ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY PROCESSING - APY Masterclass: Create a skyscape panorama

Processing an image to showcase the sky and a foreground

- Benjamin Barakat

Astronomy Photographer of the Year Advice from a 2021 shortlisted entrant in the 'Skyscapes' category

Never could I have imagined that my 'Château de Chambord' image would be shortlisted in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Competition 2021. It was captured in 2020 when I travelled 4,500km by car, with the goal of reaching five locations in five nights, and Château de Chambord (at Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France) was the last location on the itinerary. The idea for imaging this beautiful location came from a photographer, Ralf Rohner, and if it wasn't for him this photograph would have never been taken.

The image is a panorama and both the foreground and sky sections consist of multiple images. For both these, the camera had to be panned between each shot, with enough overlap to avoid stitching issues in post-processing. Each frame overlaps by 40 to 50 per cent to be on the safe side. By taking exposures at various settings, both the foreground and sky could be exposed correctly, which isn't possible in a single image. Here I'll explain, step by step, how these images are processed to get the final panorama.

Stitching together