lightpollution

Bortle 1: The Best Skies in the World for Astrophotography

To reveal the real colors of the night skies, you need to find good dark skies. The best sky quality for astrophotography is found in locations classified as Bortle Class 1 on the Bortle scale, which measures night sky brightness.

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How Using Light Pollution Filters Enhances Your Night Sky Photography

So you’ve found your perfect spot to capture the night sky. The weather is perfect and you’ve been tracking the stars and planets for weeks to capture this moment. But, when that perfect moment comes, the pictures you’ve captured end up hazy and soft. Why? Likely due to excessive light pollution from the surrounding area, especially if you’re nearby a larger city.

Light Pollution Filters: A Photographer’s Guide

Astrophotography still is one of the most popular photographic genres in the world and as we are in the middle of the Milky Way season, it is a very good opportunity to take an in-depth look in a very helpful accessory for better night sky photos.

Satellite Boom to ‘Wreak Havoc’ on Astrophotography, NASA Says

As more and more satellites are being launched into space, reflected light from these objects is causing increased sky pollution and issues for astronomers and astrophotographers. Now NASA is asking the public for help in monitoring this growing issue, and all you need to do is shoot smartphone photos of the light streaks in the night sky.

This 8K Timelapse Captures Every Level of Light Pollution from LA to the Great Basin Desert

Last year, photographer and filmmaker Asif Islam of Asif Photography set out to capture an 8K timelapse that would show the impact of Light Pollution. So he travelled from one of the most light polluted places in the world all the way to one of the least, capturing every level of light pollution along the way. The result is an award winning timelapse called Where are the Stars?.

Shooting the Stars in Light-Polluted Singapore with the Huawei P30 Pro

The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived exactly 49 days after I got my Huawei P30 Pro. This is one of my final tests for the phone after shooting the Milky Way handheld and a meter. So what’s the big deal about this test? Because photographing the Milky Way in Singapore with a DSLR was deemed impossible by many astrophotography veterans here just 5 years ago.

These Photos Show Why We Need to Preserve the Night Sky

Due to the rapid growth in population, an increasing percentage of the human population lives in cities and suburbs where the night sky is completely obscured by the artificial lights. Skylines littered with lit skyscrapers reach sky high. An endless river of traffic flashing high beams. And the cities are ever-expanding. It is conceivable that most people have lived without having seen the true natural night sky.

An Introduction to Astrophotography: Shooting Stars for Beginners

Shooting the night sky can produce amazing images of endless starry skies, but it can be challenging to those used to working with plenty of light. This 15-minute beginner’s guide from Josh Katz teaches the key elements of astrophotography, and how to capture the sky even in sub-optimal conditions.

This Experimental Time-Lapse Imagines Life Without Light Pollution

What kind of nighttime time-lapses could you shoot in cities like Los Angeles if light pollution weren't a problem? A couple of time-lapse photographers want to show you. They've created an experimental time-lapse that shows a sky full of stars and star trails over the light-polluted city of Los Angeles.

Video: Tutorial Shows You Exactly How to Capture the Milky Way in Heavy Light Pollution

A couple of days ago, we republished a short tutorial by talented photographer Justin Ng that explained how he uses the Expose To The Right (ETTR) method to capture milky way photos in the heavy light pollution of Singapore.

But if you'd like a more detailed, video run through, this tutorial by astrophotographer Ian Norman -- whose Sony a7S Astrophotography Review, incidentally, appeared on PetaPixel yesterday -- shows you exactly how to adjust your images to get the perfect results.

How I Photograph the Milky Way in the Light-Polluted Skies of Singapore

When it comes to photographing the elusive Milky Way in one of the most light-polluted major cities like Singapore, timing is critical. Most of the faint details will be washed out by the extreme light pollution and if we were to shoot the Milky Way under unfavorable atmospheric conditions, our attempt would be futile.

Unfortunately, most of the tutorials online only work in locations that are at least 2 stops darker than most of the dark locations in Singapore and so, we need to do more in post-processing to unveil the elusive Milky Way and more complex workflow is required if we’re shooting at much brighter locations.