One of the most popular videos on Photog Adventures’ YouTube Channel is “Creating Natural Nightscapes with Royce Bair & Friends.” It’s a presentation given on March 14th, 2017, featuring Royce Bair, Eric Benedetti, and Clarence Spencer. They discuss the value of low-level-lighting, tracking mounts, and custom Astro-camera modifications.
Creating Natural Nightscapes
Every time I watch this “Creating Natural Nightscapes” video, it inspires me to go out and shoot the Milky Way. It’s such an inspiration; I want to share it with everyone. There is so much excellent information presented in this lecture that it is bound to improve your Milky Way Photography.
Creating Natural NightScapes with Royce Bair & Friends
Royce Bair – Renown Nightscape Photographer
Royce shares valuable insight into finding the Milky Way, capturing it with clarity, and how to use lighting to your advantage in this first hour of the presentation.
Star Tracking with Eric Benedetti
Then Eric Benedetti teaches how he uses tracking mounts to capture amazing Milky Way images.
Astro Modified Cameras with Clarence Spencer
Finally, Clarence Spencer shares the modification services that his camera repair store offers. He discusses the benefits of these modifications for your astrophotography.
Need More Royce, Eric, or Clarence?
Are you’re interested in more tips and techniques? Photog Adventures has more video and podcast content with Royce, Eric, and Clarence. Check them out below:
Talking Astrophotography with Photographer & Author Royce Bair | Episode 18
Aaron King and Brendon Porter had the serendipitous luck to run into Royce Bair on one of their first nights out to shoot the Milky Way. Royce invited them to hang out and shoot the Milky Way with him that night. They knew they had to interview Royce on their new podcast, so they invited Royce into the studio to talk with him.
Aaron and Brendon are still Milky Way photography newbies at this point, so they ask Royce all sorts of astrophotography questions. Subjects like how to overcome the challenges of slow lenses, crop-sensor cameras, the technique of stacking multiple images, location scouting, and light painting. Royce tells them which lenses are ideal for Astrophotography and then shares his pick for a that’s lens strong in both Astro and Landscape Photography!
“Milky Way Nightscapes” by Royce Bair
Royce sells an ebook that’s super informative and full of Royces’ excellent photography. His book is “Milky Way Nightscapes,” and you can buy it here:
http://intothenightphoto.blogspot.com/2015/01/milky-way-nightscapes-ebook-preview.html
Low-Level-Lighting
Royce is also an expert at a technique called Low-Level-Lighting. If you’re not familiar with it, you’ll want to learn about it. It’s perfect for combining foreground lighting and the Milky Way. He has more information about it here http://lowlevellighting.org/
Astro Photog Podcast LIVE with Eric Benedetti | How to use a Star Tracker
In this Facebook Live video, Eric Benedetti talked with Photog Adventures for over an hour about how to use a star tracker. He discussed all the gear he uses – from his tripod, his Sky Watcher Star Adventurer star tracker, camera, and his lenses. He answers questions from the live audience as well.
https://www.facebook.com/photogadventures/videos/6973368261662/
Clarence Spencer | Talking Astro-Modded Cameras for Milky Way Photography | Photog Adventures Episode 90
In this Photog Adventures episode, Clarence Spencer is in the studio talking about Astro-modded cameras. He discusses the different camera mods – Full Spectrum, Infra-red, and Visible+Hydrogen-Alpha (Ha or Hα) Filter. He first tells us about the benefits of each of these modifications. Clarence then covers all the options for both Astrophotography and Landscape Photography. He also points out that the Full Spectrum conversion lets your camera capture more light than a non-converted camera.
Clarence tells Aaron and Brendon about how we can even get our cameras modded. If you have an older camera sitting around that you can’t bring yourself to sell, then A
They spend much of this episode looking at photos Clarence has taken with Astro-modified cameras. He even has photos taken through telescopes. There is an audio-only podcast version of this interview, but this is one where you need to watch the video version to get the most benefit.
Eric Benedetti’s Star Tracker Online Course
Photog Adventures and Eric Benedetti teamed up to teach you Eric’s techniques for Star Tracking Photography. In it, you learn all of Eric’s tips and tricks for tracked landscape astrophotos. From his gear recommendations, shooting techniques, and post-processing the images, Eric covers it all. You also gain access to a private Facebook group where you can ask Eric questions directly. I purchased this course, and I highly recommend it.
You can order it here: https://goo.gl/XfAwci
Your Monday-Motivation
I know you have someone or something that is your “Monday Motivation.” Leave a comment below or send us a message and let us know who or what motivates you. We’ll check it out and share it with our community!
You can see my photos at www.keyesphoto.com
- How to Photograph Orion - January 10, 2022
- 2021 Nightscaper Conference Pre-Event Webinars - March 26, 2021
- Royce Bair’s “Your Photo Vision” YouTube Series - June 27, 2020
