Tag: astrophotography

Perseid Meteor Shower

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“Perseid Meteor Shower” Cedar Park, 2020

I tried my hand at capturing some of the meteors of this year’s Perseid Meteor Shower by setting up my X100T’s intervalometer and letting it shoot for a few hours, then checking the results for shooting stars. The five-hour span resulted in seven shooting stars, which I combined into the composite photo above. It’s pretty neat how almost all of them originate from the same point, isn’t it? I’m happy with the results, but next year I will keep the camera going all night which will require that I wake up twice in the middle of the night to reset the camera, unless I upgrade to the latest X100, which can shoot all night all by itself. (my current camera has a 999 exposure limit)

Since I had a lot of images, I created a time-lapse video. It’s not optimal for viewing shooting stars, but I think it’s fun to watch anyways. 😀

Spotting Comet NEOWISE

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 10 sec, ISO800
 “Comet NEOWISE” Cedar Park, 2020

I finally saw Comet NEOWISE! Thanks to my friend Jeremy’s tips and advice, I was able to spot the comet just over the treeline and captured a couple of photos with my Fujifilm X100T camera. It’s the first comet I’ve ever seen so I was pretty stoked. 😄☄

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 13 sec, ISO200
 “Comet NEOWISE” Cedar Park, 2020

I make Mariko laugh when I came back from the photo session because I was carrying my tripod/camera, had my headlamp on my forehead, and around my neck was my compass and binoculars. I struck a pose and she said “Dasai!!” (uncool) 🤣

Suburban Stars

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Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 0mm, f/0, 13 sec, ISO3200
 “House and Stars” Cedar Park, 2020

I managed to take this photo before turning in for the evening (I sleep so early these days!). This 9:15 pm photo still shows a little glow from the sun, but the lack of a moon and the less-polluted skies allow for some decent star photos, even from suburbia. That bright star in the center is actually the planet Venus. Super bright as usual! This is a 13-second exposure using a Sony NEX-6 and Sigma 10-20 mm lens, at a 15 mm full-frame equivalent focal distance, ISO 3200, with a quick edit in Adobe Lightroom 5.7. 🌌

Lucky Shot 🌠

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Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 0mm, f/0, 13 sec, ISO3200
 “Lucky Shot” Cedar Park, 2020

The early-evening moonless sky was pretty clear so I decided to do a little astro-photography out on the back deck. I used the Sony NEX-6 paired with the Sigma 10-20 mm lens to take a few RAW snaps, and when I got to editing in Adobe Lightroom, I noticed that I managed to capture a shooting star. 🌠 Lucky!!!

Photo details:
ISO: 3200
Shutter speed: 13 seconds
Aperture: f/4
Post-processing: Adobe Lightroom 5.7

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Backyard Stars with the Fujifilm X100T

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2, 13 sec, ISO800
 “Starry Night” Cedar Park, 2020

こんばんは。How’s it going?

This evening the skies in my neighborhood were relatively clear so I set up my Fujifilm X100T in the backyard to do a little astrophotography time-lapse. I got started a bit late, and it was very cold, so I only let it run for about an hour. Still, I am pleased with how it turned out. Please take a look:

Speaking of cameras, the Fujifilm X100V was announced recently, and I am almost positive that I will be upgrading from my X100T. The new model will be a huge step up for me since I will be skipping a generation (X100F). As far as time-lapse capabilities go, the X100T’s longest shutter speed while using the electronic shutter was only 1 second, thus forcing me to use the mechanical shutter which causes a bit of flickering. The X100F fixed this by maximizing it to 30 seconds. Also, the maximum number of exposures using the interval timer has changed from 999 on the X100T to “infinity” on the X100F. This will be key for creating longer time-lapses without having to babysit the camera. Exciting!

The only thing I still wish for is the ability to lock down the aperture during the time-lapse. The way it works with the T is that the aperture re-adjusts every photo, so there is a slight difference in each exposure which causes flickering in the time-lapse. This forces me to shoot wide-open, which isn’t always the best… However, the X100V has a new lens design which makes shooting at f/2 much sharper. All-in-all, the X100V will be better for time-lapse photography, and I am looking forward to it!