Daytime Reconnaissance

Once you’ve arrived at the general area of your shooting destination, you might like to start by confirming the overall orientation of your composition with the aid of a small compass, as shown in Figure 19.2. This will give you confidence in knowing how the night sky will generally appear, and how you expect night sky objects to move relative to actual foreground subjects. Specifically, your knowledge of astronomy tells you that in the Northern Hemisphere, objects will rise in the east, arc over the southern horizon from left to right, and set in the west. Objects to the north will circle the North Star in a counterclockwise direction. In the Southern Hemisphere, objects will still rise in the east and set in the west, but they will arc over the northern horizon from right to left, and to the south, circle the southern celestial pole in a clockwise direction. This information will help as you begin the process of selecting your foreground objects and fine-tuning your composition(s).

19.2 Scouting with a hand-held orienteering compass during the day to confirm the azimuth, or overall compass bearing for the image, in this case, 180° due south. Note that the compass has been adjusted for the local magnetic declination of 14° E, so that the compass needle doesn’t point due north when the compass is adjusted to a bearing of 180°.

Daytime scouting also lets you gain familiarity with the terrain of your shooting location, noting any obstacles or hazards not evident from far afield. As just one example, I frequently visit the deserts of the southwestern United States, which are populated with rather robust cacti of various species. The cacti blend in inconspicuously with their surroundings and are nearly invisible at night. It is very helpful indeed to scout the locations of specific cacti hazards during the day, so I can be sure to avoid them once night descends!

The next step is to explore, on-site, how the night sky objects will generally appear later that night. Here is where significant advances in augmented reality coupled with mobile devices have totally revolutionized landscape astrophotography planning. To illustrate by example, the screen appearance of the PhotoPills Night Augmented Reality (Night AR) mode along with the overall appearance of the same scene are shown in Figure 19.3 (top). You can see the position of the Milky Way predicted for a specific time overlaid on the actual view seen in real time during the day by the camera. This remarkable capability allows you to explore the effects of different compositions and makes it easy to gauge how night sky objects will appear from different shooting positions with varying foreground orientations. Just be sure to pre-load your precise location and maps in PhotoPills (PP) on your phone or tablet while you have Internet access before venturing out for the evening, especially if you have traveled a significant distance to arrive at your destination.

19.3 This example illustrates how to use PhotoPills’ Night Augmented Reality (Night AR) mode to plan and fine-tune your shot. The Night AR mode combines what’s visible through the phone’s camera with an overlaid version of the night-sky at times specified by the operator, in this case, 10 pm (top). The built-in compass and GPS system of the phone automatically calibrates the night sky appearance correctly for the observer’s latitude and longitude. The results agree extraordinarily well with the actual position of the Milky Way (bottom) observed later the same evening at the same position and time as shown in the top image.

Source (screen, a): http://www.photopills.com

19.4 Three examples of using the incredible augmented reality capability of PhotoPills to match the appearance and orientation of the Milky Way at specific times. The images on the left are screenshots of what the camera actually viewed during the day at three different locations, with an overlaid, predicted appearance of the Milky Way from PhotoPills for later that same night at the same location at the identical time. The images on the right are actual images made at the same location and at the time corresponding to the predictions on the left. This ability to predict, visualize, and finesse the appearance of your image during the day has revolutionized landscape astrophotography.

Source (screenshots): http://www.photopills.com

The corresponding image made later that same evening from the same location, and at the precise time as the simulation shown in Figure 19.3(a) is shown in Figure 19.3(b). Three other examples of actual night sky images made at the precise time and field location as corresponding images made earlier in the same day using the Night AR mode of PP are shown in Figure 19.4. What incredible agreement!

19.5 Examples of how PhotoPills accurately depicts the movement of the Milky Way during the course of an evening, cf. Figure 8.6. The images on the left are screenshots of what the camera actually viewed during the day at a fixed location, with the predicted appearance of the Milky Way later that same night at the same location at three different times an hour apart: 11 pm, 12 am, and 1 am. The images on the right are actual images made at the same location and at the same times corresponding to the predictions on the left.

Source: http://www.photopills.com

The other significant capability of the augmented reality tools of PP is that it allows the user to explore the effects of different times and dates on the appearance of the night sky objects. As we have seen, e.g. Figure 8.6, the position of the Milky Way constantly changes throughout the night, so what may be the perfect composition at one time of night may be completely uninteresting only an hour later! For example, three nighttime images are compared with the daytime, augmented reality counterparts for the precise corresponding times: 11 pm, 12 am, and 1 am in Figure 19.5. Notice how the primary band of the Milky Way moves from east to west, or left to right in this south facing view. The augmented reality of PP makes selecting precise locations and compositions nearly error-proof.

19.6 Exploring different focal length lenses and compositional options during the day for review and selection to aid in nightscape creation at night. Several different vantage points and lens focal lengths were explored. You never know which one will hit the sweet spot!

Now that you’ve selected a few promising foreground subjects and shooting locations, it’s time to try a few practice compositions with a range of candidate focal lengths, Figure 19.6. I will frequently shoot dozens of such shots during my daytime site reconnaissance. It can be crucial to establish the limits of depth of field, what focal length lens to use and precisely where the tripod and camera should be placed. This is especially important for wide-angle lenses and the frequent need to locate the camera physically close to key foreground objects. Making these decisions can be time-consuming—so why not invest your daylight hours in doing so and preserve the valuable hours of darkness for creating images?

Now is the time to really fine-tune your composition. Pay close attention to distractions along the borders of your image, for example, trees or bushes that might be in the way. Try both portrait and landscape orientations. You may also come across a beautiful foreground subject that wouldn’t be easily seen at night owing to the limited range of your headlight, yet could make or break the image. It is often surprising how much a nightscape image composition can change simply by moving a few feet in either direction. Spending time during the day exploring different compositions will free up valuable time later at night. Plus, it can be difficult and even hazardous to relocate your tripod and camera in the dark. This knowledge and experience will allow you to return at night directly to now-familiar territory and immediately set up your gear without wasting any time, confident in your choice of location.

Once you have completed your day scouting mission, I recommend that you take the time to review the images you created at high magnification, preferably on a device (laptop, tablet, desktop) with a reasonably large screen. After all, this is the test for your final image; why not eliminate obvious problems ahead of time?

When possible, you may also wish to consider planning on spending two or more consecutive nights at the same location. The significant insights you will undoubtedly gain during the first night can really hone your efforts on the subsequent night(s). Only rarely do the images I make on my first night at a new location meet or exceed the quality of images made on the second or third night. You will be able to ascertain the precise appearance of foreground and night sky objects. New, unexpected photo opportunities will likely present themselves. You may even make some new acquaintances who inspire you to try novel compositions or techniques!

When you return at night to create your images, consider turning off your camera’s image review feature; the battery will thank you. Also, dim the liquid-crystal displays (LCD) display brightness to its lowest level to also save battery life as well as your night vision. As you set up your camera, use your camera’s virtual horizon feature, if available. It can be invaluable in ensuring a level horizon. Finally, be sure to frequently monitor the histogram of your images as you make your exposures. What can seem like an acceptably bright image on your camera’s LCD display in the complete darkness of a moonless night can in fact be badly underexposed. Keeping the histogram to adhere to the “Expose to the Right” principle elaborated in Chapter 12 will ensure the best possible image quality.

Finally, after completing all your planning, day scouting reconnaissance, image review, last minute fine-tuning of your session plan, and setting up and leveling of your camera and tripod, all that remains is the wonderfully satisfying experience of actually creating your nightscape images. It is a simultaneously humbling and fulfilling experience to stand under the night sky while your pre-visualized concept slowly comes to life, Figure 19.7.