Unlimited online viewable Video and Notes from the Astrophotography 101 Webinar (total time is 107 minutes) Astrophotography is a sub species of night photography that requires more specialized knowledge, more discipline, and usually more investment in time and equipment (i.e. cost!). Those super cool pictures of nebula and galaxies do not happen by accident.  Astrophotographers also have developed their own curious language with terms like guiding, tracking, mounts, GEM, integration time, flats, bias, and dark frames. The goal of this course is to provide the background information a potential astrophotographer will need to get started on the best foot - at the lowest investment.

1. Theory of astrophotography (long exposures, multiple exposures, integration time)
2. Tracking (what and why)
3. Lenses and cameras.
4. Inexpensive solutions for equipment, mounts, software.
5. Dark vs suburban skies
6. Proper exposure(s) - with visual examples
7. The top 3 challenges
8. Recommendations, costs and summary.
9. Q&A
10. Resources (Clubs, Books, Web Sites)

Note: If you're even moderately interested in Astrophotography, this class might save you from making 100s of dollars worth of bad investments.

Here is a photo taken with a cheap equatorial mount, a Canon 40D, a 1.4 tele-extender and a 70-200mm f/4 lens (cost of the equatorial mount < $350). Note this image was taken in town with an 80% illuminated moon.

The price includes notes and unlimited views of an online 1 hour and 7 minute video featuring Steven Christenson, Astronomy Photographer of the Year and founder of StarCircleAcademy presenting Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw processing techniques.

This recording is from the February 19 StarCircleAcademy webinar entitled "Salvaging Night Shots" and demonstrates several Photoshop techniques for correcting or repairing photos.

1. An out of focus star trail is saved by using an in-focus foreground element.
2. Using the Move tool to put Meteor streaks in their proper sky location
3. A star trail that suffered alignment problems due to an unstable tripod is salvaged.
4. Fixing star (or meteor) brightness using two different techniques.
5. And plenty of Photoshop tips, tricks and shortcuts.

Price: $12.00

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The price includes notes and unlimited views of an online 78 minute video featuring Steven Christenson, Astronomy Photographer of the Year and founder of StarCircleAcademy presenting Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw processing techniques.

Luminous Photos covers

1. Workflow Tips
2. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR = LR, PS, PSE) Tricks
3. Turn down Milky Way noise and turn UP the wonder (PS, plugin)
4. The "Dust" Technique for Creating Star Masks (PS) so you can make those stars pop.
5. Three time saving features of PS CS6
6. Luminosity masks - targeting highlight and shadow adjustments (PS)

Price: $15.00

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Unlimited online viewable Video and Notes from the NP150e Webinar

1. How to mix differently lit foreground and background scenes using advanced masking techniques. [PS]
2. Many different ways to create masks using channels, selections, copying and pasting of images, Luminosity, and more.
3. How to use Curves, Thresholds and filters to adjust and enhance masks - and your image. [PS]
4. A quick revisit of a powerful method for reducing noise: image averaging. [PS]
5. Useful tips for managing file sets in Lightroom and Adobe Bridge [PS,LR]
6. How to exploit the Power of Actions [PS] to save tedium. (Automating tasks)

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The price includes notes and unlimited views of an online 95 minute video featuring Eric Harness, Mr Panorama of StarCircleAcademy presenting Comprehensive Instructions on techniques, equipment and software for creating Panoramas and Vertoramas.

Panorama Extravaganza covers

1. Types of Panoramas
2. Equipment (with recommendations)
3. Compositional Tips
4. Set-up and shooting tips
5. Recommended Software
6. Stitching and Blending
7. Extensive information about PT GUI, Microsoft ICE and Photoshop Photomerge
8. Printing, Web Display and more...

Price: $25.00

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Undergoing Revisions due to new tools

TWO Videos and class notes from the Catching the Moon (and the Sun) Webinar. Shows how to use various tools to plan to catch the sun or moon rising or setting near a landmark, also includes notes (PDF reader required). Unlimited online viewing. Includes access to the MoonChaseTool. Total time is 3 hour, 20 minutes. Have you wanted to capture the moon "right where you want it" but weren't sure how? If you know you could resort to photo editing and fake it but you'd rather get the real deal then this class is for you.

Steven demonstrates how to determine when and where to go to capture an image like the Moon over Lick Observatory (below), or the moon at the Transamerica Building (left) or the sun shining through a portal in the Pacific Ocean (below).

In this video, you will be introduced to several free (and almost free) tools that you can use to plan a moon (or sun) shot. One indispensable tool covered in detail is the Photographer's Ephemeris by Stephen Trainor.

Steven shows how to plan a moon or solar "contact" shot. How to use the moon to illuminate your foreground, how the presence of the moon affects photos of the night sky, how to find information about interesting celestial events, how to find compelling locations for "alignment" images, and what camera settings you need to get it all exposed just right.

How many of these questions can you answer? The answers will tremendously help you capture the moon when and where you want it.

1. By definition a new moon is when what occurs?
2. What time of day is it when the Full moon rises?
3. How big (in angular degrees) is the moon? What focal length lens would you need to fill the frame with a shot of the moon?
4. How many days are there in a lunar cycle?
5. By approximately how much does the moonrise time change from one day to the next?
8. A full moon, directly overhead in the sky requires approximately what length of exposure at f/9, ISO 200 to preserve detail? How long would that exposure need to be for a fully eclipsed moon?
9. How long does it take for the moon to move it's full diameter in the sky?

Live Videos from the NP105 Creating Star Trails Webinar. Includes notes (PDF reader required) from the presentation. In the notes you will find a link and password allowing unlimited online viewing. Total time is 1 hour, 45 minutes.

What You'll Learn

1. Equipment recommendations
2. Camera settings for shooting star trails
3. Recommended workflow
4. What "Stacking" Is
5. How to create star trail images using free tools - StarStax (free)
6. Special tips and hints about where to point the camera and when.
7. How Moonlight affects your shot(s).
8. Some sneaky processing tips
9. How to overcome some common problems
10. Learn about the Advanced Stacker capabilities
11. Links to great resources

This video and notes are included in the Advanced Stacker PLUS bundle.

Video: 1 hour, 15 minutes. Unlimited online viewing. Harold Davis, author, professional photographer, and workshop leader presents his approach to Post Processing Night Photos. Includes stacking using the statistics capabilities of Photoshop Extended; An explanation of color space - and why you do not want to work in sRGB (default space) Creative sharpening of night images using LAB color, and a look at a workflow to make a New Jersey night scene stand out by applying multi-raw processing, and a handful of filters and special effects. Many of these techniques are covered in his books, particularly
The Photoshop Darkroom: Creative Digital Post-Processing