The starry sky is not only something that is explored by scientists using giant telescopes. It is also observed by numerous amateurs, and some of them even take photos.
Astrophotography is quite a popular hobby, because it gives amateurs the opportunity to take photos, which then become the decoration of social networks and news sites. Therefore, we decided to make quick-fire questions of the best Ukrainian photographers about how they started this activity and what they advise beginners.
Serhii Khomenko
Can you tell us what you do besides photographing the starry sky?
I’m a rock musician and do video editing. But I can do anything up to the point of welding.
How did you get started in astrophotography?
I actually started doing this back in the 1980s. I used to teach astrophotography at the Kyiv Planetarium, Pioneers Palace in Kyiv. I have no profile education as such, but I was a student of the outstanding Ukrainian astronomer Klym Churiumov for two years on the line of the Small Academy of Sciences. I knew Klym Ivanovych quite well.
What space object do you most enjoy photographing?
Comets. There is no favorite among them, but this whole class of objects is my peculiar fetish. However I also photograph planets, galaxies and other objects.
What is your advice for those who want to photograph the sky?
Start taking photos of the sky. What other advice is there? You should just go and do it. About the high cost… everyone decides for him/herself, whether to buy cool jeans or something for a hobby. A good telescope can cost as much as a car on average.
Andrii Nykolenko
Can you tell us what you do besides photographing the starry sky?
Photography and programming.
How did you get started in astrophotography?
I have been interested in astronomy since childhood, and even in school I tried to photograph (the Moon close-up, on a film camera through a spyglass Tourist-5 20×30 — perhaps my very first astrophotography), it was in the late 80’s, early 90’s of the last century).
What space object do you most enjoy photographing?
There are probably a lot of them, objects that are interesting and beautiful and that I love to photograph. Since I photograph more often with ordinary photographic optics (rarely through a telescope), I photograph areas of the sky with several objects. For example, the star Antares and its vicinity (perhaps my favorite part of the sky, which I have photographed many times — almost every year, in fact).
What is your advice for those who want to photograph the sky?
If possible, travel more often to dark places with minimal sky illumination, in the countryside. There even with minimal modest tools (camera, fast lens, tripod) you can get good pictures of many objects, and if you add an astro-tracker, you can capture the celestial beauty for more than one year. And you don’t have to buy a telescope for that at all.
Vitalii Smolianchuk
Can you tell us what you do besides photographing the starry sky?
Now, War, I spend most of my free time making antennas for our soldiers. This production started in July 2022, and since then, about 1500 of our products got to the front.
Actually, I am not so much an astrophotographer as a visual observer. This is worth noting, because it was in the autumn of 2022 that my friend and I set a “visual” world record. We were the first people in the world to run the Autumn Marathon (also called the M+ Marathon) without maps, purely from memory. It was very gratifying to learn that the Germans wrote about us, then.
How did you get started in astrophotography?
I really wanted to reflect the incredible atmosphere that reigns during the observations, that’s why astroscape is my favorite genre.
What space object do you most enjoy photographing?
It is not an object, in the generally accepted plan, because it doesn’t have a clearly defined name. This section of the Milky Way, starting near Rho Ophiuchus and passing by the star Sabik (Eta Ophiuchus) is the most picturesque cluster of dark nebulae called the Dark Horse of Ophiuchus.
What is your advice for those who want to photograph the sky?
Sure, I can provide a definite “guide” to equipment for beginners, or recommend some interesting items, but better still …..
The universal advice that is found in both Stoic philosophy and many Eastern philosophical movements is to find balance. Balance between your regular life and your hobby, and also be sure to find an additional source of strength. Because you need a lot of them to live a full life and to photograph something.
Ildar Ibatullin
Can you tell us what you do besides photographing the starry sky?
I am 19 years old and I am a second year student at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Faculty of Radio Physics, Electronics and Computer Systems. Before that, I studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. In addition to astrophotography, I also do casual photography. Also I don’t neglect sports. I practice swimming, but also at an amateur level.
How did you get started in astrophotography?
At first, astronomy caught my attention not as a science, but as something majestic and beautiful. I was amazed by beautiful nebulae and large galaxies. Then, after joining the physics and mathematics faculty, I began to explore astronomy as a science, delving into formulas and calculations. Subsequently, I decided to buy a telescope to begin my observations. Astrophotography came after the observations, when I wanted to share them with people. I was involved in photography at the time and I loved capturing what struck me and then showing family and friends.
What space object do you most enjoy photographing?
I love capturing the Moon. It is the most trivial celestial object for observation and photography in our community, but for some reason it is the one I get the most pleasure from. This is most likely because of its impressive look, brightness, and availability to make photos in all conditions.
What is your advice for those who want to photograph the sky?
I advise you not to rush into expensive equipment. You can even start with an ordinary family camera and a small tube/lens. The most important thing is to have fun and if there are goals to get great results then don’t give up!
Artem Myrhorod
Can you tell us what you do besides photographing the starry sky?
I work in the IT sphere. Besides astronomy, I am interested in physics, nature, and photographing birds.
How did you get started in astrophotography?
At first, I became interested in astronomy and observed celestial objects. Over time, a desire arose not only to observe but also to take photographs, because photographs are not erased from memory or distorted as memories.
What space object do you most enjoy photographing?
I can’t choose one thing because I capture everything. The Sun, the Moon, planets and deep space objects. All types of astrophotography have their own nuances. Planets should be captured quickly, because, for example, Jupiter rotates very quickly around its axis, objects of deep space for a long time (one object can be captured even several nights). The sun is convenient to photograph because it’s available during the day and you don’t have to sacrifice sleep.
What is your advice for those who want to photograph the sky?
Be prepared that you will have to read/watch a lot of tutorials to understand how to photograph various objects in general and how to process the results. You will have to learn a lot of software, and be ready for the fact that astrophotography, like many other hobbies, is a very expensive pleasure, if, of course, you do it seriously.
Volodymyr Kazhanov
Can you tell us what you do besides photographing the starry sky?
I am an astronomer guide, doing demonstration observations through a telescope and tours under the starry sky. My hobby has turned into a profession. I am an astronomer by training. I’ve also spent the last few years engaged in video blogging, photography and video of nature during daylight hours.
How did you get started in astrophotography?
I’ve been interested in “What’s that in the sky?” since my childhood. And when I found out and looked at it through a telescope, I wanted to take photos. Apparently because in parallel with the passion for astronomy from childhood I had a camera, and then a video camera …
What space object do you most enjoy photographing?
I’ve tried my hand at different areas of astrophotography. But I’m most interested in photographing the surface of the Moon through a telescope. Everyone has different conditions in life, different places of rest, and different permanent residences. For those who are lucky enough with a place and a lot of free time, they can shoot galaxies, nebulae, star clusters….
But I realized that in my case it is not an option. I take the telescope by car with all the equipment out of town under a dark place specially for shooting. I have, for example, one night (in summer it is literally a few hours of dark sky). So I’m more interested in the Moon. I can take several terabytes of data in a few hours and then process and study them for weeks and months. The moon is bright, you don’t have to accumulate light for hours for one photo, as you do when shooting distant, not-so-bright objects…
And it has also become interesting to take photos of the starry sky using wide angle lenses. Night landscapes, constellation patterns, meteor flares. There is a dream to get pictures of bright bolide flares. Because I have seen it with my own eyes several times in my lifetime, and I was very amazed.
What is your advice for those who want to photograph the sky?
Try it with the equipment you have, and then follow the situation. Even the cameras of many modern smartphones, with a special setting, can give cool pictures of the starry sky. You don’t have to rush to buy a lot of equipment at once. You should have them as you need them. Since different areas of astrophotography are quite different equipment. Telescopes with long focal lengths, or small … Astronomical cameras with large or small pixel … Try your hand at taking pictures of different objects and through different telescopes/cameras. You can choose what is closer and more interesting to you. Because I know astrophotographers who shoot deep space objects and constantly complain that they don’t have time to shoot the right number of frames … That the result was bad, and many hours of light accumulation were spent ….
I urge you not to suffer and torture yourself 🙂 This hobby can bring a lot of joy. Try other fields of astrophotography if you have no luck in one, or don’t get the results you expected at all.
