AMAZING ASTRO SHOTS

A keen stargazer joins Canon astro pro-Chris Grimmer for some tips on how to capture amazing images of the night sky

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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.

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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 with a wide lens at 16mm when you're shooting landscapes captures more depth of field, though it's less of an issue when your focal point is further away. Finally, Chris set the ISO to 2500 to make the sensor more sensitive to light.