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Make the Switch John Atherton’s photography really took off when he retired and joined the local camera club, and it was there that he became fascinated with the challenge of astrophotography
MY INTEREST in astrophotography came about thanks to some friends at the camera club. “We’re going out to do some night photography,” they’d said. I wasn’t sure of what they were going to do or the techniques you needed to use, but I soon learnt and now I usemy FujifilmX-T3 for this challenging formof imagemaking. Its intuitive handling is certainly one reason for this, but so is its imaging performance. I only joined a club – EpsomCamera Club – when I retired, and it wasn’t long before I got more involved and ultimately became its chairman; I’m the Zoomco-ordinator now, an important job during the current pandemic. I used to shoot Canon and started out with an EOS 300D before progressing to an EOS 60D, EOS 5DMark III and an EOS 7D Mark II, but I have sincemoved over to a Fujifilmmirrorless set-up.
My Fujifilm journey started when I got an X20, a 12-megapixel compact, as my runaround camera and started using it more andmore. I liked the colours it produced, so later I bought the X-T20 as soon as it came out and later bought the X-T3. I was on the waiting list for it, so got mine as soon as it was released. The X-T3 is nowmymain camera for all my photography, not just astro work, and I am very keen on nature photography, too. I have a range of lenses: XF16mm f/1.4 RWR, XF10-24mm f/4 ROIS, XF18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LMOIS and XF55-200mm f/3.5-f.4 R LMOIS, which is a brilliant lens, much underrated. Later I added the XF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LMOISWR and the XF80mm f/2.8 R LMOISWRMacro for nature photography. With its wide angle of view and very fast maximumaperture the XF16mm f/1.4 RWR
is ideally suited for astro work, where you’re working with wide apertures to record the faint pinpoints of starlight. Looking through the X-T3 viewfinder, I can focus on the stars quite easily –more easily than on a DSLR. I put the camera intomanual focus and have it set so that when you adjust themanual focus ring, it zooms in 2x, and it is easy to distinguish the stars from the noise, especially when there are somany of them, like when you see theMilkyWay. I mentioned I switched to Fujifilmbecause I like the colours the cameras produce, but I also like the design of the bodies, reminiscent of my old filmcamera. I can look at the top-plate and know exactly what the settings are. You’ve got the shutter speed dial, the ISO dial and an aperture ring all to hand. I don’t have to go into amenu and diddle about, and when you’re shooting in the dark, you need
FREE 48-HOUR FUJIFILMLOANS The Fujifilm Connect loan service means you can try specific Fujifilm cameras and lenses in your own home free of charge for up to two days (including delivery). Loans can be extended, and if you decide to purchase it afterwards, Fujifilm will refund your loan fee. For full details of this special loan scheme, go to fujifilm-connect.hireacamera. com/en-gb FAR LEFT Aurora over rescue hut, Andøya, Norway. Fujifilm X-T3. Lens used was a Fujifilm XF16mm f/1.4 R WR. Exposure 5secs at f/1.4, ISO 1600. This was taken with the Classic Chrome Film Simulation mode BOTTOM LEFT “Is there anybody out there?” Goonhilly, Cornwall. Fujifilm X-T3 with Fujifilm XF16mm f/1.4 R WR. Exposure 15secs at f/2, ISO 1600. This was a seven-image stack using Starry Landscape Stacker NEAR LEFT Milky Way over St Michael’s Mount, Marazion, Cornwall. Fujifilm X-T3 with a Fujifilm XF16mm f/1.4 R WR. Exposure 15secs at f/2, ISO 3200. A 12-image stack using Starry Landscape Stacker and finished in Photoshop All in all, my FujifilmX-T3 and lens system make this challenging and rewarding formof photography remarkably easy. to be able to find your way around by touch and feel. Last year, I went with the camera club to Norway, just below the Arctic Circle, to shoot the northern lights, and we had another trip earlier this year before lockdown. We were lucky both times – on the first trip we got the aurora four nights out of five and on the second trip, three. It was amazing. It was extremely cold – the car thermometer read -20°C, but with wind chill it was more like -30°C – and we were standing around outside for quite a while. I’mhappy to confirm that my X-T3 worked fine at such temperatures and I had no problems with the battery or the shutter sticking in the cold. For astrophotography, I shoot between ISO 1600 and 3200, and with the X-T3 and its back-side illuminated sensor, I don’t find there is much noise. In the case of the MilkyWay shots shown here, I shot a series of pictures andmerged themusing Starry Landscape Stacker, aMac app. With the auroras, it’s so fast you can’t stack them, you just have to shoot quickly.
JOHNATHERTON Enthusiast photographer, Epsom Camera Club
38 Photography News | Issue 83
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