1st Edition
Creative Nightscapes and Time-Lapses Your Complete Guide to Conceptualizing, Planning and Creating Composite Nightscapes and Time-Lapses
Creative Nightscapes and Time-Lapses is your all-in-one guide to making spectacular, multi-image nightscapes and time-lapses. Covering everything from conceptualization and planning to post-processing, this book features innovative cookbook-style "recipes" for each composite nightscape and time-lapse project.
Beginning with a review of the key fundamentals of astronomy and photography, author Mike Shaw covers the latest methods for planning your night shooting sessions and how to set up your gear to get the best constituent images. The book precisely details how to combine images into 12 different varieties of state-of-the-art nightscape trophies, each impossible to capture in a single image, before demonstrating how to create stunning level and ramp time-lapses that transition fluidly from day to night.
Each nightscape and time-lapse project category includes specific tips for (i) acquiring the constituent images; (ii) assembling them into the composite image or time-lapse; (iii) overcoming common obstacles and (iv) finding the best subjects. Providing examples of how to apply these techniques in the field through four detailed case studies, including one, three-night immersive retreat, this book is the comprehensive guide to creating creative nightscapes and time-lapses.
Foreword by Bryan F. Peterson
Preface
Acknowledgements
Section I. What Are Creative Nightscapes and Time-Lapses?
Chapter 1 Introduction and Artistic Philosophy
Section II. Single-Image Acquisition for Nightscapes and Time-Lapses
Chapter 2 Night Sky Fundamentals for Nightscapes
Chapter 3 Single-Image Photography Necessities for Nightscapes
Chapter 4 Planning Your Shot(s)
Chapter 5 Resources & Apps for Nightscapes
Chapter 6 Equipment for Multi-Image Nightscapes and Time-Lapses
Chapter 7 Daytime Field Scouting and Camera Technique
Chapter 8 Common Obstacles and Solutions
Section III. Creative Nightscape Image Processing & Applications
Chapter 9 Lightroom Fundamentals for Creative Nightscapes
Chapter 10 Photoshop Basics for Creative Nightscapes
Chapter 11 Basic Two-Image Blending – The Fundamental Process
Chapter 12 Composite Star Trail Images
Chapter 13 Sun and Moon Composites
Chapter 14 Meteor Shower Composites
Chapter 15 High Dynamic Range (HDR) Composites
Chapter 16 Panoramas: Milky Way, Aurora and More
Chapter 17 360° Panoramas and Virtual Reality Animations
Chapter 18 Light Painted Composites
Chapter 19 Composite Light Drawing Nightscapes
Section IV. Creative Nightscape Time-Lapse Video Processing
Chapter 20 Level Nightscape Time-Lapse Assembly
Chapter 21 Holy Grail Time-Lapses
Chapter 22 Including Motion in Your Nightscape Time-Lapses
Chapter 23 Final Production of Your Nightscape Time-Lapse
Section V. Detailed Case Studies
Chapter 24 Four Case Studies
Section VI. Conclusions
Index
Biography
Mike Shaw is a professional photographer and author who leads workshops around the world. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.S. in Ceramic Engineering from the Ohio State University, and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Shaw is a former physics and astronomy professor who has taught thousands of students. He also conducts educational workshops for the public, including astronomy and astrophotography outreach seminars for the U.S. National Park Service. He is the author of The Complete Guide to Landscape Astrophotography (2017) and the co-author of Integrated Science: New Approaches to Education (2009).
"Creative Nightscapes covers a lot of night photography territory! It’s the perfect companion to Mike’s Complete Guide to Landscape Astrophotography book. The chapters on time-lapse photography are especially insightful. For those wanting to go beyond simple Milky Way astro-landscape photography, Mike Shaw's new book is a must-have." Royce Bair, Author of Milky Way NightScapes
"When the educational experiences of a physics professor are combined with knowledge of astronomy and excellent night photography skills, you come up with what Mike Shaw is delivering in his illuminating astrophotography learning books."
Babak Tafreshi, Photography Director, The World at Night
"Mike has provided the most comprehensive guide to the subject in print. I highly recommend it!"
Alan Dyer, Astrophotographer and Author, AmazingSky.com
