"Anyway, we were like, okay half past four in the morning, we got to this part of Iceland, which is an hour away from the airport and the sky went absolutely bonkers. I had never seen an aurora as you know, I never had to look up for an aurora before, I always had to look on the horizon and look a bit up, maybe a bit. I was looking directly up, I was pointing the camera straight up and it was like, this isn't, ain't happening, you know! And I tend to get quite emotional for some reason. I don't know why, but I look up there and all these thoughts come into your head of family and all sorts, it's quite magical...it's quite magical."
Intro:
Greetings everyone and great to see you tuning and back again to our podcast today, in our mission to bringing great photographers and their stories. So you can be inspired to move your own photography.
In today`s episode we’ll walk together from dusk till dawn looking at the night sky. And joining us is one Britain’s hottest Astro photographers’ tickets at the moment, winner of the Weather photographer of the Year Award and Overall Winner in the British Photography Awards in 2023. We move our show tonight to Wales and speak with Gareth Jones.
Gareth is the self-taught photographer shooting over the past 10 years now and has been fascinated with anything space and night sky since he was a kid. He is always out and about in Anglesey or Snowdonia looking for that magical moment, when all come together and making the shot. Join us today for a talk about passion, beautiful moments and how to get better in astrophotography. Let’s get rolling.
Tom: Good evening, Gareth. How are things there today?
Gareth: Hi Tom. It's good in Wales today.
Tom: You've been doing some nice shooting this week?
Gareth: Actually, I've been doing the photography show in Birmingham. I'm an ambassador with Case Filters and I was working on the stall there for two days. So, meeting and greeting all the customers and potential customers and all that people around.
Tom: And you also had a talk there, Gareth?
Gareth: No, I'm not one for public speaking as in front of an audience. I'm learning. I get a bit nervous, but there we go. Something I have to get over it.
Tom: Well, we start with this podcast and then who knows next year what you do in Birmingham.
Gareth: Yeah, exactly.
Tom: So, Gareth, you're a self-taught photographer. Let's say over the last 10 years, how did photography change your life?
Gareth: Photography changed my life in, I'd say, so many ways because I was 30 or 33 when I started photography. And I took up photography on the sole basis that I didn't want to waste my time in the pub. I was drinking every weekend, not feeling very well, and I was in, basically, in a dark place, really. And I picked up a camera for some, don't ask me what reason I picked the camera up, I couldn't tell you, but I took a couple of pictures on a walk on a Sunday. I say Sunday morning, on a beach, and basically, I took some shots and I thought, I've just taken at least two good pictures, I think, anyway. And that's where it all began, really.
Tom: And your interest in the night sky, that was sparked by another photographer you saw his work or you just liked already that genre?
Gareth: I've always been interested in space. I wouldn't say astro photography when I was back younger, or I would have been doing it sooner, but with space. I visited a museum back in York when I was about nine or ten years old and I stepped into a planetarium. And I was captivated by that and then I couldn't stop thinking about space, spacemen, Star Wars, you know, everything involved with space I was interested in.
Tom: Ok. And you didn't have any photography friends who shot this genre?
Gareth: No, not instantly. When I had my first camera, I was solely doing landscapes. I started with a camera about September-ish and here in the UK, just after September, October, the clocks go back, it gets dark quite early after work, so there's not much sunsets to catch. So, I thought, I like photography, why can't I do photography at night? And I thought, well, if I can do it at night, if I get a clear night, I can do some stars. And then things evolve from not being able to do something and making better a situation where I could do it.
Tom: And of course, astro photography if you do this as a hobby, you can very easily have your day job and enjoy your hobby at night. It only means that you have to sleep less hours in a day.
Gareth: Yes, sleeping less is something I've got quite well of. Some nights, you can come home from work, step in the house, have some tea, then it's straight out if the weather's good, and then if the weather's bad, obviously you can have a day off. But when the weather's good, I usually drop everything and go out and shoot the stars, just on the sole basis that clear skies in Wales are far and few between, because it normally rains in Wales most of the time. But when we do get the clear nights, it's, I don't know, it's something special to be honest.
Tom: Gareth, let's talk a bit about your two big awards that you received until now. You've got the Weather Photographer of the Year and you've got the British Photography Award, the overall winner for landscape. What went through your head when you saw the email you've won?
Gareth: In fact, we had all the email as being shortlisted for the British Photography Awards. We weren't emailed as winners; we were emailed as shortlisters. So, there was 25 People shortlisted and we were invited to go to the Dorchester in London for the award ceremony. And so all of 25 of us didn't even know if we'd won. So on the night of the awards, there were several genres of photography in the British Photography Awards, and the landscape one was beautiful. I think for me, obviously it was the most important one. There were so many talented people in the other genres, it was just amazing to see different people with different passions. And anyway, when it got to the landscape, I was nervous obviously with friend of mine that came down with me, he was shortlisted as well, and we were just giving ourselves good luck and things. And, when the winner was announced, obviously was my name and I just sat down there, and it was a big shock to be honest, it was a massive shock because, I knew it was a good picture and I'd caught some stunning additions, but I didn't know it was going to win overall. So yeah, it was a highlight really of my photography career so far.
Tom: Tell me a little bit about this picture, Fairy Lights, the one that won in the awards, Gareth, walk me a bit through how you got the shot.
Gareth: It was a Sunday morning and I've kind of been there maybe 10 to 15 times previous over the last 10 years. I always go around the end of November to the start of December because the sun comes up over the mountains just at the right angle to catch the dew or the moss, or the wetness of the leaves and the moss. And I thought to myself, I'm going on Sunday, whether it's clear or it's raining, I'm going. So anyway, I looked at my weather apps and all everything and it looked really good. And I woke up at maybe half seven and I thought I'd got up a bit late to be honest, and I was coming through the hills of Snowdonia through the Conwy valley into this little beautiful Welsh village called Betws-y-Coed, and I parked up at the car park for where the gorge walk starts. And then, as I'm going down, I could see the conditions were in my favor as such, because I could see the sun nearly creeping up and blue skies, which could put people off because blue skies photography is a bit no-no sometimes. But for this shot, it was what I wanted. to get these sun rays through the trees.
So, I steam rolled down the hill, nearly breaking my leg on these absolutely death trapped rocks. They were slippery as hell, honestly. Anyway, I got there and there here was a few people there, which sometimes it could be enough for me to just to walk away, but I knew the work, you know, I knew the conditions were top notch.
So, I persevered with the people, put my shot into the composition I wanted, and just waited really till the sun came over the mountain at the back of the gorge to illuminate this. I'd say it's condensation more than mist, so when the river's flowing at a certain depth, you don't get the dew point. If the water's too high, you get too much and it’s wonderful. People get lucky you know, I got there at the right time in the right place, so many variables that could go wrong, but not that moment, not that morning.
Tom: It's a wonderful shot, Gareth. If you give me the permission later in the YouTube video, we can show it a moment. So people at home, they can see it while you explain it.
Gareth: Yeah, no problem.
Tom: What do you think Gareth, what is the single most important aspect that a photographer should have, in your eyes?
Gareth: Passion. That's the only one, I think. The skill that somebody has doesn't mean anything if you don't have passion. If you have passion of what you are doing, I think you can persevere with disappointments and heartache. You can persevere with all the negatives, and always try and see the positives. That's, I think, that's why I'm so passionate about photography.
It's something I get a massive enjoyment out of doing. Because it outweighs every negative I have on that moment. It's either, if the weather's bad, well, at least I'm out with a camera. If the sky is cloudy, well, I'm out with a camera. You know, it's passion, it's what gets you into the right spots at the right time. And not getting too fussed about the disappointments in between. So I think being passionate about your photography is majorly important, I think.
Tom: Yes, it's important. And the beauty of it is that it never stops, you can always keep on learning being it the genre you're doing or a new genre. There is always things to try out.
Gareth: Yeah, definitely.
Tom: I think you've been through some gear changes over all these years. What are you shooting now with?
Gareth: At the moment I'm shooting with Sony A7 IV and I've recently got rid of a Nikon Z6. Solely on the basis of I needed more lenses for cheaper prices really. Because you know Z mount Nikon don't do much third-party lenses. You I think Laowa did some for the Z mount, Artisan, and one of my favorite lenses, you know, was a 14mm f1.4 Sigma, and I could not get that on the Nikon, other than shooting with a FTZ adapter. Even though the adapter wasn't much of a hindrance, but I was never keen using an adapter on my body of the Nikon. I'd always think I'd miss focus a bit easily . So yeah, I bought the Sony A7 IV with a 16 to 35mm F2.8 and, I call it the God Lens for Astro is the 24mm f1.4, G-Master, it’s incredibly sharp. You know, I rarely shoot at f1.4, but just stopping down to f1.8 or f2 is unreal...unreal.
Tom: Gareth, like we always say in photography, it's the person, it's not the camera, the camera is just a tool. But you feel that going all mirrorless for your Astro work has helped you move forward?
Gareth: Yeah, massively. From a DSLR to a mirrorless camera, I think, if you don't know about focus peaking, well, it's something that's, I think, has changed my workflow massively. It's so easy, intuitive, accurate to focus on stars and when the stars aren't there you can focus on distant lights in the background, and it's changed a lot of my workflow when I set up. And my workflow used to consist of a lot of swearing because I couldn't get focus and, you know, I always take test shots. Taking test shots is something that somebody should always do. But focus peaking on a mirrorless is game changing in photography, well, in astrophotography in general.
Tom: You have some essential pieces or equipment you use to capture your nighttime shots, Gareth?
Gareth: I have a Star Tracker, but I wouldn't say it's only designed for wide angle astro photography. But it's called a Move Shoot Move. I don't know if you've heard of one. It's a little box no bigger than I'd say a of kind of Coke , anything that size, a bit square and it fits in the bag perfectly. It's light, you know, because I'm on the move, either going up mountains or climbing cliffs, it's not weighty and it sets up in minutes rather than a couple of quarter of an hours. It's really, really easy to set up. And I see a lot of people setting up this Move Shoot Move and they complicate things and kind of trying to get thr polar alignment on these things is dead important. And I'm thinking, well, you're pointing a laser at the North Star. Sorry North Star, no, correctly, sorry, the Polaris, which is the star that barely moves in the northern hemisphere. So I see people thinking, oh, it's got to be spot on, it's got to be 350,000 light years away, I've got to get this laser pointing directly in the middle. But for me, you just set it up, point the laser roughly where it is and take a test shot. If it doesn't work, take it again, and that's helped me a lot for getting some of these starscapes or nightscapes, you call them, over my little island here in North Wales.
Tom: And application wise, Gareth, I think you use PhotoPills, no?
Gareth: Yes PhotoPills. And PhotoPills to me has been another game changer in astro photography. Basically, PhotoPills is a calendar of the Milky Way all through the year in your pocket with the added bonus of tracking the Milky Way over certain landmarks. It's basically, it feels like cheating because I'd say 10 years ago when I first started, there wasn't any apps that told you where the Milky Way would be and which direction it was going to come. And it was all done through the internet, you know, either YouTube or you were asking other photographers for advice or reading magazines even. It was a bit of a hit and miss, but I'm quite happy that I learned everything before PhotoPills. Because when I look at PhotoPills now, it's like, wow, what's this little gadget that gets me all the timings right, all the elevations right. And it's just make it, made an Astro photographer’s life a dream to be honest.
Tom: Talking about a dream, the opposite of the dream, what's your worst enemy when you go out shooting the night sky, Gareth?
Gareth: I don't know if there's any. If I go out shooting the night sky, I'm so hyped up. There is no enemy. You know, when I go out through that door at one o'clock in the morning, wanting to catch the Milky Way at three o'clock, I'm super excited. But like I say, the only enemy I think I have with astrophotography is the clouds. It's the clouds. And like I said, if the passion isn't there and the willingness to maybe go to a singular spot you haven't had in mind, over and over until it clears, or when the app says it clears, that's the most important thing, I think. So yes, clouds, that's the enemy.
Tom: If I ask this to macro photographers, they will say wind. So we each have our own little enemy.
Gareth: Yeah, definitely.
Tom: If you go out to scout new locations Gareth, what is an important factor you need to see, or you want to have, to make your pictures?
Gareth: Alignment, I'd say most probably it's going to be where in relation to the foreground and the mid ground, where your Milky Way will sit or where the Milky Way will arch over. So I'm looking more towards telling a story with my foreground and having the Milky Way perfectly balanced in my shot. If my foreground doesn't match my Milky Way, I will sacrifice another foreground to go look for one. So the foreground is the most important thing for me. It's kind of being able to tell a story to people that live in Wales, like I found this little waterfall with a Milky Way and it just lines up perfectly. And to me, the planning of that is, you know, methodical, maybe to a degree of frustrating. But when you do find a particular place where it lines up, it all comes together like a big jigsaw, and you just nail it.
Tom: I think that PhotoPills also comes back to action, because I suppose when you scout for new locations, you can keep them stored there and remember them whenever the time is ready to go to shoot in this particular place?
Gareth: Yes, exactly. And it's not just for that moment. You know, once a Milky Way shot aligns, that Milky Way location becomes forever because the Milky Way will always pass that location or that shot I've had in mind for forever. And that's what PhotoPills gives you the ideas and the speed of going through locations.
Tom: Gareth, your astro photography, you're mostly out in complete darkness. Are there any safety precautions you take? Because you will be out for long hours, maybe the weather is bad, maybe something can happen.
Gareth: Yes, there's factors of safety and everything, really. But you wouldn't go out in a gale force wind in the daytime. It goes the same with astro photography. But the main thing I do when I go out is, if I go out on my own, I usually keep in touch with somebody on the phone. You know, I'm okay. I'll be back about six o'clock in the morning and just keep people updated where you are and if everything is okay. That the most important one I use, I think, and it's just a peace of mind to all the loved ones at home that need to know, oh, he's not falling off a cliff or he's not twisted his ankle, he can't get to the car. It's about keeping somebody in the loop that's not physically with you, but could be at home in bed worrying, because it can be a strain on, you know, family life as such that way. So yeah, keep in touch.
Tom: Gareth, if you go out, let's say you come home from work and you say, I have time to go to make a photo shoot. Do you know which place you are going to go? Or you just go to a place you know already, and it might be good. I mean, because the night sky can change, it can have the moon phase, there can be celestial events going on maybe. You plan for this ahead?
Gareth: Yes, it's like this 12P/Pons Brooke comet. So I've been waiting for the skies to clear, but I don't think I'm going to get any clear skies for the the comet, so yeah, so when the sun sets, in the West, the 12P/Pons Brooke comet should have been following the sun's path to the horizon. So I'd be looking at westerly locations. I'd be trying to point my camera anywhere to the West. And if there's anything remote, I'd say anything interesting in the foreground, which the West Coast of Anglesey is beautiful for that. So I'd be spoiled for choice any beach, you know, we've got a fantastic lighthouse at the northwest of the island and that would have been a the perfect location really, but I'm more than certain I'm going to miss photographing this one.
Tom: In this case of the comet Gareth, you would still be using the 24 mm lens?
Gareth: It was probably the 24 mm or it’d be on the 35 mm. I'd be on the 35 mm just to try and get some detail of the comet, just like, was it in 2021, comet Neowise was passing, and I was shooting that one. I'm thinking the comet Neowise was a bit more eye-visible than this one and at the time I didn't think it was something I could get in a picture, just on a total frame basis. I didn't think it was anything really special. But the more I looked into it, the more I read about it, and the more the weather cleared up at the time, it got me excited about it. So I rushed up to the house that night and got some really good pictures of the comet Neowise. So, yeah, it depends on what you shoot and whereabouts you shoot on Anglesey, really.
Tom: And picture-wise, Gareth, you shoot everything in one picture, because say, you have a lighthouse for example inside your frame. You make one picture exposing for the lighthouse and make others for the night sky and combine them?
Gareth: I started off trying to perfect a single shot in astro photography. But once I got to the lighthouse of the north end of South Stack, I could only get an exposure of eight seconds at a high ISO. And I tried to stack them, tried to stack them all together and I failed miserably. And I got frustrated, absolutely frustrated with the shot for nearly three to four years. I'd given up but then I learnt a little trick called, I don't know if you've heard about it, the black card trick.
So the black card trick is, somebody's going to correct me if I'm wrong anyway, but when photographers used to go to the Arctic and didn't have any filters to lower the sky exposure, they used to put a black card in front of the camera and take it away and put it back. It was called a black card trick and I thought to myself, well If that works on the sun, surely it can work on a lighthouse.
So I got the card, I went out to the rocks, obviously I had to find a good spot to shoot this thing, and put method into a madness and practice. So I practiced for a while, timing the lighthouse spinning. Every spin of the lighthouse was like eight seconds or so. So every eight seconds, the light would come straight into the camera, so on every seventh second, I'd put the black card so I didn't get that direct light into the camera. Once I knew that technique worked, I practiced, practiced, practiced. And eventually I got a three or three and a half minute shot of this lighthouse. Every seven seconds I put this card in front of the lens, take it away, put it in front of the lens. And doing that for three and a half minutes, it don't sound too confusing or I would say frustrating, but you have to be on it all the time.
But you know, I've took that picture now and it's something that I pride myself on really. I got there, I had to learn a new technique and then take a three minute shot of something in the dark that spins light straight into the camera. I thought, well, I've overcome something that I thought I'd never think I'd overcome. At the end of the day, it was one of my best shots from that location. It's always about learning new things, and when something comes after learning something that crucial, it's so rewarding.
Tom: This is also the lighthouse we see in your shot with the Aurora in the background Gareth?
Gareth: No, not that one. That's one on the east side or southeast. You know, I've got those two lighthouses in my portfolio. We've got three, four, maybe five lighthouses on Anglesey, on such a small island there are quite a few. But those two are the main ones, the one with the Aurora is the one from Penmon and that's my go-to Aurora shot, because it's south of the island looking due the north.
Tom: So these Aurora shots Gareth. It's already happening when you arrive or you set up before in the hope it's coming?
Gareth: There are some apps again, like Photopills, there are apps out there that tell you what's happening and what times or how many minutes you have before a Solar storm arrives at earth. So usually the app I get gives you a 40 minute warning. So the app springs into action, gives me an alert and then it says, look a sun storm arriving, 40 minutes till impact. Then it's into the shed, grab all the stuff, into the car, and drive, and then get set up quickly. It's nature, you know, I could sit or stand there for 10 or 20 minutes before anything happens after those 40 minutes, you know, it's not nailed on every time, but it's a good indicator or a good alert to have .
Tom: And the beauty is of course, like you told before, you're not sitting in a pub, you're anyway outside in nature. Whatever happens, you’re in a beautiful place and if it's not today, then tomorrow.
Gareth: Yes, exactly. Yeah, it's always the next time. I think that this is where a lot of people kind of give up on a lot of these, I'd say northern lights or phenomenons that happen. I'm one of these people that I know if I put the time in, I know the rewards can be really good. And I'm not saying you should go there and just try your luck every time, and just not do anything. But 10 years ago, that's what I did. I used to go out not knowing things were gonna happen and just enjoying my time out there. And a phrase, that somebody told me years ago when I started, was 'Even blind squirrels find nuts'.
So it's always there about trying. And if you're there, it happens and it happens. You know, if it doesn't, it doesn't. At least I can turn around and I say, well, I was outside, I enjoy being outside. There is no better place for me then being outside.
Tom: I there another place, Gareth, you have visited that was on top of your list for night-time photography?
Gareth: I’ve been to Iceland and that was when I first started. I wanted to catch the Aurora so bad. I had caught it once in this country, in Wales and I thought, I saw all the pictures of Iceland and it looked like it happened every night! You get this sense of Iceland is this magical place where the aurora happens every night and everybody gets lucky and you know, that's what I thought, we've got to go there.
We flew out to Iceland on a three or four day trip I think . We took in the landscapes during the day and we kept our eyes on the phone thinking, yes, we could have an Aurora tonight. Three nights, no aurora. Magical, magical landscapes, honestly. I found a cave that looked like Yoda from Star Wars, that was amazing. So on the last night, we drove quite far from the airport. Our flights weren't due to fly out until I think it was six o'clock in the morning, and we were like six hours away from the airport and this was 12 o'clock at night. We'd tried to time this trip back to the airport whilst driving and maximizing our chances of an Aurora by being out and not sleeping. Anyway, we were like, okay half past four in the morning, we got to this part of Iceland, which is an hour away from the airport and the sky went absolutely bonkers. I had never seen an aurora as you know, I never had to look up for an aurora before, I always had to look on the horizon and look a bit up, maybe a bit. I was looking directly up, I was pointing the camera straight up and it was like, this is, this isn't, ain't happening, you know. And I tend to get quite emotional for some reason. I don't know why, but I look up there and all these thoughts come into your head of family and all sorts, it's quite magical. It's quite magical. Yeah, that night in Iceland was one of the best I've had.
Tom: They always tell me there are two kinds of aurora. I don't know because I never saw them but there are ones that just hang and then there are the ones that swirl around?
Gareth: The ones that swirl around, I'm not technically sure about the names of them, but the ones that swirl around they're beautiful. The ones I witnessed were called, I don't remember if it's called a corona, so basically, it's quite intense and comes from one or two spots on in the night sky and it just shoots down like curtains. If you've never seen the Aurora live or in person before, it feels like there's some kind of party curtain coming down from the sky, like a stage curtain. And it's unreal honestly.
Tom: I know if this happens to me, Gareth, the day I see this, I forget to take a picture. Surely.
Gareth: It's quite easy to forget. Yes, Tom. Yeah, you've got to put your head in gear. Ready for it.
Tom: So Gareth, you also run workshops, right?
Gareth: Yes, we do. Myself and my partner we run landscape workshops. My partner has just been to Tenerife last week and, taking some folks up the Teide volcano. So hopefully this is the beginning really of our workshop adventure. So yeah, Tenerife is going to be 2025, we've got one planned in two weeks, for a week on Bardsey Island, which is a little, little island, smaller Anglesey, but the skies on the Thorne Peninsula in Wales are super dark. Absolutely. I think it's one of the best darkest places in Wales. So I'm really looking forward to going and shoot the Milky Way there in two or three weeks. I hope we get some clear skies for our clients because that's going to be special.
Tom: So for anybody listening, if maybe they are a beginner Gareth, give me maybe two or three techniques or camera settings they will need to master a bit when to go for astro photography.
Gareth: The biggest tip I can give you, as for a beginner photographer, is to learn where all the buttons on your camera are without even looking. If you can manage to set the ISO without looking, to change aperture without looking, to change speed without looking, to change lenses without looking, it will benefit any, any beginner. So knowing your camera inside out, basically where all the settings are, what button does what, how to zoom in on the back of your screen, all these little things will help you massively.
As for settings, my go-to settings would be, for a pure dark sky, would be ISO 5000 and as wide as you can with your aperture f1.8, f2, f2. 8, f3. 5, f4. It all depends on, and where a lot of people get stuck I think, with what wide angle lens they have. If you've got a wide angle lens, you've got to factor in the rule of 500. I don't know if you've heard of the rule of 500. But I always go on the rule of 600. So, the times are shorter for the exposure, but, I'm more than 100% certain that my stars aren't going to trail
Tom: Have you ever thought of shooting the night sky with a film camera, just for fun?
Gareth: I have thought about it. Yeah, I have thought about it. And to be honest, my knowledge of film cameras was very basic about two years ago. During lockdown I had a bit of a dabble with a film camera, a medium format film camera, so it was a biggish camera and the film was huge in it. And I didn't even know that, you know, to set the ISO, you'd have to buy the film with the ISO on it and I was like, what? But I've never used a film camera before and I didn't even know that ISO was a part of the film, not a setting on the camera and I felt so stupid when I found out. I'd love to give it a go one time, I think, yes definitely.
Tom: But for astro photography, I think it's a real challenge, film cameras Gareth.
Gareth: Yes. There's nothing to give you a heads up of how sharp you are, or if you're in focus. I think it's a bit of luck. There's no test shots to be had to see how far off focus you are, or how in focus you are, so yeah, it sounds like a minefield of frustration to be honest. Thank God for digital cameras, I think. But there's always a romance with a film camera, there's always a nostalgia or a retro feel of, you know, a bygone era kind of romance.
Tom: Talking about memories here, Gareth, in all the years you're shooting now, talk me about one of your most memorable moments you had while you were outside.
Gareth: I've had so many. I think the best would have been for my Weather Photographer of the Year photo. It's a picture of me standing up in a cloud diversion on Snowdon. But that was not intentional, that shot didn't even cross my mind it was going to happen. And it all started when a friend of mine wanted to go shoot the Milky Way from the top of Snowdon. So we made some plans, nailed on a date which we thought was going to be clear, and then we met up at the car park and we walked up about a mile or about an hour or two up a mountain.
We got to this location and all this fog came in off the mountain and we were like, oh, this can't be happening, you know, and we were in this fog for about two and a half hours and it was about 10.30am and this fog just started to settle. And I said to my mate, well, if we get high enough on the mountain, we could get above it. And as I was saying this, I wasn't realizing what I was saying. Basically, I was like oblivious to the fact that we had an amazing cloud inversion underneath us, and I was blinkered by thinking we're gonna have so much stars above them. It's gonna be amazing.
Anyway, we were walking up through these clouds and finally got above this cloud diversion and the temperature just went from cold to warm within virtually two minutes. I looked back on the route we were coming up and I could see all this cloud covering the whole of Snowdonia National Park. And we were like, Oh my God, this is actually happening. You know, we were like gobsmacked. So we celebrated and had some food and some coffee and made some plans of what we're going to shoot. And, you know, having that cloud diversion and looking over most of Snowdonia and thinking that everybody else was down on like ground zero, as to speak, on sea level and could not see any, any stars.
And we were maybe 800 or 900 meters above sea level and we could see every star from the night sky, it was unreal. And then obviously, as the night passed on, the Milky Way came up. As the Milky Way came up, maybe an hour later, the moon came up. The moon came up and I was like, Oh, man, the moon rise then the Milky Way rise, and then the sun came up. I was like, Oh my God, I didn't even plan for this, you know? And as the sun came up, I saw this opportunity to take a shot of me standing on a rock and, you know, turning these clouds into like a sea of clouds basically like a liquid on a long exposure and, you know, standing still for 30 seconds after being up all night it's not easy. But yeah, that's got to be my most memorable night in photography till now.
Tom: So we can say it's almost an accidental shot, and this is the one that got you the Weather Photographer of the Year award.
Gareth: Yes, I'd call it more of an optimist or opportunistic shot. You know, I think that when you get to a certain level in photography, you tend to see more photographic opportunities whilst not with the camera. And obviously when you're with the camera then you can put your practice into pictures.
And I think mountain images are opportunistic at best of times. When people go up there into the unknown as such, and maybe a light ray comes through the cloud, then it's all about grabbing your camera quickly knowing what to do and clicking. And this is where I say, it goes for any photographer I think, to know what your camera can do and where the buttons are. Because the minute you start using your camera as a tool rather than an object that's costing you a lot of money in the bag, and you're of kind of scared not to use it because it's expensive. But that camera is meant to be handled like any tool I think, like a joiner with his saw or a hammer or a plumber with his blowtorch. It's got to be used as a tool rather than an expensive box in your bag that you're scared of to use.
Tom: Very wise words, Gareth. I think on this note, we will let you go off because I look outside my window here, and the night sky has fallen and I'm sure you have to make pictures. Surely something good is happening outside today!
Gareth, thanks a lot for being on the show. It's been a wonderful talk, getting to know you, and learning a bit more about astro photography. The best of luck for the next few days if you can get the comet shot!
Gareth: Oh yeah, hopefully. Cross fingers, Tom. Cross fingers.
Tom: I will. Thanks a lot and we talk soon. Bye Gareth.
Gareth: No problem. See you, Tom. Bye.
Outro:
There you go. A great talk with Gareth about what drives him to go out at night, chase up to that night sky and make those beautiful pictures. I hope it has opening your eyes a little bit too in this darkness of astro photography. Don’t forget to remember all what he has just told us and if his advice made you to get better shots, be sure to share that with us!
Talking about sharing, you know our podcast is available in all podcast players such as Apple, Spotify and YouTube. So you can subscribe there, leave us your review and help this show moving forwards. Talking about moving forwards, this team needs coffee in moving this weekly podcast so there is a link in show notes you can support us with a coffee.
I leave you today with quote, not of photographer this time, but the great painter Vincent van Gogh who said: “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream”.
Now go out, make some stories and move your photography. Thanks for listening. See you next time!
