AMAZING ASTRO SHOTS
THE PRO
CHRIS GRIMMER
CAMERA: CANON EOS 6D, 7D AND 70D
Chris was shortlisted for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year in 2015, and has twice been shortlisted for UK Astrophotographer of the Year. It’s safe to say Chris knows a thing or two about capturing great shots of starry skies, and he uses a whole host of equipment, from converted cameras to star-tracking tripod heads and telescopes.
THE APPRENTICE
NICK CLAYTON
CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D MARK III
Nick is based in Suffolk, UK. He’s a lover of the great outdoors, and predominantly shoots wildlife and nature. He’s always wanted to photograph more landscapes, particularly at night, but has struggled with exposure and focus when the light dips. We’ve paired him with Chris for a starry sky shots masterclass at St Benet’s Abbey in Norfolk.
TECHNIQUE ASSESSMENT
As day turned to night, Chris dialled in some key settings on Nick’s camera
BASIC SETTINGS
Chris set Nick’s camera to Manual so he could take control of the three exposure parameters: shutter speed, aperture and ISO, and know that these settings would stay the same between shots. He set the shutter speed to 30 secs to give the camera’s sensor enough time to pick up the faint light levels at our location, and opened the aperture on Nick’s Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L lens to f/3.5 to suck in lots of light – a wide aperture
