Matt George Photography

30/03/2024

This is my first post in a LONG time. But I wanted to join the many Astrophotographers around the world who are paying tribute to , who sadly passed away recently.

Through his YouTube channel, Alyn was one of the, pun intended, shining stars of the astrophotography scene. Sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject provided entertainment and education for so many, including myself.

Indeed, it's possible that without Alyn, I wouldn't have gotten to this stage in my astrophotography journey.

So, this one's for Alyn. It's my first 'proper' deep sky image. None other than the incredible Orion Nebula, or M42 (as in the 42nd object in the Messier catalogue of deep sky objects.

Naked-eye visible just below Orion's belt, this stellar nursery lies 1344 light years from earth. What you are looking at are vast clouds of gas, dust, ionised gas and associated stars. It's deservedly one of the most studied and photographed areas of the night sky.

Photographed from the dark skies of Botallack, Cornwall, UK.

Kit:
Sony A7iii (unmodified)
Skywatcher 72ed scope with 0.8 flattener / reducer
Skywatcher EQ3 goto mount
ZWO 120mm guide scope
ASIAir+ computer

Data:
50 minutes of 60 second subs, ISO800.
30 minutes of 30 second subs, ISO800
plus dark, flat, and bias frames

Processed in Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, and Lightroom.

26/05/2023

I was on the Isles of Scilly earlier this week. Finally an overnight visit coincided with some clear night skies.

This is my first warm-up photo of the night. This is Carn Leh Cove, near Old Town, St. Mary's.

25/04/2023

Here is the time-lapse of the northern lights from two nights ago. This is 607 photos in all. I had anticipated running the time lapse for several more hours, but after 30 minutes of total cloud cover, I decided I'd already captured some great shots and headed home to bed.

Make sure you watch in the highest quality available.

Thanks to John Varney for providing the music 'Sleeping Giants'.

Welcome to this breath-taking time-lapse video showcasing an intense display of the Northern Lights as seen from the Compressor House at Levant Mine in West ...

24/04/2023

We're in serious danger of taking the northern lights for granted in Cornwall - they're turning up every few weeks now! And this was the strongest showing yet.

I managed to take about 500 photos for a timelapse before half and hour of solid cloud made me opt for an earlier than anticipated night.

This is the old compressor house at Levant. The aurora is so strong, it's clearly reflected in the sea!

16/04/2023

Milky Way over Porthgwarra Cove, 15/04/23.

As a reasonably popular shot for astro folk locally, I half-expected to have company when I arrived here at 3.30am two nights ago. Luckily, I had the place to myself. It's also luck of the draw as to whether you'll have a fishing boat in situ, and once again my luck was in.

Loving the results with my Star Adventurer tracker.

Exif: Sony A7iii and Sony 14mm f1.8 GM lens, Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker.
Sky: 6 x 60', f2.8, ISO 800 plus 5 dark frames.
Foreground: 5 x 180', f2.8 ISO 800, plus 5 dark frames.

Initial editing in Lightroom, then sky shots stacked in Sequator. Foreground shots focus stacked in photoshop then stacked in Sequator. All further editing in photoshop.

12/04/2023

I couldn't resist doing another 360° spherical astro panorama during a rare clear night during the last new moon.

This time at Cornwall's most beautiful beach, Pednvounder. It was amazingly peaceful down there whilst I took the 118 photos required to make this beast.

27/03/2023

We were lucky enough to witness the 2021 Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption. Both Emily and I agreed it was probably the best thing we've ever done. After sitting on my hard drive for about a year-and-a-half, I've finally managed to edit the footage we captured.

Enjoy, and as always, like, comment, and share.

In this video, I bring you previously unseen footage of the 2021 Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption in Iceland. We were lucky enough to visit the site at the v...

27/03/2023

And here is the time lapse of that epic northern lights display I captured at Lanyon Quoit a few nights ago. There's a period in the middle where the aurorae are literally dancing across the sky!

Please like, comment, share, and subscribe!

This video has disrupted me sharing something very special too. I finally edited part 1 of our trip to the Fagradasfjall volcano in Iceland in 2021, so you're not going to want to miss that - coming soon!

Enjoy this time lapse of a rare super solar storm that was seen all across the globe in late March 2023. I captured this time lapse at the iconic Cornish sto...

25/03/2023

A stunning display of the northern lights at Lanyon Quoit two nights ago😃

08/03/2023

Orion and the Crowns

Taken on a rare clear night in January. I gave my new NiSi UK Star Soft filter a trial. I was very pleased with the results. It really helps the constellations pop!

06/03/2023

Explore west Cornwall, the Milky Way, and the Northern Lights, all in 3d 😎

This photo is a full 360 degree spherical panorama. Scroll around to enjoy the whole image. As you do so, you'll be panning 360 around the summit of Chapel Carn Brea, one of west Cornwall's highest points.

This was taken in the pre-dawn hours last Tuesday, at the end of the epic solar storm that gave epic displays of aurora activity across the world.

The likelihood of seeing the lights in Cornwall is always low, and whilst I wanted to capture them, I didn't want to miss an early-in-the-season chance to shoot the galactic core, which has recently reappeared.

As the northern lights and the milky-way are in opposite sides of the sky, how to capture them in the same image? Why, a 360 panorama, of course.

In fact, I didn't stop there, I embarked on an epic quest to construct a full 360 degree spherical panorama. I'm happy to say, it worked really well.

Similarly to the northern lights shot of the Crowns earlier this week (taken earlier the same night), the northern lights were not at all apparent to me throughout the process of capturing this photo.

Needless to say I was very pleased to see a very clear green glow all across the northern section of the pano. The perfect counterpoint to the milky-way arch.

I hope you enjoy this image. There can't be many 360 spherical panos out there featuring a milky way arch AND the aurora borealis.

In the next post I'll share some interesting projections possible with a 3d photo, and tell you more about the process required to make one.