The Astrophotography Manual: A Practical Approach to Deep-Sky Imaging by Chris Woodhouse, 2024
The Astrophotography Manual's Third Edition is the most up to date and authoritative guide for enthusiasts who want to create beautiful images of nebulas, galaxies, clusters, and the stars with the latest professional tools and techniques.
Photographer Tom Rae:
‘The Milky Way emerges from New Zealand’s highest mountain on a winter night – a shot I’ve longed to capture. In rare alpine weather conditions, I embarked on a journey up the glacial valley one night. Upon reaching the lake, the scene that unfolded made me feel like I had landed on another planet.'
‘My primary goal in #astrophotography is to unveil the hidden beauty of the night sky beyond the visible stars. I’m especially passionate about showcasing our galaxy, the Milky Way, in all its glory’
‘The wisdom of the juniper reveals itself in its aged roots, twisted and sculpted over millennia, enduring the ravages of time and countless obstacles. Amid the ever-changing tides of time, one constant remains: its profound connection with the night sky and the Milky Way. Their paths intertwine and converge, culminating in a perfect alignment.'
Photographer Francesco Dall’Olmo: ‘This was the first photo I took in Patagonia. Contrary to expectations of cold, rain, and wind, our initial encounter with these landscapes was unusual: nearly three days of clear skies. This clear welcome gifted me with a rare photo of Mount Fitz Roy framed by the Milky Way arch’
Photographer Rositsa Dimitrova: ‘The gorgeous bottle trees of #Socotra only bloom for a few weeks in February and March, and it’s a mesmerising sight you want to experience again and again’
Photographer Yuri Beletsky: ‘I captured this view at one of the remote sites of the Atacama Desert in Chile. The Galactic centre was already shining high in the sky, with the zodiacal light beautifully complementing it on the right. The blue colour was as real as the stars in the sky, adding a touch of magic to the scene’
Photographer Julien Looten: ‘An exceptional airglow illuminated the sky, resembling multicoloured clouds. This phenomenon occurs due to a chemical reaction in the upper atmosphere, emitting faint light known as #chemiluminescence. You can also see, from left to right, Sirius and the constellation of Orion, Mars, the Pleiades, the California nebula, Cassiopeia, the double cluster of Perseus, and the Andromeda'
Photographer Lorenzo Ranieri: ‘The plateau of the Atacama desert, a potentially dangerous area due to its designation as a mountain lion reserve. The area around this remarkable mass of rocks adorned with tufts of burnt grass was littered with the bones of small animals and footprints of a significant size, indicating the presence of lions’
Photographer Brandt Ryder: ‘Superblooms can be a once-in-a-lifetime event. An atmospheric river in the winter of 2023 caused record amounts of moisture to fall in the eastern #Sierra Mountains and their foothills. The result was one of the best wildflower or superblooms on record for the state.'
Rainbow Valley conservation reserve, Northern Territory | #Australia
Photographer Baillie Farley: ‘This image captures the breathtaking scene at Rainbow Valley conservation reserve, where the southern Milky Way gracefully arches above a remarkable formation of colourful sandstone. This area exudes a unique charm, with its vibrant hues and stunning geological formations creating a mesmerising landscape’
Photographer Matej Mlakar: ‘Vršič Pass is a high mountain crossing across the Julian #Alps in north-western #Slovenia. It is the highest pass in Slovenia, as well as the highest in the eastern Julian Alps. One of those peaks is Prednje Robičje (1,941 metres or 6,368ft high), where this image was taken’
#Mungo Dreamtime | Mungo national park, NSW, #Australia
Photographer John Rutter: ‘This Mars-like landscape is the shores of the ancient Lake Mungo, where some of the oldest human remains outside Africa have been discovered, making it a significant site for all humankind. Its remote location grants it a Bortle 1 sky (the darkest and clearest), allowing you to stand where the first Australians once did and gaze at the same sky they beheld.
Photographer Marcin Zajac: ‘Wildflowers blooming in front of a group of hoodoos (a type of desert rock formation) called the Three Sisters in Goblin Valley state park in Utah. The park, located in a remote corner of the Colorado Plateau and away from major urban centres, yields one of the darkest skies in the country’
Photographer Mihail Minkov: ‘The concept behind this shot is to highlight the stark contrast between the vastness of the cosmos and the minuscule nature of humanity. The composition intentionally draws the viewer’s focus to a small figure, underscoring our insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe, while the majestic Milky Way core dominates the background.
The image was captured on May 10 during early morning hours from Arlington, Wisconsin, USA. The panorama is a composite of several 6-second exposures covering two thirds of the visible sky, with north in the center, and processed to heighten the colors and remove electrical wires. The photographer (in the foreground) reported that the aurora appeared to flow from a point overhead but illuminated the sky only toward the north.