How to Photograph the Milky Way – Astrophotography Tutorials, Tools, Gear + Inspiration
We want to meet you! Want to spend a week in Spain with us, Ian Norman and Diana Southern, creators of Lonely Speck? We’ll be back as Masters for the amazing 7-day PhotoPills Camp 2019 from May 26 to June 2 in Menorca, Spain! We’ll eat amazing food, hike to beautiful locales, shoot epic landscape photos and stay up late shooting astrophotography together. Then we’ll do it again, day after day. Sound like fun?
In this review, I test the new full-frame Pentax K-1 Mark II while shooting astrophotography and landscapes in Alabama Hills, California. The K-1 Mark II features Pentax’s exciting Astrotracer feature for astrophotographers and a Pixel Shift Resolution feature, both features intriguing for landscape and astrophotography.
Continue reading “Pentax K-1 Mark II Astrophotography Review”
Let’s try out four of the best smartphones in a low-light shooting battle. We compare urban nightscape photos from the ASUS ZenFone 4 Pro, HTC U11, LG V30 and Samsung Galaxy S8.
Continue reading “Smartphone Night Photography Shootout: ZenFone 4 Pro vs. U11 vs. V30 vs. S8”
We’re happy to announce that, as of today, the SharpStar 150mm is now available for pre-order, scheduled to ship in March.
This new 150mm SharpStar size is perfect for ultra-wide-angle lenses like the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm/2.8 and Nikon 14-24mm/2.8 that need a special 150mm filter system to fit on their fixed-lens hoods.
Our premium filter case is also now available in a 150mm size and can be ordered at the same time as your SharpStar.
Alas, a partial fix to the dreaded “star eater” issue has been found for the a7SII and a7RII! The quick version: enable continuous shutter drive mode. Read more to learn about the “star eater” issue and the limitations of this partial fix.
This video tutorial combines two of my favorite techniques for maximizing image quality of astrophotos: stacking and stitching.
Continue reading “Tutorial: Stacked Astrophotography Panoramas”
As the end of the year approaches, we’ve been doing some reflecting on the photography projects we’ve completed in the last twelve months. We’ve experimented with lots of new gear, had fun trying new and improved photography apps, launched our second astrophotography filter, and set out on several photo excursions with the lot.
Considering all the tools and technology we’ve used for astrophotography this year, there’s a lot to love, so we’ve compiled all of our favorites this year into our 2017 gift guide.
Read on for our favorite project memories and the top gear we tested in 2017 — and get some ideas for your holiday gift list this year.
Continue reading “Gear of the Year: Lonely Speck Gift Guide 2017”