Welcome and thank you for visiting my Night Sky Photography page!
My intent is to provide you with some basic tips on this unique form of photography known as astrophotography. At the same time, I hope to spread my obsession...oops...I mean passion of amateur astronomy and how to capture celestial objects in the night sky and other "On the Edge" celestial and cosmic events!
This page is limited so I will post only some basic information to educate you in my hope to inspire and ignite a spark in you in order to get out under that grand cosmos above us, learn about astronomy, the night sky and basic astrophotography!
This page and website will be your foundation and starting place on your journey -- and, at any time, feel free to click on my image galleries located at the bottom of my "HOME" page or click on my NIGHT SKY menu tab and look for the drop-down menu of astrophotography galleries. If you feel ready to take the next step and learn the basics of astro imaging of our night sky then I welcome you to contact me or go to my "WORKSHOPS" and 'TEACHING / LESSONS" pages to register for a hands-on, one-on-one class at my dark sky location (frosty drew observatory in Ninigret Park, Charlestown, RI).
If you would like to learn more about astronomy, sign up for my email or contact me to learn when and where my next indoor astronomy course is being taught. To learn about the basics of 35mm photography, go to my Photography page. I also offer private lessons at $25/hour.
Also, if you find this information educational and valuable to you, by all means sign my GUESTBOOK and tell me so!
What is astrophotography?
astrophotography is a very unique form of photography that involves imaging celestial subjects from the night sky. astrophotographers, like myself, shoot in extreme low-light conditions, often during the late night or early morning hours, trying to capture astronomical objects billions of miles and/or light years away. Astro imaging is the toughest test on your lens. Our goal is to try to capture and image stars that are pin-points across the image plane unless we are trying to capture star trails.
Celestial photography can have a steep learning curve depending on what type of astrophotography you are attempting. Celestial photographers often sacrifice sleep because imaging late at night or during the early morning hours tend to be optimized times where certain conditions set up. During these times, the night sky is often darker since most people are sleeping (the sane ones) and there is less traffic on the roads. This means that most home lights and car lights do not add to stray light. The "dawn" hours also tends to set you up with a more settled atmosphere then during the evening.
The most basic level of astrophotography is "wide-field" camera-on-tripod astro imaging.
The summer Milky Way over Ninigret Park, Charlestown, RI
(copyright Ronald Zincone Photography)
As you can see from my image above, your 35mm DSLR camera and a normal (standard) or wide-angle lens with a focal length of 4 mm to 50 mm can be used to captured wide-field images of celestial objects such as constellations, auroras, the summer milky way, meteors, planetary conjunctions, zodiacal light, satellites, rainbows and more! Wide-field astro imaging is the most basic, easier and with the most instant gratification.
Pursuing celestial photography involves using regular photography gear, for the most part, but it is essential that a lightweight but sturdy tripod and a remote shutter release be used.
So if you want to learn about what and where I teach my classes and offer private lessons, go to my TEACHING / LESSONS page.
To learn more about me go to my ABOUT ME page
To learn tips, techniques and all kinds of information related to astronomy, photography, astrophotography and extreme weather go to my BLOG
To contact me, go to my CONTACT page
To see my online portfolio and read my mission statement, go to my HOME page
If you need to search my image galleries, click on SEARCH
To see a complete list of my gear, click on GEAR
I welcome you to sign my GUESTBOOK
To read what my students have said about my instruction and customer service, go to FEEDBACK
To learn what workshops I am currently offering to students, click on WORKSHOPS
Click on my PHOTOGRAPHY page to learn about my photography
Click on my EXTREME WEATHER page to learn more about my extreme weather images