"Shooting for the Stars : Astrophotography Unleashed"

[00:00:00] We were like, half past four in the morning

[00:00:02] we got to this part of Iceland which is an hour away from the airport and

[00:00:08] The sky went absolutely bunkers. I had never seen an Aurora as you know

[00:00:14] Well, I had never had to look up for an Aurora before

[00:00:17] I always had to look on the horizon and look a bit up maybe a bit. I was looking directly up

[00:00:23] I was pointing the camera zero up and it was like

[00:00:27] This isn't happening, you know, I tend to get quite emotional

[00:00:33] For some reason I don't know why but I look up and all these thoughts come into your head

[00:00:39] Family and all sorts. You know, it's it's quite magical. It's quite magical

[00:00:44] Greetings everyone and great to see you tuning in back again to our podcast today

[00:00:48] In our mission to bring you great photographers and their stories so you can be inspired to move your own photography

[00:00:55] In today's episode we'll walk together from dust till dawn looking at the night sky and joining us is one Britain's hottest

[00:01:03] astrophotographers tickets at the moment

[00:01:05] Winning the weather photographer of the year award and the overall winner of the British photography awards in

[00:01:11] 2023. We move her show tonight to Wales and speak with Garrett Jones

[00:01:17] Garrett is a self-taught photographer

[00:01:19] Shooting over the past 10 years now and has been fascinated with anything space and night sky since he was a kid

[00:01:26] He's always out and about in Anglesey and Snowdonia looking for that magical moment when all comes together and make the shot

[00:01:33] Join us today for a talk about passion

[00:01:36] Beautiful moments and how to get better in astrophotography. Let's get rolling

[00:01:41] Good evening Gary. How are things there today? Hi Tomer. It's it's good good in Wales today

[00:01:48] You've been doing some nice shooting this week. Actually, I've been doing

[00:01:53] Photography show in Birmingham. Okay. I'm an ambassador with case filters and

[00:01:59] I was working on the stall there for two days

[00:02:02] So meeting and greeting all the customers and potential customers and all the people around

[00:02:09] And you also talked there Garrett?

[00:02:11] No, no, I'm not one for public speaking as in in front of an audience

[00:02:17] I'm learning I get a bit nervous, but there we go. Yeah something I have to get over

[00:02:23] Well, we start with this podcast and then who knows next year what you do in Birmingham. Yeah, exactly

[00:02:30] So get it you're a self-taught photographer

[00:02:33] Let's say over the last 10 years

[00:02:37] How does photography change your life?

[00:02:41] Photography's changed my life in I'd say so many ways because you know

[00:02:46] I was 30

[00:02:49] 33ish when I started photography and

[00:02:52] I took up photography on this all basis that I didn't want to waste my time in the pub

[00:02:57] I was drinking every weekend not feeling very well

[00:03:00] And I was in basically in a dark place really and I

[00:03:06] picked up a camera for some

[00:03:08] Don't ask me what reason that pick I picked up the camera up

[00:03:11] I couldn't tell you but I took a couple of pictures on a walk on a Sunday F

[00:03:16] I say it's Sunday morning on a beach and

[00:03:19] Basically, I took some shots and I thought

[00:03:22] Geez, I've just taken at least two good pictures. I think Henry and

[00:03:27] That's where he's all began really

[00:03:30] and your interest in the night sky that was sparked by a

[00:03:35] Photographer you saw his work or you just liked already this genre

[00:03:40] I've always been interested in

[00:03:42] Space I wouldn't say ask photography when I was back younger or I would have been doing it sooner

[00:03:49] But with space I visited a museum back in York

[00:03:56] About when I was about nine or ten years old and

[00:03:59] I stepped into a planetarium and I was I was captivated

[00:04:04] Captivated by that and then I couldn't couldn't stop thinking about space spacemen

[00:04:10] Star Wars, you know everything involved with space. I was interested in

[00:04:16] Okay, and you didn't have any

[00:04:18] Photography friends who did this job? No, no not

[00:04:23] Instantly, no one had my first camera. I was solely doing

[00:04:27] landscapes and I started

[00:04:30] With a camera about September ish and here in the UK just after September October the clocks go back

[00:04:37] So he gets back quite early after work. So there's not much sunset to catch

[00:04:43] So I thought I like photography

[00:04:46] Why can't I do photography at night?

[00:04:48] And I thought well if I could do it at night if I get a clear night

[00:04:52] I could do some stars and then things evolve from not being able to do something

[00:04:58] I'm making better of it in a situation where I couldn't do it

[00:05:02] And of course astrophotography is also if you do this as a hobby you can very easily

[00:05:10] Have your day job and have your hobby at night. It only means that you have to sleep less hours in a day

[00:05:17] Yes, yes, it's sleeping sleeping less is something I've got quite well of you know some nights

[00:05:23] You can come home from work step in the house have some tea then it's straight out if the weather's good

[00:05:29] And then if the weather's bad obviously you can have a day off

[00:05:33] But when the weather is good, I usually drop everything and go out and shoot the stars

[00:05:39] just other soul bases of clear skies in Wales farm few between because

[00:05:45] Well, it normally rains in Wales most of the time, but when we do get the clear nights. It's

[00:05:52] I thought something special to me on us

[00:05:54] Get it let's move a bit to your two big awards that you will go until now

[00:05:59] You've got the weather photographer of the year

[00:06:02] And you've got the British photography award the overall winner for landscape

[00:06:08] What went through your head when you saw the email you've won?

[00:06:13] in fact, we had all the

[00:06:16] shortlisted for the British photography awards. We weren't emailed as winners

[00:06:22] We emailed as shortlisted so there was 25 people shortlisted and

[00:06:29] We were invited to go to the Dorchester in London for the reward ceremony

[00:06:34] So all of 25 of us didn't even know we'd win so on the night of the awards

[00:06:41] there was several genres of photography in the British photography awards and

[00:06:46] The landscape was I think for me obviously it was the most important one

[00:06:51] But there were so many talented people in the other genres. It was just amazing to see different people with different passions

[00:06:59] and

[00:07:00] Anyway, when I when it got to the landscape

[00:07:02] I was nervous obviously with like a friend of mine that came down with me

[00:07:07] He was shortlisted as well

[00:07:09] And we would just give themselves good luck and things and when the winner was announced

[00:07:13] Obviously was my name and I

[00:07:16] Just sat down there and it was a big shock to me

[00:07:19] It's a massive shock because and he was a good and he was a good picture and I'd caught some

[00:07:26] Stunning additions, but I didn't know it was gonna win overall. So yeah

[00:07:30] It is highlights really of my photography career so far

[00:07:35] Talk me a little bit about this picture fairy lights the one that won in the awards get it

[00:07:41] Walk me a bit through how you got the shot. It was a Sunday morning and

[00:07:47] I've kind of been there

[00:07:50] maybe ten to fifteen times previous over the last ten years and

[00:07:56] It always go around the end of November

[00:08:00] To the start of December because the Sun comes up over the mountains

[00:08:04] Just at the right angle to catch the I think that do or the mop or the

[00:08:09] Wetness of the leaves and the moss and I thought to myself

[00:08:13] I'm going on Sunday whether it's whether it's clear or it's raining. I'm going

[00:08:19] So anyway, I looked at me weather apps and all all all everything and it looked really good

[00:08:25] And I woke up at maybe half seven and I thought I'd got up a bit late to be honest

[00:08:33] And I would come through the hills of Snowdonia through the Orgwen Valley

[00:08:38] Into this little beautiful

[00:08:40] Welsh village called betters of Coed and I packed up for the car park for where the the gorge walk

[00:08:47] Stats and then as I'm going down

[00:08:49] I could see the conditions were you know in my favor as such because I could see the Sun

[00:08:56] Nearly creeping up and blue skies which could put people off

[00:09:00] Because blue skies

[00:09:01] Photography is a big no-no sometimes but for this shot it what what it was what I wanted

[00:09:09] To get these rays through the trees

[00:09:11] So I steam steam rolled down the hill nearly breaking my leg

[00:09:16] He's absolutely death trap rocks. They were slippery as hell honestly anyway, I got there

[00:09:24] There was a few people there which sometimes it could be enough for me to just walk away sometimes

[00:09:31] But I knew the work you know, I knew the the conditions were top-notch

[00:09:35] so I persevered with the people put my shot into the composition I wanted and

[00:09:40] Just waited really till that Sun came over the mountain in the back of the gorge to illuminate this

[00:09:47] I'd say it's condensation more than mist

[00:09:50] So when the river's flowing at a certain depth

[00:09:54] You don't get the dew point if the water's too high you get too much and

[00:10:00] It's yeah, you know, I people get lucky, you know, I got there at the right time and that place

[00:10:06] So many variables that could could go wrong but not of that moment not of that morning

[00:10:11] It's a wonderful shot get it if you give me the permission later in the YouTube video

[00:10:17] We can show it a moment so people at home. They can see it while you explain it. Yeah, no global

[00:10:24] What do you think get it? It's the single most

[00:10:27] important aspect that a photographer should have in your eyes

[00:10:32] Passion that's the only I think the skill that somebody has doesn't mean

[00:10:39] Anything if you don't have passion if you have passion on what you were doing

[00:10:44] I think you can persevere with disappointment

[00:10:47] heartache you can persevere with all the negatives and

[00:10:52] Always try and see the positives that's I think that's why I'm so passionate about photography

[00:10:58] It's something I don't know. I get a

[00:11:02] massive enjoyment of doing because it outweighs every negative I

[00:11:08] Have on that moment. It's either

[00:11:11] 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

[00:11:19] passion it's what gets you into the right spots at the right time and

[00:11:26] Not getting too first about the disappoints within between

[00:11:30] So yeah, I think being passionate about your photography is

[00:11:35] majorly important to think

[00:11:37] Yes, it's important and the beauty of it is that

[00:11:40] It never stops. You can always keep on learning being it the genre you're doing or a new genre

[00:11:48] There is always things to try out

[00:11:51] Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Yeah, I think you've been through

[00:11:56] Some gear changes over all these years

[00:11:59] What are you shooting now with?

[00:12:01] at the moment, I'm shooting with

[00:12:04] Sony a7 full and

[00:12:07] I've recently got rid of a Nikon Z6 Mac 1

[00:12:14] solely on the basis of

[00:12:16] I needed more lenses for cheaper prices really because you know Nikon don't do much third-party lenses

[00:12:24] I think they did Lauer Lauer did some for the Z mount

[00:12:29] after Zan

[00:12:30] one of my favorite lenses is that you know was a

[00:12:34] 14mm 1.4 Sigma and I could not get that on the Nikon

[00:12:39] Other than shooting with a FTZ. I think it's called an adapter

[00:12:45] Even though the adapter wasn't much of a hindrance, but I

[00:12:49] Was never never keen using an adapter on my body of the Nikon

[00:12:54] I'd always think I'd miss focus a bit easily or

[00:12:58] So yeah, I bought the

[00:13:00] Sony a7 for with a

[00:13:04] 1635 f2.8 and a

[00:13:07] Well, I call it the God lens for astro. It's the 24 1.4 G master

[00:13:13] It's incredibly sharp at you know, I rarely shoot at 1.4

[00:13:18] But just stopping down to a 1.8 or f2 is

[00:13:23] Unreal

[00:13:25] Get it in a case

[00:13:27] Like we always say in photography. It's the person. It's not the camera

[00:13:32] The camera is just a tool, but you feel that going all mirrorless or your astro work has helped you move forward

[00:13:42] Massive. Yeah, massively from a DSLR to a mirrorless camera

[00:13:47] I think if you don't know about focus peaking well, it's something that's I think has changed the way I

[00:13:54] Well, it's changed my workflow massively

[00:13:57] It's so easy intuitive accurate to focus on stars. I mean the stars aren't there

[00:14:05] You can focus on distant lights in the background and it's you know

[00:14:09] Just change 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

[00:14:18] And you know, you always take test shots

[00:14:22] Taking test shots is something that somebody always should always do but yeah from good peaking on a mirrorless is game changing

[00:14:31] photography on in astro photography in general

[00:14:34] You have some essential pieces or equipment

[00:14:38] you used to capture your night time shots get it I

[00:14:42] Have a

[00:14:44] star tracker from

[00:14:46] But it's not the I wouldn't say it's it's only designed for wide angle astro photography

[00:14:53] but it's called a move shoot move I don't have you heard of one and

[00:14:57] It's a little box no quicker than I'd say kind of co-cut anything that size and it's a bit square

[00:15:03] And if it's in the bag perfectly, it's it's light

[00:15:08] And you know because I'm on the move either going up mountains or climbing cliffs

[00:15:13] It's not witty and it sets up in minutes rather than you know a couple of couple of parts of an hours

[00:15:20] You know it if it's really really easy to set up. I see a lot of people

[00:15:26] Setting up this move shoot move and the complicate things and kind of trying to get puller alignment

[00:15:32] All these things is that important and I'm thinking well

[00:15:36] You're pointing a laser at the north star

[00:15:39] I was doing all that's getting corrected the puller is the star that barely moves in the northern hemisphere

[00:15:46] So yeah, I see people thinking oh it's gonna be Bob on you know

[00:15:50] It's gonna be seen them fifty thousand light years away

[00:15:53] I've got to get this laser pointing directly in the middle

[00:15:56] But for me, I you know you just set up put a point of leaves at roughly where it is take a test shot

[00:16:02] What doesn't work take it again?

[00:16:04] You know it's and that helped me a lot for getting the awesome of these fast scapes or night scapes you call

[00:16:13] over over my little island here in north Wales and

[00:16:17] Application wise get it. I think you use photo pills. No, yes photo pills and

[00:16:24] photo pills to me has been

[00:16:26] Another game changing that basically photo pills is a calendar of the milk you a all through the year in your pocket

[00:16:35] with the added bonus of pointing the camera and

[00:16:39] Tracking the Milky Way over certain landmarks. It's basically it feels like cheating

[00:16:46] You know, I'd say ten years ago when I first started there wasn't any

[00:16:50] Apps that tell told you where the Milky Way would be

[00:16:54] Which direction they was gonna come and it was all done through

[00:16:58] the internet, you know either

[00:17:00] YouTube or you were asking other photographers for advice or you know reading magazines even there was a bit of a

[00:17:07] Hit and miss but yeah

[00:17:09] I'm quite happy that I learned everything before photo pills because when I look at photo pills now

[00:17:15] It's what's this little gadget that gets me all the the timings right all, you know

[00:17:22] Elevations right and you know, it's just

[00:17:25] It's make it made an astrophotographers like a dream to be honest

[00:17:29] Talking about the dream the opposite of the dream. What's your worst enemy when you go out shooting the night sky get it?

[00:17:39] If I go out shooting the night sky, I'm so hyped up. There is no enemy

[00:17:44] You know

[00:17:45] When I go out through that door say one o'clock in the morning wanting to catch the Milky Way at three o'clock, you know

[00:17:53] Super excited, but like I say the only enemy I think I have that's the clouds

[00:17:59] It's the clouds, you know and like I said if the passion isn't there

[00:18:04] and the willingness to maybe go

[00:18:08] To a single spot you haven't had in mind over and over until it clears or when the app says it clears

[00:18:16] That's the most important thing. Okay, and yeah

[00:18:19] clouds

[00:18:21] That's the enemy

[00:18:23] If I asked this to macro photographers, they will say wind so we each have our own little enemy. Yeah, definitely

[00:18:33] Yeah, if you go out to scout new locations

[00:18:37] What is an important factor you need to see you need to have to make your pictures?

[00:18:45] Alignment I'd say most probably it's gonna be

[00:18:48] Where in relation to the foreground and the mid ground where your Milky Way will sit or

[00:18:56] Where the Milky Way arch will arch over so I'm looking more

[00:19:02] Towards telling a story with my foreground and

[00:19:06] Having the Milky Way perfectly balanced in my shot

[00:19:10] If my foreground doesn't match my Milky Way, I'll sacrifice another foreground to go look for one

[00:19:17] So the the foreground is the most important thing for me. It's I don't know

[00:19:21] it's kind of being able to tell a story to

[00:19:24] People that live in Wales this I found this little little

[00:19:30] Waterfall with the Milky Way and it just lines up perfectly and to me the planning of that is

[00:19:37] methodical

[00:19:38] Maybe to a degree of

[00:19:40] Frustrating but when you do find a particular place where it lines up, it's

[00:19:45] You know, it all comes together like a big jigsaw and you just nail it

[00:19:49] And I think their photo pills also comes back to action because I suppose when you scout for new locations

[00:19:55] You can keep them there and remember them whenever a time is ready to go to shoot in this particular place

[00:20:04] Yes, exactly

[00:20:05] And it's not just for that moment you can you know once a Milky Way shot aligns

[00:20:12] That Milky Way location becomes forever

[00:20:16] Because the Milky Way will always pass that location or that shot of other mind for forever

[00:20:23] You know, and that's what photo pills gives you the ideas and the speed of going through location

[00:20:31] Get at your astrophotography. It's mostly you're in complete darkness

[00:20:36] Are there any safety precautions you take because you will be out for long hours?

[00:20:41] Maybe the weather is bad. Maybe something can happen

[00:20:45] Yeah, it's

[00:20:47] You know, there's factors or safety and everything really but you know

[00:20:52] You wouldn't go out in a gale-fort wind in the daytime

[00:20:56] It goes the same with astrophotography, but you know wind

[00:21:02] Yes, but the main thing I do when I go out is if I go out on my own

[00:21:06] I usually keep in touch with somebody on the phone, you know, I'm okay

[00:21:12] I'll be back about six o'clock in the morning and just keep people updated where you are and if everything's okay

[00:21:19] That the most important one I use I think and it's just a piece of mind to all the loved ones are home

[00:21:25] That need to know or he's not fallen off a cliff or he's not twisted

[00:21:30] It's uncle. He can't get to the car. You know, it's it's about you know keeping somebody in the loop

[00:21:35] that's not physically with you but

[00:21:37] Could be at home in bed worrying because it can be a strain on you know family life or such that way

[00:21:44] So yeah keeping touch. I

[00:21:46] Was wondering get it if you go out

[00:21:49] Let's say you come back home and you say I have time to go to make a photo shoot

[00:21:55] Do you know which place you are going to go or you just go to a place?

[00:22:00] You you know already and it might be good. I mean, is there is there any because the night sky can have

[00:22:07] The moon face can change there can be celestial events going on so you plan for this ahead

[00:22:14] Yes, yes, it's like this Brooks ponds comet

[00:22:20] So I've been

[00:22:22] Waiting for the skies to clear

[00:22:24] But I don't think I'm going to get any clear skies for Brooks ponds

[00:22:28] Brooks ponds comet. So yeah, so when the sun sets in the west

[00:22:35] Brooks ponds ponds comet should have been

[00:22:37] following the sun's path

[00:22:39] To the horizon so I'd be looking at

[00:22:43] Westerly locations. I'd be trying to point my camera anywhere to the west

[00:22:49] And if there's anything the most well, I'd say anything interesting in the foreground which west coast of Angle City

[00:22:57] Beautiful for that. So I'd be spoilt for choice any beach

[00:23:02] You know, we've got a fantastic lighthouse at the northwest

[00:23:06] of the island

[00:23:07] You know that would have been a the perfect location really, but I'm

[00:23:12] More than certain. I'm going to miss

[00:23:14] photography at one

[00:23:16] In this case of the comet Garrett you were still using the 24 millimeter lens

[00:23:22] Which probably it'd be the 24 or I'd be on the 35 mil

[00:23:27] I'll be on the 35 mil just to try and get some detail of the comet

[00:23:31] because was it

[00:23:34] 2021

[00:23:35] Comet new wise was passing. I was shooting that one and that was

[00:23:40] I'm thinking the comet new wise was a bit more

[00:23:44] eye-visible than this one

[00:23:46] and

[00:23:47] At the time, I didn't think it was something I could get in a picture

[00:23:51] Just on those whole bases. I didn't think it was anything really special

[00:23:55] But the more I looked into it the more I read about it

[00:23:59] And the more the weather cleared up at the time got me excited about it

[00:24:03] so

[00:24:04] Yeah, I I rushed up the house that night and got some really good pictures of the new wise

[00:24:10] With a 24 that was yeah

[00:24:12] I don't think it depends on what you shoot and where about to shoot on angles you really

[00:24:17] And picture wise Garrett you shoot all in one picture or you

[00:24:23] Because you have the lighthouse for example

[00:24:25] You will make one picture exposing for the lighthouse and make another one for the night sky and combine them

[00:24:32] I started off trying to perfect the single shops of astro, but

[00:24:37] Once I got to the lighthouse on the north end of angle c south back

[00:24:42] I could only get an exposure of eight seconds at a high ISO and

[00:24:47] I tried to stack them tried to stack them all together and

[00:24:50] I failed

[00:24:51] miserably and I got frustrated

[00:24:54] absolutely frustrated with the fault or nearly three three to four years

[00:25:00] and I'd given up

[00:25:02] And I learned a little trick called I don't know if you've heard about the black card trick

[00:25:08] Oh, the black card trick is what they used

[00:25:11] Somebody's gonna correct me if I'm wrong anyway, but when photographers used to go to the arctic

[00:25:17] And didn't have any filters to dumb down the sky

[00:25:20] They used to put a black card in front of the camera or take it away and put it back

[00:25:25] It was called a black card trick and I thought to be so well

[00:25:29] If that works on the on the sun

[00:25:32] Surely it can work on a lighthouse

[00:25:35] So I got the card and went out to the rocks had to fight obviously had to find a good spot to shoot this thing

[00:25:42] and

[00:25:43] put method into a madness

[00:25:46] And practice so I practice for a while timing the lighthouse spinning

[00:25:51] So that every spin in the lighthouse were like eight seconds or so

[00:25:54] So every eight seconds the light would come straight into the camera

[00:25:57] So on every seven seconds I'd put the black card

[00:26:01] In front of the camera. So it didn't get that direct light into the camera

[00:26:06] Once I knew that technique worked I practiced practiced practiced and eventually I got a three

[00:26:14] Three and a half minute shot of this lighthouse

[00:26:17] But every seven seconds I just looked at in front of the lens take it away

[00:26:21] But I've looked and doing that for three and a half minutes don't sound too confusing or

[00:26:28] I would say

[00:26:30] frustrating but you have got to be on it on it all the time

[00:26:34] But you know I've took that picture now and it's you know and something that

[00:26:39] I pride myself on really because

[00:26:41] I got there had to learn a new technique

[00:26:43] Then take a three minute shot of something in the dark that spins light straight into the camera

[00:26:49] I thought well you know I've overcome something that I thought I'd never think of I'd overcome

[00:26:55] The shot at the end of the day. It was one of my one of my best shots from that location

[00:27:01] It's always about learning new things and when something comes after learning something that crucial

[00:27:08] It's so rewarding

[00:27:10] This is also the lighthouse

[00:27:12] We see in your shot with the aurora in the background

[00:27:16] No, not that not that one. No, no, that's

[00:27:19] That's on the east side or southeast

[00:27:22] That's you know, I've got those two lightshouses. We've got three

[00:27:26] Maybe five lighthouses on Anglesey to small islands quite a few

[00:27:30] But those are the main two ones the one with the aurora is the one from 10 one

[00:27:36] And that's that's my go-to aurora shots because it's south here looking doon and all

[00:27:42] So these aurora shots get it they already happening when you arrive or you set up before in the hope they are coming

[00:27:50] There are some again like photo pills there are apps out there that tell you what's happening and what times or

[00:27:59] How many minutes you have before a solar storm arrives at earth?

[00:28:04] So usually the app how you get about a four keep them. Yeah about 40 minute warning

[00:28:09] So the apple

[00:28:12] spring into action give me an alert

[00:28:14] and then I'll say look

[00:28:17] substorm arriving 40 minutes to impact that it's

[00:28:22] Into the shed they have all the all the stuff

[00:28:25] Into the car and drive and then get set up quickly

[00:28:28] But it's nature, you know, you could I could

[00:28:32] Sit stand there for 10 20 minutes before anything happens after that falls two minutes

[00:28:38] You know, it's not nailed on every time but it's a good indicator or a good alert to have

[00:28:45] And the beauty of course get it like you just told

[00:28:49] You're not an app up. You're anyway outside in nature. Whatever happens. You're in a beautiful place and if it's not today then tomorrow

[00:28:57] Yes, exactly. Yeah, they've always always the next time

[00:29:00] And you know, I think that this is where a lot of people

[00:29:04] Kind of give up on a lot of these I'd say northern lights or

[00:29:09] Phenomenons that happen

[00:29:11] You know, I'm one of these people that I know if I put the time in

[00:29:15] I know the rewards can be really good and you know

[00:29:19] I'm not saying you should go there and just try to look every time and just not do anything

[00:29:24] But you know 10 years ago. That's that's what I did

[00:29:27] I used to go out not knowing things were gonna happen and just enjoying my time out there

[00:29:33] And a phrase that somebody told me years ago when I started was even blind squirrels find nuts

[00:29:40] So it's okay. So, you know, it

[00:29:43] It's always always there about trying and if you're there

[00:29:46] It happens and it happens, you know, if it doesn't it doesn't at least I can turn around and say well

[00:29:52] I was outside. I enjoy being outside. There's nothing better for me than being outside

[00:29:58] There is another place get it you have visited that was on top of your list for nighttime photography

[00:30:05] I have been to Iceland and that was when I first started I went to the capstone Aurora so bad

[00:30:13] You know, I had caught it once in this country in Wales and you know, I thought I saw pictures of

[00:30:20] Iceland and it looked like it happened every night

[00:30:24] You know, you get this sense of Iceland's this magical place where the Aurora happens

[00:30:29] Every night and everybody gets lucky and

[00:30:32] And that's what I thought we got there

[00:30:34] and flew out to Iceland on a three day trip

[00:30:39] There's a full day trip. I think and anyway, yes, so we took in the landscapes through the day

[00:30:45] We kept our eyes on the phone thinking yes, we could have Aurora

[00:30:50] three nights no Aurora

[00:30:53] magical magical landscapes honestly found a cave that looked like Yoda

[00:31:00] That was amazing

[00:31:01] And on the last night we drove quite far from the airport

[00:31:06] so our flights weren't due to fly out until I think it was six o'clock in the morning and we were like

[00:31:13] Six hours away from the airport and it was 12 o'clock and I

[00:31:18] So we tried to time this trip back to the airport

[00:31:22] self-driving and

[00:31:24] maximizing our chances of an Aurora by being out and not sleeping

[00:31:30] Anyway, we were like

[00:31:32] Happiest four in the morning we got through this part of Iceland

[00:31:36] which is an hour away from the airport

[00:31:39] And the sky went absolutely bonkers

[00:31:42] I had never seen an Aurora as you know

[00:31:46] Well, I had never had to look up for an Aurora before

[00:31:49] I always had to look on the horizon and look a bit

[00:31:53] I was looking directly up. I was pointing the camera zero

[00:31:57] It was like

[00:31:58] This isn't ain't happening

[00:32:00] You know and I I tend to get quite emotional

[00:32:04] For some reason I don't know why but I look up then all these thoughts come into your head of

[00:32:10] Family and all sorts, you know, it's it's quite magical. It's quite magical

[00:32:15] Yeah, Iceland was one of the that night on Iceland was one of the best I've had

[00:32:20] They always tell me there are two kinds of Aurora

[00:32:23] I don't know because I never saw them the ones that just hang

[00:32:27] And then they are the ones that swirl around

[00:32:31] Or the ones the ones that swirl around

[00:32:34] I'm not

[00:32:36] Technically sure about the names of them, but

[00:32:39] The ones that swirl around they're beautiful, but the ones I

[00:32:44] Witness that were called a bit of it's called a corona to basically it's quite intense

[00:32:50] Comes from one or two spots on the night sky and it just

[00:32:55] shoots down like curtains

[00:32:58] That's all I can know if you've never seen the Aurora live or in person before it feels like

[00:33:04] There's some kind of party curtain

[00:33:07] Coming down from the sky like a stage curtain and it's

[00:33:10] It's it's it's unreal. Honestly. It's unreal

[00:33:15] I know if this happens to me get it today. I see this I forget to make a picture surely

[00:33:23] It's quite easy to make it for yourself, you know, you've got to put your head in here

[00:33:29] Yes

[00:33:30] Ready for it

[00:33:32] So get it you also run workshops, right?

[00:33:37] Yes, we do yeah myself for my

[00:33:40] My partner in workshops

[00:33:42] landscape workshops my partner's just been to tenor reef last week and

[00:33:48] taking some of the

[00:33:50] Tide is it tidy or TV?

[00:33:52] Tidy

[00:33:53] Tidy, yeah, um, so

[00:33:55] Hopefully, you know, this is the beginning really of our workshop venture really

[00:34:01] Tenor Eves gonna be

[00:34:02] 2025

[00:34:04] But we've got one planned in two weeks for a week on

[00:34:08] Badzley Island

[00:34:09] Which is a little little island

[00:34:12] Smaller angle see but the skies on the Shadyn Peninsula and Wales is super dark

[00:34:19] Absolutely, I thought you know, I think it's one of the darkest places in Wales

[00:34:24] So I'm really looking forward to going to put the Milky Way there in two or three weeks

[00:34:30] And I hope we get some things guys for our clients because not gonna be special

[00:34:37] So for anybody listening if maybe they are a beginner carrot

[00:34:42] Give me maybe two or three techniques or camera settings

[00:34:46] They will need to master a bit when to go for astrophotography

[00:34:50] the biggest tip I can give you as for a

[00:34:54] For a beginner cinematographer is

[00:34:57] It's to learn where all the buttons on your camera is without even looking

[00:35:02] If you can manage to set the ISO without looking

[00:35:06] To change aperture without looking to change

[00:35:10] Speed without looking to change lenses without

[00:35:13] half looking

[00:35:15] It will benefit any any beginner

[00:35:19] So knowing your camera inside out basically where all the settings are my button does what?

[00:35:24] How to zoom in on the back of your screen these little things will help you massively massively

[00:35:31] As for settings

[00:35:33] My go-to settings would be

[00:35:35] For a pure dark sky would be ISO

[00:35:38] 5000 as wide as you can with your aperture

[00:35:42] 1.8 f2 f2.8 f3.5 f4 really

[00:35:47] Then depends on this is where a lot of people get stuck I think with what wide angle lens they have

[00:35:55] If you've got wide angle lens you've got to factor in the rule of 500

[00:36:00] There are people

[00:36:01] Yeah, I heard of the rule of 500, but I always go on the rule of 600

[00:36:06] So the times are shorter. So my times are shorter for the exposure

[00:36:11] But I'm more than 100 certain that my start and it's gonna trail

[00:36:16] Garrett you ever thought of shooting the night sky with a film camera just for fun

[00:36:22] I have thought about it. Yeah, I have thought about it and to be honest

[00:36:26] You know my knowledge of film cameras were was very basic about two years ago and during lockdown

[00:36:32] I had a bit of a dabble with a

[00:36:35] There was a 6 5

[00:36:37] I don't know what the name of the camera was out

[00:36:39] Anyway, it was a film camera and it had the really it's a medium format film

[00:36:44] So it was a big ish camera and the fit and the film was huge on it

[00:36:48] And I didn't even know you know to set the iso you'd have to buy the film with the iso on it and I was like what?

[00:36:56] But I never used a film camera before and I didn't even know that iso was part of the film not a setting on the camera

[00:37:05] And I felt so stupid when I found out

[00:37:09] I'd love to give it a go one time. I think definitely

[00:37:12] And for astrophotography, I think it's a real challenge

[00:37:16] Film cameras. Oh

[00:37:18] Yes, yeah

[00:37:20] Nothing to give you a heads up of how sharp you are or if you're in focus

[00:37:25] The only thing that you can control there. I think it's a bit of luck

[00:37:28] There's no test shots to be had to see how far off focus you are or

[00:37:34] How in focus you are

[00:37:36] So, yeah, it sounds like a minefield of frustrations

[00:37:39] To be honest thank god for digital cameras. I think there's always a I think there's always a romance with film camera

[00:37:46] There's always a nostalgia or

[00:37:48] A retro feel and you know by gone era kind of romance talking about

[00:37:54] Memories almost here get it

[00:37:57] In all the years you are shooting now. Tell me about one of your most memorable moments

[00:38:04] You had while you were outside

[00:38:07] I've had so many but I think

[00:38:11] The best would have been

[00:38:14] For my weather photographer the photo

[00:38:17] It's a picture of me standing

[00:38:19] Up above cloudy version on snowden

[00:38:22] But that was not

[00:38:24] That was not intentional that shot didn't even cross my mind. It was gonna happen

[00:38:29] It all started a friend of mine wanted to go to mil QA from the top of snowden

[00:38:34] So we made some plans nailed on a date which we thought was going to be clear

[00:38:39] And then we met up at the car park and we walked up an hour or two up a mountain

[00:38:45] We got to this location and all this fog came in off the mountain

[00:38:49] This this can't be happening, you know, and you know, we were in this fog for about two and a half hours

[00:38:55] And it was about half 11

[00:38:58] And this fog just started to settle

[00:39:01] And I thought that's had to amaze well

[00:39:03] If we get high enough on the mountain, we could get above it

[00:39:08] And as I was saying this, I wasn't realizing what I was saying. Basically, I was like

[00:39:13] I've

[00:39:14] oblivious to the the factor that we go work and have an amazing cloud inversion underneath us

[00:39:20] But I was blinkered by thinking are we gonna have so much stars above them. It's gonna be amazing

[00:39:26] Anyway, we were walking up through these clouds and

[00:39:30] Finally got above this cloud inversion

[00:39:33] And the temperature just went from cold to warm within virtually two minutes

[00:39:39] I was like I looked back on on the route we were coming up and I could see all this

[00:39:44] Cloud curving the whole of snowdonia

[00:39:48] National park and we were like, oh my god. This is actually happened

[00:39:53] You know, we're like gom smacked

[00:39:55] So we celebrated and had some food had some coffee and made some plans of what was gonna show

[00:40:03] You know having that cloud inversion and looking over most of snowdonia and

[00:40:09] You know thinking that everybody else was bound on like ground zero as as to speak

[00:40:15] You know on sea level could not see any any stars

[00:40:18] And we were up on the maybe

[00:40:21] 800-900 meters above sea level and we could see every star from

[00:40:26] You know from the night sky was unreal

[00:40:29] And then obviously as the night passed on the milky way came up

[00:40:34] As the milky way came up, maybe an hour later

[00:40:37] The moon came up and I was like oh moon rise milky way rise and then the sun came up

[00:40:42] I was like, oh my god. I didn't even plan for this, you know

[00:40:46] And as the sun came up, I saw this opportunity to take a shot of me

[00:40:51] standing on a rock and

[00:40:54] turning these clouds into like

[00:40:57] A sea of clouds basically like a liquid

[00:40:59] On a long exposure and

[00:41:02] You know standing still for 30 seconds after being up all night. It's not easy

[00:41:08] But yeah, that's got to be my you know

[00:41:12] memorable most memorable night in photography

[00:41:16] So we can almost say it's

[00:41:18] an accidental shot and this is the one that got you the

[00:41:22] The weather photographer of the year award. Yes. Yeah, I wouldn't call it accident

[00:41:28] I'm more of a I'd call it more of an optimistic or

[00:41:32] Tunistic. Mm-hmm. So, you know, I think that's when you when you get to a certain

[00:41:38] level in photography you tend to see or

[00:41:42] You tend to yeah, you tend to see more

[00:41:45] Photographic opportunities

[00:41:46] While it's not with the camera

[00:41:48] Obviously when you're with the camera then you can put your practice into pictures and you know, I think mountain images are

[00:41:56] Opportunistic at best of times and people go up there into the clag into the

[00:42:01] unknown as such and

[00:42:03] Maybe a light shall come through the cloud and it's it's all about grabbing your camera quickly

[00:42:09] Knowing what to do and clicking

[00:42:11] And this is where they

[00:42:13] You know it goes to end for any photography

[00:42:15] I think to know what your camera can do or where the buttons are because the minute you start using your camera as a

[00:42:22] tool rather than an object that's costing you a lot of money in the bag and you kind of kind of scared not to use it because

[00:42:28] It's expensive

[00:42:30] But that camera is meant to be handled like a like any tool. I think

[00:42:34] I could join her with his

[00:42:37] saw or

[00:42:38] Hammer or a plumber with his blowtorch. It's it's got to be used as a tool rather than a

[00:42:44] Like an expensive box in the bag that doesn't it's scared to be used, you know

[00:42:50] Very wise words Garrett and I think on this note

[00:42:54] We will let you go off because I see outside here the night sky has fallen and I'm sure you have to make pictures

[00:43:01] Surely something good is happening outside

[00:43:03] I

[00:43:05] I

[00:43:07] I

[00:43:09] I

[00:43:11] I

[00:43:13] I

[00:43:15] I

[00:43:17] I

[00:43:19] I

[00:43:21] I

[00:43:23] I

[00:43:25] I

[00:43:27] I

[00:43:29] I

[00:43:32] There you go

[00:43:33] An in-depth talk with Garrett about what drives him to go out at night case up to that night sky and make beautiful pictures

[00:43:39] I hope it has opened up your eyes a little bit too

[00:43:42] Don't forget to think about all what he just told and if you found some advice to get better shots

[00:43:47] We'd love it. You share them with us

[00:43:49] Talking about sharing, you know our podcast is available on all the big podcast players

[00:43:54] Such as apple spotify youtube so you can subscribe there leave us a review and it will help the show a lot moving forwards

[00:44:01] Talking about moving forwards the team needs caffeine to sort out our weekly podcast

[00:44:05] So there is a link in the show notes to support us with the coffee

[00:44:08] I leave you today with the quote not a lot of photographers this time

[00:44:11] But the great painter Vincent van Gogh who said for my part, I know nothing with any certainty

[00:44:18] But the sight of the stars makes me want to dream

[00:44:21] Now go out make some stories and move your photography. Thanks for listening and see you next time. Bye