Nebula Photos

08/07/2026

Interested in getting a shot like this next week? Read on ⬇️

1. Use a wide angle lens and a fixed tripod (no tracking). Here I used 14mm on crop sensor, 24mm on full frame would work well too. The fixed tripod is important because you then capture the accurate position of the sun as it moves through the sky.
2. Use a solar filter during the partial phases and take a photo on a regular cadence. Every 5 or 6 minutes works well!
3. During totality (if you are in the path of totality) take the filter off and take a longer exposure to capture the corona.
4. Remember to put the filter back on and go back to your filtered shutter speed at the end of totality.
5. Composite all the photos together using Photoshop, Affinity or Gimp. I’ll have a tutorial on this out on Youtube next week. Spoiler: it’s easy!

Ask any questions here and I’ll try to answer! Good luck everyone!!

Image details:
2024 eclipse from N. Vermont
📷 Stock Canon T7
🔭 Samyang 14mm 2.8
DIY Solar filter
Bogen tripod
Partial Phase: 22 shots at 1/4000s f2.8 (filtered)
Totality: 1 shot at 1/8s f2.8 (no filter)

08/05/2026

ONE WEEK AWAY! Are you going to see it?

06/26/2026

I will be premiering my latest video at 2pm ET today: https://youtu.be/y9Ktz3GHPAg
Hope to see you in the chat!

Long term review of three great mounts for deep sky astrophotograph...

06/11/2026

I will be leading a class on photographing the Milky Way at my local makerspace on June 29th, 5:30-7pm. If you happen to be in the area (Claremont, NH), please feel free to sign up. It’s $10 for non-members.
https://claremontmakerspace.org/events/ #!event/2026/6/29/photography-club

05/28/2026

The Atacama Desert is a bucket list item for many astrophotographers. It certainly was for me, and now that I’ve done it, I can say with authority: It is totally worth it!! I am already planning going again next year as I didn’t get enough of those skies!

05/25/2026

From Crux to Carina. Another wide shot with the Canon Ra and RF85 F1.2.

05/22/2026

The Large Magellanic Cloud captured from Chile last week. I took this with my Canon Ra, RF85 F1.2 lens, and a Move Shoot Move Nomad tracker. About 3 hours total integration.

05/21/2026

Gamma Velorum and part of the Vela SNR

This is my first release from several pictures coming out of my trip to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

Gamma Velorum is the name of the bright blue star in this image. To the right of the star is a beautiful part of the Vela supernova remnant. The background Ha in the image is part of the Gum Nebula, the largest emission region in the night sky.

More on astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/3ale5g

04/19/2026

Here's another view of Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS). This one I captured with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro smart telescope. I was impressed by all the detailed structure in the tail. 10 sec. x 120 (20 minutes total integration) from a Bortle 2 site. Definitely go after this one if you have clear skies! ~Nico

04/17/2026

There is a wonderful new comet, and now is the best time to photograph it with the new moon period. This comet is up to the East right before the sunrise. Its name is C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS). I photographed it here at 85mm focal length in the early morning hours of April 16 from Taos, New Mexico.