Evaluation

I think I succeeded at taking interesting photographs in a very specific area. I enjoyed it but next time I would probably choose a subject that fits with in my time constraints and doesn't depend on so many variables.

Tools and Equipment

For this assignment I hope to be able to use a few of the telescopes on offer at North Lincolnshire Astronomy Group. This wont be until early December but I hope until then I should be able to get some good results just from a Canon 40D DSLR and Sigma 70-300mm lens.


I have downloaded a good piece of kit called Stellarium which shows where stars are at any time during the day. This will be very useful so I don't waste time trying to find stars and when I do find them I can actually put a name to the object I am photographing!

Documentation

Proposal

After much consideration between taking photographs of wrestling events and astrophotography I decided that the latter of the two was the more practical option. To do photography at wrestling shows I may have had to wait months before show and the results may not be good enough for use in the project. Astrophotography just requires a clear night and patience and can be much more interesting in the long run. I also have a huge interest in astronomy and I think this is a good mixture of assignment work with personal interest.

I am hoping to take some photographs over the next few weeks in my back garden and at an astronomy society that I attend. The obvious option is to take photographs of the moon, but I hope to get the moon through it's phases from full to new.

I hope to be able to take 30 photographs of objects in the night sky. The one I hope to achieve the best photographs of is the Moon.

My only concern is that most objects may be focused on infinity with no perspective. I shall try to find a way around this by adding objects in the foreground.


Astrophotography can be split up in to two categories, photographs of objects in the night sky with a DSLR or photographs of objects in deep space with a telescope. To get a good image of the moon you can do this by simply getting the ISO to the correct setting (usually around 800) and the shutter speed to fairly speedy, but for objects such as stars and constellations you may need to wait anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes for enough light to be gathered and a good photograph to be produced.