First Published December 9th 2017
Wanted to get this one out before the new year.
For the last few years the height of the perseids has been hit and miss whether there were going to be clouds in the way like every other time i’ve wanted to shoot these.
Taking a look at the weather the day before going out, and thinking, we can do it this year. The cloud cover should be fairly clear.
I put it out there to see who was interested and a few people were up for it.
A friend who had never been out to do this before and a couple of other friends with more experience.
We decided Bradgate Park as a middle ground for everyone that would be clearer than most places in Leicestershire for light pollution. A bonus point is the amazing scenery.
Cropped Shot of the ruins and a Meteor. Exif: f2.8, ISO1000, 30 Seconds
We took up a spot near the Ruins of Lady Jane Greys house and setup.
I will do a small guide on what i usually take very soon.
I setup my D3200 in one direction with a 10-20mm Sigma lens and My D750 with a great shot of the Ruins.
As we started shooting another old friend turned up with his telescope to check out the moon rise, which was pretty nice to be honest. Especially viewed through a telescope. It was great to see you Steve, and your very welcome on any future excursions.
The problem was this evening, was the moon. It started rising around 11:30 and really lit the place up so much, it kind of washed out the milkyway and also a lot of the meteors.
However it was better than previous years and attempts.
Nikon D3200, composite of anything interesting caught with the camera.
Exif: f4.0, iso800, 30 seconds
You can see a lot of meteorites, but the rest of the image is pretty dark. Should have pushed the ISO a bit more.
The Perseids normally emanate from near the Perseus Constellation, which on the above photo is at the centre right, below Cassiopeia. Most were coming from around that area, but they were streaking all over the sky. It was a great sight to behold.
My other camera, i had setup a bit better and took a little more time over. Because there was a lot of crossover between the two composites, catching some of the same, brighter meteors.
D750, Samyang 14mm f2.8 MF lens. Exif f2.8,ISO1000, 30 Seconds. This is of course a composite.
Some of the meteors we did see over the evening, did not show on any of the shots unfortunately. Some just not bright enough, some washed out, and some not in the shot.
Either way, when the cameras were doing their thing, we busted out the coffee and chocolate hobnobs. One of the great things about doing a group shoot like this is the banter and chatting. A lot of talking about future ideas, locations and swapping knowledge.
Because the cameras are just shooting in one place and direction a great by product is this.
D750, Samyang 14mm f2.8 MF lens. Exif f2.8,ISO1000, 30 Seconds. This is a stack of 200 shots.
Unfortunately halfway through my tripod was knocked a little and slightly shifted, so couldn’t use the next 175. That would have made for an outstanding trail.
The editing of this included a lot of techniques which i will go over in the future.
Here’s to next year being as clear.
I now have a store for Prints and anything else. Look at the top of the page and click on Shop. If you want to email me for a custom order, or something not in the shop drop me an email.
Finally, have fun and stay safe, and enjoy shooting.
Any suggestions for future blog posts, drop me an email. I will at some point be going into more detail on future posts.
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