Blue Mountains Astrophotography Workshop

Come and join Jay for an exciting Blue Mountains Astrophotography workshop.
Our workshop will provide you will all the coaching and tuition you will need to capture the night sky, and, weather permitting, our evening session in the Blue Mountains will leave you with some stunning images to take home.
On this workshop, we will travel together from Katoomba in our dedicated 4WD tour vehicle and visit 3-4 different Astro Locations through the night. We suggest you arrive well rested as we will likely continue to shoot through to the early hours. As the Milky Way transits through the night sky, we will move from east to west facing compositions and find ourselves visiting some locations unknown to many.
Once we conclude our on-location component, and everyone has had the chance to travel home or to their accommodation for some rest, we will organise an appropriate time for us to reconvene the next day to go through our online post-processing tutorials via online Zoom video conference. If you miss the Zoom session, you will still get access to our online post processing video content.

Photographing the night sky in the Blue Mountains
Less than 2 hours drive from Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage area comprises over 1 million hectares of protected landscape containing vast sandstone lined valleys with some truly epic vistas, vast Euclaypt forests with many bushwalking tracks and trails. And for Night photographers, provides a clear and dark sky location where it is easy to capture the Milky Way and stars away from the intense light pollution of the city. While you are on one of our Blue Mountains Astrophotography Workshops, we will find a location where we can capture the incredible night skies juxtaposed with the natural landscape finding features to photograph that will leave you with stunning imagery.

On location photography coaching & tuition
Before we setup at our location, we will go through some Astro planning tips, the equipment you need and how to set it up for nightscaping. Once darkness falls, you will be tutored on the night sky, how to locate the Milky Way, how to find the Southern celestial pole, and how to setup your camera to capture the Galactic Core or Star Trail images and the settings to use for the different types of nightscape and astro images. We will also go through plenty of tips and guides for your nightscaping including headlamp etiquette, low-level lighting, managing lens fog, using filters, capturing panoramas and timelapse.

Online post processing tutorials live via Zoom
Once we have finished capturing the night sky, and after a good night sleep, we will reconvene via a Zoom conference to go through Post Processing of your images, teach you our quick and easy nightscape workflows, and answer any questions you have. We will set the timing for the post processing session based on agreement with the group.
If you are unable to access the Zoom conference live, it will be made available to you via a streaming service so you can watch through at your leisure at a later time.

Licensed Parks EcoPass & Accredited Guide
JAYDID PHOTO is a licensed NSW National Parks and Wildlife EcoPass Tour Operator with permission to host photography tours and workshops in the Blue Mountains and Wollemi National Parks. Where applicable, your National Park Entry Fees are included in your workshop fees.

Example Itinerary

Day 1 - Astro Shoot
4PM – Meet at Katoomba Railway Station
4:30PM – Astro Planning Tips and Equipment
5PM – Depart for Astro Shoot
6PM – 2AM – Travel between Astro Locations with on-location tutoring
2AM – Return to Katoomba
3AM – On-location Workshop closes

Day 2 - Post Processing & Tutorials
We will organise a suitable time to host our online post processing session with the group to ensure everyone is available. These times are just a guide.
10AM – Post Processing via Zoom Conference
12PM – Ask any questions
1PM – Workshop Closeout

• Learn how to Plan your Astrophotography and Nightscapes
• Learn how to setup your Camera for Astro and Nightscapes
• Learn about the night sky and how to locate the Milky Way
• Capture the Blue Mountains at night with a rising/setting Milky Way & star trails
• Learn the settings to use to capture the Milky Way or Star Trails
• Learn how to process your Astro images

• DSLR or Mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses and manual controls
• Wide angle lenses (anything from 10mm-24mm)
• Sturdy Tripod, Head & appropriate plates/mountings for your camera
• Shutter remote (cable or wireless)
• Fully charged batteries
• Empty memory cards
• A small towel to cover your camera
• ESSENTIAL – A working Headlamp
• Warm layered clothing suitable for Winter Winter
• Sturdy Hiking Boots or Shoes
• Water Bottle