Astrophotography: My Year in Pictures 2017

[John Baker]

I did a set of these last year on here - Over the last 10 years I have set myself the challenge of trying to get an inspiring image each month. The challenge was originally based on any subject, however, over the last couple of years this has been refined to simply to try to get an astro image each month that put a smile on my face. 

Casting my mind back, I did not think I was out for that many evenings. The magic mix of clear skies, moonless nights, tides, milky way proved elusive and at time highly frustrating. Thankfully when I started to look for images I was really surprised in that I found that the number of keepers per trip had gone up considerably.

January – I was trying an astro tracker, the idea is that the camera follows the stars, to reduce the ISO, shorten the exposure, stop down and stack multiple images, all with the aim of improving quality. I eventually managed to get a stack of 10 images of the Orion Nebula and an image I was proud of.

February & March I was able to get to Queensland, Australia and shoot the amazing sky they have. Seeing the iconic Southern Cross, both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds as well as the Core of the Milky Way above my head was truly inspirational, it was far grander than any of the views we get in the Northern Hemisphere, I did really struggle with having all the constellation upside down.

April - I was able to get an image that was a year in the planning a cave astro image. Having looked at numerous options, I eventually found what I was after at the Langstone Rock at Dawlish, while shots from the small cave worked, the best shot was actually taken under the large rock arch. The delay was waiting for one of the few months with views of the Milky Way Core, low tide and clear skies.

May - I was visiting family in Scotland, while the Aurora kept well away, I was able to get a great image of the ISS passing over the Dumfries and Galloway National Park.

June - I met up with members from the Bickington Camera Club for an astro evening at Combestone Tor. While the forecast was not great, thankfully the heavens cleared and allowed some great views of the sky.

July – I was booked to speak at the Teignmouth and Dawlish Camera Club later in the year and was keen to see what I could get from my home town. Walking along the sea wall to Sprey Point I was rewarded with a great view of the London – Penzance railway line and a great view of the milky way, the Andromeda Galaxy and a passing meteor.

August – while a large chunk of the US was able to see a total solar eclipse, I was able to do the much smaller local Devon version, at only a couple of % coverage it was still a great sight. The eclipse was only visible for around 20 minutes before the sun disappeared over the horizon, but it was enough to get some memorable shots. It was also great to finally meet up with Jonathan Green from the excellent Sky at Night Photography Facebook Group.

September – It is strange how there are shots you want to try to get, the iconic shot of a tent at night is one of the standard night images. It was great to find a young family camping out at the Combestone Tor and tick another shot of the list.

October – Another long-planned trip this time down to the Cheesewring on Bodmin Moor. This is one of those amazing locations during the day, but so very different at night as the 700ft Carradon Hill TV mast with its red lights dominate the area. The mile walk out to the rock stacks at the Cheesewring is an interesting challenge and we totally missed the Hurler stone circle in the dark – a grand location with lots of potential.

November – I was out in Paphos, Cyprus. Thanks to the help of Andreas Tsokkalides and his Eco Tour Adventures, I was able to get back into the Akamas Peninsula. While we did a couple of locations getting into the Avakas Gorge in the dark was awesome and seeing the milky way above was a great image. It was also grand to be joined by Stuart John Baker.

December – Having gone full circle I was out recently with the tracker, this time shooting at 200mm and a stack of 7 shots of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

Of course, some months were really difficult, others there were far too many images to pick from and I will include a couple of extras of those that did not make the cut.

A big thank you to all my friends and colleagues who support and encourage me, also the amazing astrophotographers from around the world that keep me motivated and inspired who are all pushing the quality envelope ever higher.

 

I hope you like them...

 

[orion25]

Incredible images, John. What a year! Thanks for sharing 

[N3ptune]

Wow all images inhere are incredible.

I like your theme with the rocks vs the sky, that's beautiful. Thanks for sharing us your passion with us.

 

[Stu]

Wonderful images John, will have a better look through those later.

[John Baker]

17 minutes ago, Stu said:

Wonderful images John, will have a better look through those later.

Thanks for feeding back, they were fun to do and it's only when I put them together I realised how good the year had been.

17 minutes ago, Stu said:

Wonderful images John, will have a better look through those later.

Thank you for the comment...

[John Baker]

3 hours ago, N3ptune said:

Wow all images inhere are incredible.

I like your theme with the rocks vs the sky, that's beautiful. Thanks for sharing us your passion with us.

I am only just getting to the longer lens work. I still love trying to balance the sky into the landscape and show what you cannot see with the eye. I was hoping to get a chance to do more combined tracking and landscape but the "sky gods" conspired against me for most of the year - I hope 2018 is kind to us...

[Fozzie]

Fantastic images John, a real passion and talent come through in those.. envious of the skills involved not just in capturing but in the processing too.. thanks for sharing.

Ta

fozzie 

[carastro]

Excellent work, you get around to different locations quite a bit don't you.

Carole 

[John Baker]

2 hours ago, Fozzie said:

Fantastic images John, a real passion and talent come through in those.. envious of the skills involved not just in capturing but in the processing too.. thanks for sharing.
Ta
fozzie 

No problem, always nice to get some great feedback

[John Baker]

57 minutes ago, carastro said:

Excellent work, you get around to different locations quite a bit don't you.
Carole 

I admit the Aus trip was a bit of a trek, but my daughter qualified as a nurse and I took the family out for the graduation. So getting out with the camera was a real bonus and I am so envious of those awesome Southern skies
Cyprus was a late holiday, it was the driver who did the hard work and got me into the locations, going a mile up a gorge in total darkness was an interesting and eerie experience - the only hard thing was sacrificing most of my luggage allowance for the tripod and camera kit.

Processing is half the fun, but then I am a professional photographer who has developed an interest in low light/astro work - but appreciate that its a steep learning curve, but well worth the effort

[davew]

You've got some lovely shots there. A lesson in photography

Your foreground interest is what makes so many of them special. Very nice,

Dave.

[swag72]

What a fantastic collection  

 

[John Baker]

8 hours ago, swag72 said:

What a fantastic collection  

 

HI Sara, many thanks for your comment

8 hours ago, davew said:

You've got some lovely shots there. A lesson in photography
Your foreground interest is what makes so many of them special. Very nice,
Dave.

Thanks Dave, getting the foreground is key for me, it gives the image a context. While I love deep space shots they could be taken from anywhere,  trying to add local interest adds interest and a different dynamic

[Scooot]

That’s a marvellous set John, really enjoyed looking through them.  

[Pete Presland]

Fabulous collection of images, you have certainly clocked up some miles as well!

[John Baker]

21 hours ago, Scooot said:

That’s a marvellous set John, really enjoyed looking through them.  

Thank you, they were fun to do, the big challenge is to try to improve on them next year...

1 hour ago, Pete Presland said:

Fabulous collection of images, you have certainly clocked up some miles as well!

I don't think 2018 will be quite so ambitious  I will be staying closer to home, lots of plans, I just need the skies to co-operate

[Pete Presland]

3 hours ago, John Baker said:

Thank you, they were fun to do, the big challenge is to try to improve on them next year...

I don't think 2018 will be quite so ambitious  I will be staying closer to home, lots of plans, I just need the skies to co-operate

Good luck with that weather business  

[johnfosteruk]

Outstanding collection John. I'd like to go out on a shoot with you one day

 

[John Baker]

14 hours ago, Pete Presland said:

Good luck with that weather business  

Just getting a clear sky would be a nice start  

12 hours ago, johnfosteruk said:

Outstanding collection John. I'd like to go out on a shoot with you one day

that would be good, the real problem is the fickle weather which always makes planning an issue - but would be happy to hook up at some stage...  

A couple of shots from the last time I was down in Plymouth, having fun with the firework championship - appropriate as we head into the New Year 

[RichM63]

An absolutely inspirational set John.

Simply superb!!!

[John Baker]

1 hour ago, RichM63 said:

An absolutely inspirational set John.

Simply superb!!!

Thank you for that, I know that landscape wide-field is a slightly different beast, but I must admit I have a lot of fun doing these and I have quite a lot of success with them commercially in the national and international press

[happy-kat]

Enjoyed the read as well as the images

[johnfosteruk]

11 hours ago, John Baker said:

Just getting a clear sky would be a nice start  

that would be good, the real problem is the fickle weather which always makes planning an issue - but would be happy to hook up at some stage...  

A couple of shots from the last time I was down in Plymouth, having fun with the firework championship - appropriate as we head into the New Year

Planning, what's that?

If you're heading out, drop me a pm, if I'm free I'm free and if I'm not I'm not.

Unique firework photographs, very nice indeed. 

[John Baker]

11 hours ago, johnfosteruk said:

Planning, what's that?

If you're heading out, drop me a pm, if I'm free I'm free and if I'm not I'm not.
Unique firework photographs, very nice indeed. 

Sounds a plan, I normally try to get to Burgh Island & Bigbury a couple of times a year which I see from your link to PAS is a favourite location...

A couple of shots from the last good shoot I had there - HNY & all that

    

[MND]

Fantastic set of images.....