Primitive Skills | Intro to Astrophotography
Capturing the night sky can be an amazing and rewarding experience, but it can be intimidating to know how to start. Learn from professional photographer Steve Irwin what you need, finding the right setting, and start taking your own photos of the beautiful Texas sky.
Wimberley is designated as an International Dark Sky Community which makes it a great place to enjoy beautiful skies and learn how to take astrophotography. In the class you will learn the basics of landscape astrophotography with your digital camera. This class includes:
- How to plan for a night of shooting the stars (locating the Milky Way, Moon phases, composing the photo)
- Ensuring you have the right gear for astrophotography and why?
- Device settings
For attendees to understand how to plan and execute astrophotography skills using their DSLR to take their own photos of the stars. Whether you are traveling for astrophotography or happen to find yourself in dark skies, you can come home with your own souvenir of the night sky!
The workshop is designed for all skill levels. You will need to know how to navigate basic camera settings like adjusting ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. The class is delivered in a way that is easy to learn and there are many hands-on teachable moments where the instructor will be side-by-side coaching and giving pointers.
This is a community event where we can enjoy each other’s company and astrophotography under the dark skies of the Texas Hill Country!
Schedule of Events:
5:30pm | Class Begins (Gear to use, Apps and Settings)
7:01pm | Sun sets and start photography
10:30pm | Event Ends
We recommend bringing:
- Snacks and drinks
- Weather appropriate clothes (including shoes for dirt roads and grass)
- Equipment needed:
- DSLR or Mirrorless (make sure all your batteries are charged)
- Tripod
- Wide Angle lens (the lower the aperture the better)
- Red Flashlight (white flashlights ruin your stargazing vision, find a light option here)
- Folding chair, cot or small blanket to sit in the field and observe
Want to learn how to take astrophotography with your iPhone? We also host an iPhone Astrophotography class, see more here.
About the Instructor:
Steve Irwin has spent over a decade in photography and has been working with Astrophotography since 2018. He started his Astrophotography journey in the dark skies of Far West Texas and has made it his mission to share the Texas Dark Skies and Astrophotography with those who want to learn. Steve has many repeat students that enjoy the non-formal ways of teaching and easy to learn friendly environment.