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Photographing Satellites Crossing Celestial Objects, Part 3

Welcome to part 3 of my series on photographing satellites as they cross the sun, moon, or other celestial object. I'm sure you've all read part 1 of this series where I talk about the equipment you'll need, and part 2 that lays out how to determine where and when to get the best chance at capturing a transit. If you missed these just follow the above links to those pages.

So here in part 3 we'll discuss the actual nuts & bolts of photographing a satellite crossing a celestial body. Now it's time to go out and capture some fun images!

As I said in part 2, I like to get to the site and be set up at least an hour before the transit time. I hate being rushed, and I really hate missing a shot because I was late getting to location.

Before I leave the house, or hotel, I will recheck the pass prediction on CalSky to make sure I will be in the right place at the right time. A pass prediction is more accurate the closer it is made to the time of the transit. If you have good cellular coverage at the location you can pull up CalSky on a smartphone or tablet to double check, I'd do this before you start setting up, just in case the transit path has moved.

I will also check the weather before I leave, just so I know what to expect. Most of the time a bad forecast won't keep me from trying to shoot (see the last image on this page), I've gotten good things in between down pours, and even if my primary shoot gets weathered out I may discover something even more interesting... that whole lemon/lemonade thing.

Keeping things cool is a big issue when shooting in desert locations like this one in the Mojave Desert outside Barstow, CA in July, 2015. My Phantom Flex 4K technician, Matt Drake, does some final checks while we wait on the station to show up.

Speaking of lemonade, I always take plenty of water, and something to snack on when I go out shooting, especially if I'm chasing the sun, I suggest you do the same.

Once I get to my shooting location I get the camera set up and checked as quickly as possible, I want to have plenty of time to troubleshoot any issues that arise well before the transit.

If you are using a telescope you will need time to get the mount aligned, it doesn't have to be perfect since the action we're capturing happens so quickly, you just want to be able to keep the sun/moon/planet/etc properly framed long enough to make the shot.

When using a tripod you don't have the tracking ability a properly set up and aligned telescope mount offers. Because of that, I always shoot locked off, and let the object move into my frame. This requires some rehearsal, another reason I get set up well in advance. Here's how I do it. To begin with, I frame up the object, let's say it's the sun, and observe the direction it moves across the frame. Depending where the sun is in the sky, and the orientation of your tripod, it could move in almost any direction. After I get an idea as to the direction of drift I reframe the sun to the side of the frame in the OPPOSITE direction of the drift. If the sun is moving from lower left to upper right I will frame it so the edge of the sun is just touching the bottom left conner of the frame, if it is moving top to bottom, I reframe so the edge of the sun is just touching the top of the frame. I want it in a place that I can repeat, so putting the same edge of the sun against the same edge of the frame gives me that reference point.

I then lock the tripod down and time how long it takes the sun to move into the part of the frame that I'm interested in for the shot, usually that's the center. I repeat this procedure several times until I'm confident the timing is right. I like for it to take about 3 to 4 minutes to move from my reference position to my shooting position. I'll explain why I like this much time in just a bit. Of course, how fast the sun appears to move across the frame will vary depending on the focal length of the lens you are using.

Mission Control for the ISS transit shoot for the IMAX film A Beautiful Planet

When shooting with telephoto lenses or a telescope, make sure your tripod is sitting on a good, sturdy surface, and keep the legs as short as possible - shorter legs = more stability. I usually weight the tripod down with a sandbag to give it more stability. I can't express how important this to getting sharp images with a long lens.

Getting the camera pointed at the subject and framed properly can be a challenge, especially with short extension on the tripod legs. There will have to some trade off between the two. You have to be able to see through the camera to frame and focus the shot, this is another reason to do a dry run or two in the days before the transit. I have a short camp stool that I use to sit on in order to look through the camera when it is pointed upward, it helps, but there are times you may have to sit on the ground, or become a contortionist in order to look through the viewfinder. If there were only some other way to see through the camera...

Some digital cameras have viewing screens that can be rotated into different positions to aid in viewing. Alternatively, a small portable, battery operated monitor that can be hooked up to your camera can be of great value when shooting these kinds of setups. I prefer the monitor route because I can set it up right next to the lens to facilitate focus adjustment. With longer lenses, simply reaching the focus ring from a viewing position behind the camera can be a challenge.

Focus is critical, take your time, and use every focus aid available to you. Remember, focus is one of the things you cannot fix in post. You won't be able to set focus on the satellite, so focus on the object it will be crossing, both should be close to infinity.

It's all about capturing the detail in the spacecraft, and the more pixels your camera has, the better the detail will be, assuming the image is in focus. The image above is a 100% view from one of the 4K (4096x2160) video frames used to make the composite image below. As you can see, all eight solar panels are visible on each end of the station, as is the truss connecting the station parts. A higher resolution camera can also make up for a lack in lens length, to a point, allowing for a digital "zoom in" on the subject. Just remember, there really isn't a substitute for lens length.

A word of warning about the infinity setting on your lens, don't trust it. There are many factors that must fall into place for an infinity setting on a lens to be correct, and chances are good that yours won't be correct, but that is a discussion for another time. Use manual focus, and recheck it often before the pass.

I've discovered a neat little trick you can use when shooting the sun. First off, make sure your solar filter is in place, and securely attached to the lens. Now point the camera in the general direction of the sun, and observe its shadow. As you move the camera around in pan and tilt the shadow of the camera will change in size, when it becomes the smallest size you should be in the ball park. You can now fine tune through the viewfinder or monitor/LCD screen.

A word about camera resolution, when shooting something like satellites, the more the merrier.

Another key element in capturing a sharp image is shutter speed, it needs to be fast enough to freeze the apparent motion of a vehicle traveling at least 17,500mph, that's five miles a second. This high shutter speed will also help negate most movement of the camera system during the exposure. Since shutter speed is one of the three parts of the exposure triangle, it's important to test your exposures prior to the time of the transit.

Composite of 13 images captured on a Canon 1DC in 4K video mode using a Canon 800mm f/5.6 telephoto lens with a Canon 2X tele-extender. Exposure was 1/2,000th second, f/11, ISO 2,500. That's a sun spot on the upper portion of the solar disc. See the image below for the transit path and data.

If you are shooting a solar crossing, you will need to evaluate your exposures with the solar filter you will be using. We already know that a high shutter speed will be required, I usually try to keep it around 1/2000th of a second, so you will need to play with the remaining two parts of the exposure triangle - f/stop and ISO.

Here is the transit path and data for the image above, as generated by CalSky.com. This data can be overlaid on a Google Earth Satellite Image to aid in determining the best place along the transit path from which to shoot. See part 2 of this series for more details.

Since long telephoto lenses tend to be slower, f/4 to f/5.6, you will be bumping up the ISO in order to obtain a good exposure. Experiment with your setup to see what gives you the most acceptable image, remembering that with increased ISO comes increased noise. Fortunately, with the sun you have a lot of light to work with, however this is not the case with the moon, or the planets. In those cases you will be working with somewhat higher ISOs, but since you don't have to deal with the solar filter, it shouldn't be too much more.

Another variable you will want to test prior to the transit is white balance. For shots of the moon and other night sky subjects I tend to set my white balance between 4,200K and 4,600K. For sun images with my Thousand Oaks Optical Solar Filter I set the white balance to 5,600K, which is basic daylight. When shooting stills I always shoot raw, so white balance isn't as critical. Again, testing is the best way to determine what works best for you and your equipment.

Whether capturing stills or video, it's good practice to begin shooting prior to the transit time. When I shoot video I start recording one minute prior to the predicted transit time, and if I don't see the satellite cross the frame, which happens sometimes, I continue recording for at least another minute after the transit time. It's a bit different if you are shooting still images.

When shooting still images in high-speed burst mode the buffer in the camera will fill up pretty quickly. Some of todays cameras will shoot up to 16 frames per second and that rate they can fill the buffer in nothing flat. The issue is that the camera slows the capture rate while it catches up writing files to the memory card. You don't want the camera bogged down writing to the card at the time of the transit, so you need to know how many shots can be done before this happens and plan accordingly.

Using memory cards with the fastest write times will help. This is just another thing that needs to be tested ahead of time. Video capture is a way around this issue, but it comes at the cost of reduced resolution, since video mode in most DSLR cameras crop into the sensor when shooting video. For example the Canon 5DS has a 50.6 megapixel sensor and shoots a 8,688x5,792 pixel still image, but the video mode only records a 1,920x1,080 HD image.

Sometimes the clouds just don't cooperate. I drove over 160 miles to shoot a solar transit, only to be clouded out at the last minute. I'm shooting (or would have been) with a Canon EOS Cinema C500 in 4K, recording raw uncompressed into a Codex Onboard S+ recorder at 60fps, monitoring on a Small HD LCD, camera support is an O'Connor 2575.

Photo credit: Phil Sandlin.

When shooting stills using a DSLR the mirror that reflects the image to the viewfinder flips up, out of the optical path during the exposure, and returns to the viewing position once the exposure is complete. This action can induce a vibration into your image, causing blurry pictures. Under normal circumstances this is not a big problem. However, when shooting high-frame rate still bursts with long, high magnification lenses it becomes a real issue. The solution is to lock the mirror up, which eliminates the mirror problem, but also takes away your optical viewfinder. The good news is that most modern digital cameras have what's called "live view". In live view mode, the mirror is locked up, out of the way, and the image is displayed on the rear panel LCD, problem solved. If you are shooting video the mirror is locked up by default. By the way, the new mirrorless cameras don't have this issue since they don't have a mirror. A word caution about using live view, it will eat up your battery very quickly, so be prepared with a fresh battery. Live View can also contribute to camera heating, so don't let it sit around in LV mode unnecessarily.

Here's an example, I'll use the pass from the above shoot, the transit is predicted at 11:53:50, and we will assume that my drift time is four minutes. SO...

at 11:48:50 I do my final focus check

at 11:49:50 I reposition the sun to my reference point, or evaluate drift on tracking mount

at 11:52:50 I roll my video recorder and begin close monitoring of my display screen

at 11:53:50 hopefully I see the satellite cross the sun, if I don't see the transit I continue rolling for at least a minute

at 11:55:00 I either have it or not, time to start breaking down and packing up

Some cameras, mostly higher-end video cameras, have a record ahead function which is the best thing ever for this type of shooting. It works like this, when shooting video in record ahead mode, the camera is constantly recording and throwing away the footage until you tell it to save by hitting the record button. When the button is pushed the camera saves the footage that is currently in the buffer, the amount saved depends on the buffer size, then continues to record until you push the button again. It's like having a camera that runs before you know you want it to run. With this type of recording system you simply watch the LCD or monitor till you see the transit happen, then push the button. Easy peasy. Sadly, not all cameras have this wonderful function.

As the time for the transit nears, the action starts to accelerate. In the minutes before I've been checking target drift if I'm using a telescope with a tracking mount or re-checking my timing for the lock down shot as described previously. At about five minutes to transit I will do a final recheck of focus. If I'm using my locked down method I will reposition my target, in this case the sun, to my reference point. I do this at transit time PLUS the drift time that I have previously determined.

So there you have it, trust me, it's not as difficult as it sounds. If you follow my suggestions, your chances of capturing these very dynamic subjects, and coming up with eye-popping images will be greatly increased. Bottom line, test, test, test.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this series, but I hope even more that you have learned a few things. I will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have, just put them in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you, I also look forward to seeing your images!

Till next time, keep shooting!

James

Part 1

Part 2

Friday 09.20.19
Posted by James Neihouse
 

Photographing Satellites Crossing Celestial Objects, Part 2

In part one of this series, I talked about the hardware required to capture images of satellites, like the International Space Station (ISS), or the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), crossing in front of the sun, moon, or a planet. Here is a link to Part One.

Diagram Of A Solar Eclipse - If you think of the moon as the ISS, or any other man made satellite, you will have to be within the area labeled "Umbra" in order to observe the satellite cross the solar disc. For a solar crossing that area may be as w…

Diagram Of A Solar Eclipse - If you think of the moon as the ISS, or any other man made satellite, you will have to be within the area labeled "Umbra" in order to observe the satellite cross the solar disc. For a solar crossing that area may be as wide as 5 kilometers, for a planetary crossing that width will be reduced greatly, to the order of less than 200 meters.

In this installment I'm going to tell you how to find out when, and where one of these crossings will take place. I will also talk about how to determine which crossing will give you the best results, as well as how to optimize your chances for success.

The first key to success in this undertaking is planning. If you use the applications and techniques I talk about in this post, you will greatly increase your chances of success.

Let's look at how these crossings occur, and the easiest way to explain it is to think of a satellite crossing the sun as a solar eclipse, only the world doesn't go dark. In a solar eclipse a satellite orbiting earth, the moon, moves between the sun and the earth temporarily blocking the suns light from a portion of our planet. The shadow of the moon is cast on the earth, and if you are in that area of shadow, know as the Umbra, you experience a total solar eclipse.

You can use the "Google Earth kmz-Download" feature (bottom left) to export the CalSky data to Google Earth, it will then display over the interactive satellite map images and allow you to find the exact location to setup for the transit. You do have Google Earth, right? It's a great location scouting tool.

If you are outside the shadow of the moon, you will experience a partial eclipse. Of course the satellites we want to photograph are much, much smaller than the moon, so to capture them crossing the sun, or other celestial object, we must be in the path of the satellite's shadow. The width of totality for the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 will be about 70 miles, give or take a few miles; the width of the path where a satellite, like ISS, can be seen transiting the sun is on the order of three miles. As you can see, accuracy in your positioning is critical for success. How, you ask, do I find out where to position myself in order to capture a transit? It's fairly easy, with the help of a wonderful website called CalSky.com.

CalSky is a free website that will calculate transit visibility locations for any satellite, and almost any celestial body. While the website is free, you are limited to an hour of access per day. A small donation is always helpful to the good folks that maintain the site and it will get you longer access times. To calculate pass opportunities near you it will be necessary to let the app know your location, this and other useful information can be entered in the "SETUP" section, be sure to enter your time zone as well. The link above will take you to a landing page that is set up for ISS transits of the sun, but you can also configure it for the moon. Take some time to poke around the website, learn what it has to offer, which is A LOT, and become familiar the interface, it's fairly simple. There is also an introduction page that will answer a lot of your questions.

What you get from CalSky will be a map showing the center line of the transit. That transit line will have several markers along its length, click on a marker and a popup bubble will tell you everything you need to know about the transit for that spot along the track. Below is a transit map generated for 7 days of transits beginning on May 7th, that are within 500 kilometers of my location in Central Florida.

As you can see there are seven opportunities during the 7 day period, but on closer examination of the pass data I would only try for one of these, the third one from the left that goes from the panhandle of Florida, across the Gulf of Mexico and grazes the lower portion of the Florida west coast.

Why would I pick that pass rather than one that is closer to my location, like the pass that goes across Tampa and Miami? Because the more distant pass happens closer to solar noon than the others, and that means the station will be going almost directly over head. Why do I want the satellite to pass directly over head? Because it is the time that puts it as close as possible to my position, making the relative size of the object, in this case the ISS, as large as it can be. It also reduces the amount of atmosphere you have to shoot through, giving you a better image. The bad news is that a direct overflight makes for the shortest transit time.

Above is an example of the data you get for each transit line marker. In this case the ISS will begin its transit of the sun on May 9, 2017 at 12:04:50.00 pm. The transit will last 0.55 seconds, and the transit visibility path is 5.97km wide. The apparent diameter of the ISS will be 65.12" (arcseconds). This is a pretty good pass to give us a large object size as the station will be at a distance of 273 miles at the time of transit. This is because we are only one hour and 20 minutes from solar noon, which occurs at 1:24 pm local time. You can find local solar noon for any location at NOAA Solar Calculator.

Here is a screen shot of the CalSky kmz data overlaid on the Google Earth image of South Florida. My original choice was the location at 12:04:50:00, but after seeing it on the image here, it's in a fairly inaccessible area of the Everglades, I would opt for the location in the Keys where the transit path crosses US Highway 1 close to Lower Matecumbe Key.

On closer inspection in Google Earth I found that the centerline of the transit crossed the highway on a bridge, not a safe place to shoot from, so I would choose to setup about a half kilometer east on the west end of Craig Key. Checking that location in Google Earth Street View I see there is a small parking area that would suit my purposes just fine.

And now a reality check, don't think you can just pull up a transit, good or bad, just any ole time. Nope, there are times when there just may not be any passes near you for days, maybe even weeks. And you can't plan ahead too far, the orbital elements, known as State Vectors, used by CalSky, or any other app that computes these passes, are only good for a short period of time. This is because the satellites orbits vary slightly over time and a current state vector is needed to get an accurate pass prediction. Because of this, I always recheck the pass on CalSky as close to the pass time as is feasible, that way I will have the most current timing, any possible shift of the center line. Remember, timing and location are very important when you are trying to capture an event like this.

My goal is to be set up at the location I have chosen, ready to shoot, at least an hour prior to the transit. It has been my experience that something will go wrong that you will have to fix, and you don't want to be rushed, that's not fun.

Since we are talking about timing anyway I'll put in a plug for a little app I use that displays the current time of your smart phone in HH:MM:SS in big, friendly, easy to read numerals, it's called ClockZ. Using this app or another similar app allows you to check your smart phone against UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). The time stamp on the above pass is in UTC converted to your local time zone (make sure you put your timezone in CalSky!). I use Time.is to check the accuracy of the time on my smart phone, it's usually accurate within about a half second, I make a note of this difference, and apply it to the displayed time. On location, with the app running on my phone, I have a big clock telling me when the transit is about to happen. Remember, if you're off by half a second, you could miss the whole thing. But don't sweat this, I'll explain how I deal with this in part three.

Another thing that I always do is set the alarm on my phone for five minutes prior to the transit, this way if I get distracted by something else, the alarm brings my attention back to reality.

Here is my "command center" for a high-speed sun crossing video shoot I did for the IMAX space film A Beautiful Planet. Below the big monitor you see my iPhone running ClockZ, and my iPad running another helpful app called GoISSWatch.

A second useful app is GoISSWatch, this little program shows you exactly where the ISS is over the planet. With this running you can actually watch as the station approaches, which I find to be very cool. If you want to track other satellites you will have to upgrade to GoSatWatch ($9.99). The primary function of both these apps is to tell you when and where to look in the evening/morning sky to see the spacecraft fly over. Both apps have a "fast forward" feature that will allow you to roll time forward to the moment of closest approach to your selected transit location. This is how I find the altitude of the satellite at closest approach, which is part of my planning process.

All set up and waiting for the Space Station, it’s better to be ready ahead of time, than fumbling around solving a problem when the station is seconds away, there are no second takes because you weren’t ready.

I always have a space blanket somewhere in my road kit. It comes in handy for protecting the camera and lens from the elements while you are waiting for the shot. In the photo (right) you can see the blanket and the mylar film solar filter in place on my 800mm. Remember, cameras don't like to get hot, at best they will produce a poor image, at worst they will shut down completely.

The space blanket can also serve as a "focus cloth" when viewing the monitor in bright sunlight. Just throw it over your head and let it drape down to shade the monitor. You can do the same thing with the LCD on the back of the camera, just drape the blanket over the camera and your head, works like a champ!

Over the years of shooting space shuttle launches for multiple IMAX films I have gotten the habit of making check lists. When setting up multiple remote cameras in the days prior to a launch it's very easy to forget something, but having and following a check list helps insure you have covered you bases. I say this because I apply the same check list mentality to all complex photographic work I do. I start the check list in the planning stage by listing all the gear I will need. Nothing worse than getting up early to drive a hundred miles to a transit location only to find you have forgotten a critical piece of equipment. One of the first things on any check list I make is spare, charged, batteries. Can't do much photography these days without batteries.

I suggest setting everything up, at home, the day before the transit, call it a dry run. If you are going to be shooting a solar transit, this will be a good time to shoot exposure tests with your solar filter. I would even try to shoot the test at the same time of day you plan on shooting the transit. This dry run will get you familiar with what you have to do on the day, this way there won't be as many surprises on location.

So, there you go, you now know how to plan a satellite transit shoot. In part three I will explain what to do once you arrive on location, and talk about some tricks I've used that can improve your chances of success.

Till next time, keep shooting!

James

Part 1

Part 3

Friday 09.20.19
Posted by James Neihouse
Comments: 1
 

Photographing Satellites Crossing Celestial Objects, Part 1

The International Space Station flies in front of the sun, July 2015, Cocoa, Florida.

The International Space Station flies in front of the sun, July 2015, Cocoa, Florida.

I have always enjoyed a challenge, it's just the way I am. So when I saw images on the internet of the International Space Station (ISS) crossing in front of the sun I was intrigued, I wanted to capture an image like that. How hard could that be? Well, it's not easy, but it can be done, even by someone with just basic photographic skills, if they have access to the right equipment and have a good sense of adventure.

In this installment I will talk about the kind of equipment you are going to need, in part two I'll talk about getting to the right location and how to judge the best pass to shoot. Part three will be about the specifics of capturing the event, and tips on how to optimize your chances of success.

Mylar solar filter used to photograph the image of the ISS in front of the sun as seen above.

First off, let me give you one VERY IMPORTANT piece of advice - if you are going to attempt to shoot a satellite crossing the sun DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER look directly at the sun without a proper solar viewing filter, DON'T DO THAT. Have I made myself clear? That brings me to the first and most important piece of equipment for photographing the sun - a solar filter.

With a very special solar eclipse coming up on April 8, 2024 there will be lots of people on the internet trying to cash in by selling "eclipse viewers" and the like, be very careful if you are thinking of buying these, don't risk your vision. One good place to get eclipse viewers and solar photography filters is Thousand Oaks Optical - http://www.thousandoaksoptical.com/solar.html. These folks have been in the business for many years and know what they are doing. There are others suppliers out there, just do your research. Remember, viewing the sun without proper protection for your eyes and camera can cause permanent damage and blindness.

International Space Station in front of the moon, just to the right of the Copernicus Crater. If you are going to photograph a satellite crossing the moon, or even more challenging, one of the planets, you won't need any special filtration.

There are two versions of basic solar viewing filters, photographic and visual. The visual filters are lower optical quality than the photographic version, meaning the filter may not be optically consistent across the filter. That inconsistency would not be visible in the eye, but would cause variations in exposure in a photograph. Visual viewing filters are usually made of a thin mylar film, the photographic filters can be either mylar or glass. You can use either one, but you will get the best images from the photographic filter. Just make sure you get one that is a good fit for the lens you will be using, and ALWAYS have the filter in place before you point the camera toward the sun.

Next piece of equipment is your camera. This can be either digital or film (remember film?). In a perfect world this camera would be capable of shooting multiple frames per second, the faster, the better. Why you ask? This is where it gets interesting, most photographable satellites move at a very high rate of speed, at least 17,500 miles per hour, that's orbital velocity (28,164 kilometers per hour). For an example of how fast that is, it takes the ISS about 1/2 second to cross the face of the sun. If your camera does not shoot fast enough, you may miss the shot.

Some digital cameras have the ability to shoot video, this is really the best way to capture this fleeting moment. The image at the top of this page was captured on video at 24 frames per second in 4K mode with a Canon 1DC. I then stacked every frame that contained the station to obtain the final image (there are 13 of them).

The resolution of you camera will play an important part in how much detail you will record, the more pixels the better, especially if you don't have a super long telephoto lens or telescope.

Camera set-up used to photograph the station crossing the sun featured above.

I'll talk more about how all this comes together in part three.

Next you are going to need a telephoto lens, the longer the better. For the space station/sun photo above I used an Canon 800mm f/5.6 with a 2X tele-extender which gave me a solar disk image that very nearly filled the full frame sensor of the 1DC. You can also use a telescope to capture transits if you have the proper camera adapter. Just remember, if you are shooting solar transits you MUST have a proper solar filter suitable for the optics you are using. You can destroy your camera if you attempt this without the proper filter. Never look directly at the sun without a solar filter!

You will need a sturdy tripod to support the camera. Trying to shoot this with a handheld camera is not a recipe for success. I use tripods designed to hold very heavy motion picture cameras, like the one pictured to the left, but any heavy duty tripod will do. It is important to make sure the tripod head will allow you to point the camera straight up. If you are using a telescope it should have a fairly sturdy support system as a matter of course. If the telescope can track the celestial body, so much the better, you won't have to be constantly re-centering the subject as the earth rotates.

There are a couple of things that are not required, but sure are nice to have when pointing a camera with a long lens at the sky. I use a small portable LCD monitor that I hook into my camera with an HDMI cable. The monitor allows me to see the image without having to physically look through the camera. This makes framing and focusing much easier, as you don't have to stand on your head to look through the viewfinder or see the screen on your camera. Of course, if you're shooting film you won't have this option. More on focusing and framing in part 3. A remote shutter release of some sort is also very useful, especially if you are trying to capture the event in still mode, the release isn't as important when shooting video. Having your hand on the camera to press the shutter release button will induce movement into the camera which can cause a blurry picture. Shooting video you can start the camera recording well ahead of the event time, this allows any vibration to dampen out in time for the shot.

That's about it for the hardware you'll need. It sounds like a lot of stuff, and you may not have access to all of it, but there are several reasonable rental places that will have what you need at a reasonable price. A few of them are: www.borrowlenses.com/ www.thelensdepot.com/ and www.lensrentals.com/ or just do a web search for camera equipment rentals.

Coming up next in PART TWO I will talk about how to get to the best location for a crossing, what to look for in a crossing opportunity, and some apps to make things easier.

Till next time, keep shooting!

James

Part Two

Part Three

tags: solar transit, Lunar transit, international space station, photography, photo, astrophotography, moon, sun, transit photography, canon, canon cameras, really right stuff, think tank
Friday 09.20.19
Posted by James Neihouse
 

American Cinematographer Magazine Announcement

Thanks to the folks at the American Cinematographer Magazine for the nice shout out! Really appreciate these folks taking time to help me get the word out about the workshops.

Friday 09.14.18
Posted by James Neihouse
 
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