SHOOT FOR THE STARS

Astrophotography pro Chris Grimmer shows an enthusiast with just a couple of years of taking photos under his belt how to capture amazing images of the night sky

PRO
CHRIS GRIMMER

CAMERA:
CANON EOS 6D, 7D & 70D

Chris was shortlisted for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year in 2016, and he's also been shortlisted for the UK Astrophotographer of the Year - so it's safe to say he knows a thing or two about capturing great shots of starry skies. Chris uses a whole host of equipment, from converted EOS cameras to tripod heads that rotate to track stars. You can see his work at

https://bit.ly/3M2SBe8

APPRENTICE
STEVE DYTHAM

CAMERA:
CANON EOS R6

Steve took up photography as a hobby over the Covid lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. He's based in Peterborough UK, and is often out with his camera shooting wildlife at some of his favourite local nature spots. While he has a passion for nature, he also wants to learn how to take better landscapes and night shots, so we paired him with astro pro-Chris to show him the ropes at a suitably dramatic ruined church near King's Lynn in Norfolk.

TECHNIQUE ASSESSMENT

Chris showed Steve how to use the Manual mode to take full control

STARTING SETTINGS

Chris suggested that Steve start out in Manual mode so that he could take total control over his exposures. Chris recommended starting with a shutter speed of 30 secs for pin-sharp stars when using his equatorial mount. He also suggested that Steve increase his ISO to 3200 to make the sensor much more sensitive to light, and open the aperture on his lens as wide as it could go to suck in as much light as possible.

PRO TIP
SHOOT RAW+JPEG