a fast film. Wait! What?? Okay, nobody uses film anymore. So be sure to choose ISO settings of 400 or higher. Experiment with your ISO settings (800, 1000, 1600, 3200) and exposure lengths (5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60 seconds) to see what works best.
You should set the lens to the lowest f/number (typically f/1.8 or f/2.8) available to allow the most light into the camera’s sensor. Use the stock 50mm lens that most likely came with your DSLR. It’s ideal for this purpose. I’d suggest that you not use your telephoto lens (200-300mm) to try what’s being discussed here. You will need to track the sky in order to take shots using a lens with a focal length that long unless you take shorter exposures of bright objects like the moon or brighter planets. If you want to ensure that you have round stars you’ll want to follow the 500 rule. The 500 rule is used to determine the longest exposure time you can take given your camera and lens before the stars start to trail or deform (become elongated) in your pictures. Here’s a good page explaining the 500 rule and it’s application.
Finally, a word about focusing. Don’t use the Autofocus. Turn that option off and manually focus the camera lens. This alone can be a difficult thing to accomplish in the dark! If your camera has “Live Mode” use live mode and while looking at a bright distant object and using the camera’s LCD screen – focus your camera. The more distant and brighter the object the better. Objects like the Moon or a distant street light are good choices. Once you know you are focused do not touch the focus otherwise you’ll have to repeat the focus process.
Since everything, for all intents and purposes, is at infinity focus-wise you only should have to focus once. However, it should be noted that if you achieve focus, start your session and the temperature drops as it’s prone to do during the course of the night you’ll want to recheck your focus to ensure that it’s spot on.
Additionally, infinity on your camera’s lens is not “focused all the way out to the end” of the lens movement. It’s typically almost to the end. So don’t focus it all the way out and think that will suffice. Test, confirm and find your focus before shooting.
Lastly, you are going to want to get to a dark sky. This is important. Remember, we are trying to capture images of faint stuff in the dark. Even this can be a challenge these days if you live in or near a major metropolitan area. It’s not unusual to have to drive an hour or two outside of your metro light dome to get to a sufficiently dark sky. So where should you go? Well, state parks are usually good spots for this sort of thing. Not all state parks but many are located away from populated areas and most are astronomy friendly. I recommend getting to the know the park rangers. They can be a big help and are usually understanding once they know what you are up to.
You can use this web site https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/ to find the darkest skies near you. Follow the link to the map. Move and zoom into the map close to your current location then click on the map to see information regarding that location. The map will display the Bortle class number for the location you have selected. The higher the Bortle number the brighter the sky. You are wanting a low Bortle number. Stay away from red, purple and white areas on the map. These are highly light polluted areas. You are looking for gray, blue, light blue and yellow areas. These are the darker skies. Now that you know where the closest dark sky is from your location you can plan your trip accordingly.
The images above were taken with the simple setup mentioned above unless otherwise noted. These pictures were taken quite a while ago when I was still using a Nikon FM (film not digital) camera. All the images on this page were taken from film that was processed at my neighborhood one hour photo lab, and later scanned digitally to be added here. Click the images above to got to the gallery for additional information about each pic.
Best of luck! Have fun with your camera and enjoying the night sky. You might just amaze yourself with the results you get!