The Sky We Lay Under
I don’t think enough people take the time out of their day to get outside and stop to take a look at the sky. So recently this past summer of 2020 I decided to try out Astrophotography for the first time. I loved every bit of the experience, so much so that I decided that I would use that as my focus for my thesis at NAIT. ‘The Sky We Lay Under’ is a 15 photo series based on the ideas by Alan Watts with his video “You are Eternal the Universe”. I fell in love with the audio instantly. The thesis also shows off the night sky of Canada within Alberta and Saskatchewan, it’s my small reminder to stop and take a look up at the sky if it’s a clear night. The universe is so unbelievably beautiful, and I’m so excited to dive deeper into my astrophotography so I can show that beauty more in my work.
‘Big Dipper Sunset’
Cypress Hills - Saskatchewan
These photos are a mix of landscape and zoomed in shots of stars and planets. When I had originally started I wanted to shoot more wide angle images, so I could include more of the environment around me. However the weather didn’t favour me too well most of the time, and with living in the city the light pollution caused a big challenge as well. On days when the sky was clear enough, I took the time to research what constellations would be out that day before the sun went down. As well as the position of the moon and what phase its currently in. I would have to travel to a different part of the world to get all of the moon phases as well since the north hemisphere where I lived only showed the first half of the moon phases. But with my 100mm lens it was very fun shooting the moon as close as I could.
‘Our Moon’
First half of Earth’s Moon Phases
Edmonton - Alberta
The thesis overall was a very challenging yet exciting new form of photography to try my hand at. It takes a lot of practice to learn the correct exposures and focus, stars move fast so a long shutter speed just wont do sometimes. But for star trailing the open shutter is your best friend. I would love to learn more on how to stack so I can get those long star streaks that span across the night sky. Finding a balance is key, and starting out with the highest ISO and working your way down from there is my helpful tip. Im quite happy with how everything turned out in the end, and I really hope the series inspires you to take the time to look up.
