Description
Come and join Jay for an exciting Blue Mountains Astrophotography workshop.
Our workshop will provide you will all the coaching and tuition you will need to capture the night sky, and, weather permitting, our evening session in the Blue Mountains will leave you with some stunning images to take home.
On this workshop, we will travel together from Katoomba in our dedicated 4WD tour vehicle and visit 3-4 different Astro Locations through the night. We suggest you arrive well rested as we will likely continue to shoot through to the early hours. As the Milky Way transits through the night sky, we will move from east to west facing compositions and find ourselves visiting some locations unknown to many.
Once we conclude our on-location component, and everyone has had the chance to travel home or to their accommodation for some rest, we will organise an appropriate time for us to reconvene the next day to go through our online post-processing tutorials via online Zoom video conference. If you miss the Zoom session, you will still get access to our online post processing video content.
What we will do
What's included
Photographing the night sky in the Blue Mountains
Less than 2 hours drive from Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area comprises over 1 million hectares of protected landscape containing vast sandstone lined valleys with some truly epic vistas, vast Euclaypt forests with many bushwalking tracks and trails. And for Night photographers, provides a clear and dark sky location where it is easy to capture the Milky Way and stars away from the intense light pollution of the city. While you are on one of our Blue Mountains Astrophotography Workshops, we will find a location where we can capture the incredible night skies juxtaposed with the natural landscape finding features to photograph that will leave you with stunning imagery.
On location photography coaching & tuition
Before we setup at our location, we will go through some Astro planning tips, the equipment you need and how to set it up for nightscaping. Once darkness falls, you will be tutored on the night sky, how to locate the Milky Way, how to find the Southern celestial pole, and how to setup your camera to capture the Galactic Core or Star Trail images and the settings to use for the different types of nightscape and astro images. We will also go through plenty of tips and guides for your nightscaping including headlamp etiquette, low-level lighting, managing lens fog, using filters, capturing panoramas and timelapse.
Online post processing / editing tutorials live
Once we have finished capturing the night sky, and after a good night sleep, we will reconvene online using Microsoft Teams or Zoom to go through Post Processing and Editing of your images, teach you our quick and easy nightscape workflows, and answer any questions you have. We will set the timing for the post processing session based on agreement with the group.
If you are unable to access the online meeting live, it will be made available to you via a streaming service so you can watch through at your leisure at a later time.
Licensed Parks EcoPass & Accredited Guide
JAYDID PHOTO is a licensed NSW National Parks and Wildlife EcoPass Tour Operator with permission to host photography tours and workshops in the Blue Mountains and Wollemi National Parks. Where applicable, your National Park Entry Fees are included in your workshop fees.
Recommended Camera Equipment
Clothing and Accessories
Accessing the Online Meeting
Exclusions
Tour Details
Example Itinerary
Day 1 - Astro Shoot
- 6PM – Meet at Katoomba Railway Station
- 6:30PM – Astro Planning Tips and Equipment
- 7PM – Depart for Astro Shoot
- 7PM – 2AM – Travel between Astro Locations with on-location tutoring
- 2AM – Return to Katoomba
- 3AM – On-location Workshop closes
Day 2 - Post Processing & Tutorials
We will organise a suitable time to host our online post processing session with the group to ensure everyone is available. These times are just a guide.
- 7PM – Post Processing via Microsoft Teams Conference
- 9PM – Ask any questions
- 9:30PM – Workshop Closeout
Workshop Location
Other Information
Travelling to the Blue Mountains
We will convene the workshop in Katoomba, 1.5 hours drive from Sydney CBD via the M4 motorway and Great Western Highway. You can also travel to Katoomba via train, which is normally a 2 hour journey from Sydney Central Station. If travelling by train, we will organise an appropriate time for us to meet and collect you from the railway station.
Parking is available next to Katoomba Railway Station on Goldsmith Place next to the old Gearin Hotel.
Once the group arrives, we will travel together in our dedicated 4WD tour vehicle to a number of alternate locations visiting 3-4 different Astro spots throughout the evening.
At the conclusion of our On-Location workshop, you will be dropped back at Katoomba Railway station. If you are returning to Sydney or further afield, we do recommend you organise accommodation in the Blue Mountains at Katoomba, Leura, Wentworth Falls or Blackheath so you are well rested before the journey home. If you do organise accommodation, we will happily drop you off when we complete our night time session. We will discuss your travel plans with you before the workshop commences.
*Bad Weather Policy for Astrophotography Workshops
Try as we might, we just can’t control the weather (and we have tried to build an app to do it for us!). Our workshop dates are planned around the best times in the moon cycle to capture the night skies. In order to build a calendar for each year, we have to specify dates at a time where there is no visible or accurate forecast for weather conditions on those dates.
As a consequence, by booking you place on this workshop, you will be agreeing to our Bad Weather Policy for Astrophotography Workshops as outlined below:
- This workshop is weather dependant, and we cannot guarantee you will capture images of the night sky when you attend.
- In the event of cloudy skies, we will still continue with the workshop itinerary and no cancellations will be considered.
- Where cloud prevents us from capturing the night sky we will go through some light painting activities until skies clear or the workshop concludes.
- Where rain or storms occur during the workshop, we will suspend outdoor activities and seek shelter until rain or storms pass or the workshop concludes.
- In these cases, we will attempt to invite you to a subsequent astro event based on availability. These events generally occur on a monthly basis in Astro season and are classed as meet ups rather than workshops. Places on these events are limited, on a first come first served basis. If you are unable to attend the first available event, we may not be able to invite you to subsequent events. This policy is a best endeavour approach on our part to try to ensure you get to photograph some clear night skies as part of your workshop, however, you must agree you are not liable for a refund if we cannot.
- In the event of extreme weather conditions where very heavy rainfall, electrical storms or very high winds are forecast, we may opt to cancel or postpone the workshop. Cancellation by us will see your workshop fees refunded. Postponements will occur on a date mutually agreeable to all members of the group.
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