Virtual Workshop - A Month of Astrophotography

What will I learn?

This class is a virtual learning experience, designed to help you either make a start in astrophotography or improve your existing skills.  The class will start on Saturday, January 12th 2019, and will run for four weeks.

The workshop is suitable for absolute beginners, but please make sure you have a camera which can focus manually, and allows you to set the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO yourself.  You'll also need a tripod.

More experienced astrophotographers are welcome to join the course, and will be given more challenging weekly tasks.

You'll learn how to focus on stars, and what camera settings to use to get the best results.  You'll also learn how to capture and edit landscapes (examples will use Photoshop, but you'll still get plenty from the course if you use another program).

The weekly tasks will be based on what is most prominent in the night sky, and will also include tuition on photographing the Moon, both in isolation and as part of a landscape.

At the end of the month, you'll have a selection of images of the night sky, and of night landscapes, and the ability to either take such shots independently, or to get better even better results in one of my face-to-face astrophotography workshops.

How does it work?

When you sign up for this workshop, you'll get access to a closed Facebook group for a month, which will only have me and your fellow students in it.

Every week, I'll post a video presentation, in which I'll explain the principles of astrophotography and give you some visual examples.  We'll have discussions about the material.

I'll set weekly tasks for everyone, which will have a similar theme, but will also be suitable for your own current level of experience.  You'll get a choice of 'bronze', 'silver', and 'gold', based on which task you think would be suitable for your current ability level.

Every week, you'll post your best shot from the challenge, the group will offer feedback, as will I.

In terms of a time commitment, work on the basis of at least 2 hours a week to go through the material and complete your challenge.  Obviously, the more you put into it, the more you'll get out.

At the end of the workshop (around four weeks), I'll look at comments and likes, and study the progress people have made. The person who makes the most progress, in terms of the theme of the workshop, will receive a voucher for a free virtual workshop.

So, effectively, I'm rewarding you for completing the challenges and applying what you've learned.  This, and the mutual support from the group, will motivate you to complete the tasks and make progress.

I'm considering this the test phase, so I can find out how labour-intensive these courses will be.  If you're part of the initial runs, you'll be able to take part for just the normal workshop fee of £39.  You can even use voucher credits if you have them.

Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?  Get the feeling this would help you?  Then sign up today, using the button below.

You'll receive an email immediately, with link to the group and other information, in a PDF document.

The course tutor is Gary Lintern, an experienced astrophotographer and astronomer.  In addition to this virtual learning experience, Gary runs workshops in the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors, and the North Pennines.