Topics Covered:

• Planning your shoot on and off location using a variety of specialist apps

• Camera settings for all kinds of astrophotography

• Tripod Astrophotography: Stacking and Panoramas (goof for beginners)

• Star Tracker Astrophotography: Mounting, balancing and polar aligning star trackers for the Southern Hemisphere (for advanced students)

• Shooting vast, highly detailed, multi-row panoramas for truly astounding images

• Landscape-Astro Post-Production: Tuition in a variety of softwares (we don’t go into deep space post-production as that’s too large a subject)

Itinerary:

• We’ll start at 5pm in the Tikapa Moana carpark where we’ll loan out any required gear and go through basic settings.

• We’ll shoot there from dusk. We may move to the Waitawa Wharf as the Milky Way changes position.

• The class will officially finish at 1am, although it’s common for us to continue shooting if the conditions are clear.

Physical Difficulty:

• All the locations at Waitawa Park are easily accessible by vehicle. You’ll never need to be more than a few meters from your car.

Experience:

• This class includes a lot of 1 on 1 time and is suitable for all levels.

Equipment:

• You’ll need a DSLR or Mirrorless camera and a wide angle lens (24mm or wider). Not sure if your gear is right? Contact Us.

• Bring your own tracker or use ours!

• We have four trackers and a motorized panorama head available at this class. We will cycle the students through all the different mounts as each is best for different styles of shooting, we can also help you with your own tracker:

  • Benro Polaris

  • iOptron Sky Guider Pro with iPolar Electronic Polar Scope

  • Sky Watcher Star Adverturer 2i Pro

  • iOptron Sky Tracker Pro

  • Syrp Genie II Pan-Tilt

• On the payment page you’ll be asked what camera and lens you’re planning on bringing. We’ll check your gear and then work with our suppliers to make sure you have everything you need to create stunning night-sky images. This can include camera bodies, lenses, and motion-control devices.

Suggested Gear Checklist:

1. A Camera (any modern digital camera with a detachable lens, recommended maximum ISO of 12’800 or higher. If you don’t own one we can often provide you with something)

2. A Sturdy Tripod (essential for night photography)

3. Wide angle lenses, 24mm or lower, with a minimum aperture of f/3.5 or less

4. Trackers can be used with all kinds of lenses and focal lengths. We recommend that you bring all your lenses from wide to telephoto if you’re using a tracker.

5. A Torch with red light (headlamps are the best option for this, available from all camping stores)

6. Very Warm Clothes (It can be surprisingly windy and cold!)

7. A Thermos of Your favorite hot drink

8. Water and a snack

Please message us at highrestours@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns about gear.

Weather:

• These workshops depend on clear skies, which can be a tricky thing in New Zealand! When you book you’ll be asked to select alternative dates just incase the clouds roll in and we have to reschedule.

• If the forecast is bad and we have to cancel, we’ll move you to one of the alternative days, or offer a full refund if no date is suitable.

• We’ll send you a detailed itinerary and weather updates a few days before the event.

• Please be patient with the weather. Around 60% of our classes have to be postponed due to cloud or rain.

Cancellations:

• We require at least three bookings for any night to go ahead. If we don’t reach this number we’ll give you the option of a credit or refund (at your preference).

• If you have to cancel for any reason please let us know as soon as possible. Cancellations received more than 2 weeks prior to the event receive a full refund. 1-2 weeks prior receive a 50% refund. Cancellations within 7 days are not refundable.