Taking photos is one of the best ways to preserve memories. You can capture special moments using a camera and keep them for a long time. In addition, you can use various pieces of equipment to take photos, like your smartphone, a film camera, or a polaroid. So, it’s easy and accessible to take pictures.
If you prefer photos with a classic look, vintage polaroid camera’s are perfect for you. It’s a photography device that prints the image as soon as you print it. If you’re unfamiliar with this type of camera, you may not know how to operate it.
To help you out, this post will discuss how polaroids work and how to take the best photos with them. Keep on reading to learn more.
How A Polaroid Camera Works
A polaroid camera requires a particular film to print images. You must load a negative film pack inside the equipment to take pictures. The film is light-sensitive, so it reacts to the light of the subject you’re capturing.
Once you snap a photo, the camera lens will direct all the light toward the film in one direction. A chemical reaction will then occur on the surface of the silver compounds on the film. Afterward, the camera will eject the picture while the image you took starts to become visible. After the film sets, the negative will turn from gray to a colored picture.
How To Take The Best Photos With Polaroid Cameras
Since polaroid cameras print your picture after you take it, you have limited means to edit or retake an image you don’t like. Below are a number of tips you may follow to take the best photos with polaroids:
1) Know Your Lighting
The output of a polaroid camera is quite different from other photography equipment. For one, it may look grainier than the ones from more advanced tools like a DSLR camera. Also, its settings may be more limited than other tools. This means you have fewer options to manipulate your picture. For instance, you may be unable to change the color of your subjects or adjust the lighting on the photo.
So, if you want to take great images using a polaroid camera, you must pay attention to your lighting. Sometimes, you can use the camera’s flash to illuminate your subject. But your picture may look too dark in low-light locations despite using it. Hence, you should find a light source whenever you want to capture images.
For example, you can pose your subject near a window or a light to ensure they would appear clearly on your polaroid. You should avoid blocking the illumination to avoid casting a shadow on your subject too. Alternatively, you can opt to take pictures during the day to ensure the result won’t look dim.
Overall, understanding how lighting works can significantly improve your polaroid shots. Practicing and learning how to use it to your advantage is helpful.
2) Pay Attention To Subject Composition
Your subject can influence how your photos turn out. If they’re not framed well, you may end up with underwhelming results. Henceforth, if you wish to take the best photos, you can learn how to compose your subject and environment.
For instance, if you’re taking a person’s portrait, you can make their background more dynamic by moving objects around. You may ask them to move around to find the best angle. And you can try changing your poses if you’re taking a self-portrait or for any other purpose.
On the flip side, you can adjust the placement of different objects when taking still pictures to produce dynamic results. Before taking the shot, you must check whether everything is inside the camera frame. If you hastily capture an image without checking the viewfinder, the picture may look like it was cut out or incomplete.
You can take pictures from a farther angle if you’re trying to capture multiple subjects. Doing so will increase your depth of field and allow you to experiment with your photo composition.
3) Choose The Right Film
The quality of your polaroid film can also influence how your photos will turn out. Case in point, an expired one may add light leaks to your pictures. The colors on expired film may not appear as bright as new rolls.
Thus, if you want to take impressive analog images, you should use a good film. Nowadays, you can purchase various ones that produce different results. For instance, if you want to take pictures that have a vintage feel, you can use a black-and-white film roll. On the other hand, if you want images showing bright colors, you can opt for newer polaroid films.
You must store your film correctly, as external factors like heat can affect how your outputs turn out. For example, sun exposure may wash out the colors or make your pictures look more yellow. To avoid this, you can store unused films in a dark and cool place.
Final Thoughts
Polaroid photography adds a nostalgic feel to your pictures. You can keep your photographs for a long time since using a polaroid camera prints your images immediately. If you wish to take dynamic pictures, it’s helpful to learn lighting tricks and compose your subjects well. This way, you can ensure your output will look impressive.
Though it has been a stressful, strange, scary, and confusing time, some things never change: the peace and quiet of the wilderness. Fortunately, social distancing is no problem in the Nevada wilderness, and Aubrey and I have had a chance to get out and explore our new(ish) home state through a few trips over the past 2 months.
Not far south of us are the Pine Nut Mountains, a large expanse of rugged terrain festooned with lumpy granite boulders and, as you might hope, pinyon pines. Earlier in May we explored a small portion of the area, perfectly timed (by chance) with the peak bloom of the desert peach. These shrubs are covered in lovely flowers ranging from cream colored to bright pink. Apparently, in wet years, the fruits are like miniature fuzzy peaches, and delicious according to the Cahuilla.. I look forward to trying them someday!
Blooming desert peach (Prunus andersonii) along the foothills of the Pine Nut Mountains in Nevada.
Granite boulders, pinyon pines, sage brush, endless sunshine, and big views characterize Nevada’s Pine Nut Mountains.
Pine nut camp.
For our next trip, we explored the mountains east of Bridgeport, known primarily for gold mining in the early 1900’s. As with the pine nuts, small to medium granite lumps gave the otherwise mostly barren mountains a charming character. For years I’ve been search for rocks that seem to be miniature mountain peaks, and here I finally found one. Technically these scenes are from California, but just 2 miles or so from the border, so let’s just pretend it’s Nevada.
Wide open spaces, the smell of sage, and small granite boulders that want to be gigantic mountains, with views of the Sierra Nevada crest.
Desert evenings.
The final adventure I have to share is from Northeast Nevada, in the Ruby Mountains. While you would be correct in thinking most of the state is arid sage-land, I can now confirm that there are in fact pockets of lush greenery! But the pockets are small. Much of the Ruby Mountains share the same landscape to our previous destinations, with misshapen granite lumps, and mountain mahogany trees near the hill tops. These shrubby trees are, like the desert peach, in the rose family, and often take on shapes reminiscent of the African savannah.
After exploring the boulder landscape for two days Aubrey and I did a short little overnight out of Lamoille Canyon, the crown jewel of the Rubies. The flowers were just starting to bloom, and up above treeline, the snow had clearly just melted a week or two ago and the corn lilies were putting on quite a show.
Mountain Mahogany trees dance in the dwindling sunshine of Nevada’s Ruby Mountains. These shrubby trees bring to mind scenes from the African savannah, and seem to grow where nothing else possible could.
Aubrey resting in a pothole.
Endless fields of emerald green corn lilies burst into life after the winter snow melts. Although the Ruby Mountains were named after garnets found by early explorers, I like to pretend the vivid red sunrise light helped inspire them a little, too.
Puede parecer algo trivial si eres un observador astronómico experimentado y conoces el cielo mejor que tu casa pero para el recién llegado es una pregunta básica que todos nos hemos hecho alguna vez ¿Cómo encontrar el norte?
La respuesta más obvia es ¡Pues con una brújula! Pero ¿Y si no llevamos una brújula encima? o ¿Y si la brújula funciona mal? En algunas ocasiones una brújula puede funcionar mal debido a que nos encontremos cerca de un yacimiento de hierro o magnetita, por ejemplo. Además, una brújula solo nos indica la situación del norte magnético, no geográfico. Esto sucede también con las brújulas que incorporan nuestros teléfonos móviles.
En observación astronómica, sobre todo nos interesa conocer el norte geográfico si estamos usando una montura ecuatorial y estamos en el hemisferio norte (los habitantes del hemisferio austral necesitan localizar el sur geográfico). Por eso a continuación te daremos algunos trucos para encontrar el norte geográfico sin la ayuda de una brújula.
Para usar correctamente un telescopio con montura ecuatorial es necesario orientarlo al norte.
Cómo encontrar el norte con las estrellas
Para encontrar el norte de noche podemos guiarnos por las estrellas si el cielo está despejado. La forma más fácil es buscar la estrella polar (Polaris). Esta estrella está muy cerca del polo norte celeste (PNC) aunque no se encuentra exactamente en él (está a unos 0,7 grados de distancia).
Para localizar Polaris la forma más sencilla es guiarnos por la Osa Mayor, quizá la constelación más reconocible del cielo por su forma de cazo. Si trazamos una línea recta desde las estrelas Dubhe y Merak que son las que están más alejadas «del mango del cazo» y seguimos 5 veces la distancia que separa a éstas llegaremos a una estrella a simple vista más o menos solitaria que forma parte de la constelación de la Osa Menor (también con forma de cazo pero más pequeño). Esa estrella es Polaris.
Al contrario de lo que mucha gente piensa, la estrella polar no es la más brillante del cielo ni mucho menos.
En ciertas épocas del año, como por ejemplo en invierno, es posible que nos cueste encontrar la Osa Mayor porque esté muy baja en el cielo. En ese caso podemos ayudarnos de la constelación de Casiopea que tiene forma de letra «M» o «W». Ayudándonos de las tres estrellas centrales si seguimos la dirección de la intersección imaginaria de éstas en la parte cóncava también llegaremos a Polaris.
Si no vemos el norte porque hay nubes pero seguimos viendo otras zonas del cielo con estrellas todavía es posible orientarnos si conocemos las constelaciones y sabemos la hora a la que nos encontramos. Otra opción es guiarnos por el brillo de la Luna que siempre se encontrará cerca de la línea de la eclíptica y que siempre va de este a oeste pasando por el sur en su culminación si nos encontramos en el hemisferio norte.
Además, teniendo en cuenta que en cuarto creciente tiene forma de «D», sus cuernos apuntan al Este mientras que en fase de cuarto menguante, con forma de «C», los cuernos apuntan al Oeste.
En Invierno también podremos encontrar el sur ayudándonos por la constelación de Orión. Si trazamos una línea recta entre las estrellas Betelgeuse y Rigel y extendemos su distancia hacia el horizonte encontraremos el sur geográfico.
Una línea recta imaginaria desde Betelgeuse a Rigel nos lleva al Sur.
Cómo encontrar el norte sin brújula de día
De día ya no vemos las estrellas, o mejor dicho, solo vemos una, nuestro Sol. Él nos puede ayudar a orientarnos ya que a medio día se encontrará culminando hacia el sur (recordad que siempre hablamos en relación a observadores del hemisferio norte).
El Sol sale aproximadamente por el este y se oculta por el oeste, más o menos. Decimos más o menos porque depende de la época del año (en verano la eclíptica diurna está más alta) y también depende de la latitud a la que nos encontremos. Teniendo en cuenta estos datos también podemos orientarnos más o menos hacia en norte tomando el Sol como referencia.
Si disponemos de bastante tiempo podemos estudiar el avance de las sombras proyectadas por el Sol para marcar una línea en su recorrido que nos indicarán el sentido Este-Oeste. Una vez trazada la línea sabemos que la perpendicular es Norte-Sur.
Otro truco si nos encontramos en la naturaleza es observar hacia dónde crece el musgo. En estructuras verticales como árboles éste suele crecer hacia el norte en zonas húmedas.
Encontrar el norte con un reloj y el Sol
Esto es bastante curioso pero muy práctico. El método es más o menos preciso dependiendo de la época del año y nuestra latitud. Si disponemos de un reloj de agujas y apuntamos la manecilla de las horas hacia el Sol el punto intermedio entre la manecilla de las horas y la posición de las 12 en la esfera indica el sur, por lo tanto el lado contrario de esa bisectriz indica el norte. Recordad usar la hora solar para este método, en España sería 1 hora menos en invierno y 2 en verano.
Perth aviation photographer Richard Kreider has taken a stunning image of a Qantas 787 after lift-off from Perth on its non-stop journey to London.
The Qantas 787, VH-ZND “Emily” operated QF9 from Perth to London on October 29.
Born at a US Air Force base in France during the Cold War years, Mr Kreider jokes that his first breath probably had a liberal dose of fumes from aircraft engines.
And that exposure continued, living under the flight path to Heathrow in his teenage years and he joined the Air Training Corps.
Cathay Pacific A350 lands through fog at Perth Airport. Credit: RICHARD KREIDER
Aviation lives alongside his passion for soccer — he is a member of the Football Hall of Fame WA and part of the FFA National Panel of Football Historians.
Mr Kreider says that night flight photography is a real adventure.
“It’s the thrill of the chase and the accounting for the contrasting weather conditions such as rain and fog,” he says.
Emirates 777 about to land in Perth as an almost full moon seemingly looks on. Credit: Richard Kreider
Resolving the technical issues of correct lighting, focus and framing are testing factors of this challenging photography.
“When all of these factors align and a great shot is achieved, then getting up at 2am is worthwhile,” he says.
The results are more than worthwhile, with many of Mr Kreider’s night pictures being used across the globe.
Some of Mr Kreider’s most popular images are of an Emirates Boeing 777 framed by the moon, a Virgin Australia Regional Airlines Fokker 100 landing in rain and a Cathay Pacific Airways A350-900 landing in fog.
Perth Airport is also helping aviation enthusiasts with more viewing areas planned in conjunction with the building on the new parallel runway expected later this decade.
As the evenings start beginning much earlier, there’s never been a better time to perfect your night landscape photography skills. While the night sky can play havoc with your camera settings, it also provides a real opportunity to produce some great (and spooky!) shots. Check out our guide below to find out how to take landscape photos at night:
Night landscape photography: What know before you go!
As with all paths of photography, half the battle of getting things right is good forward planning. Things to consider before setting out on a night shoot might include the following:
Check the moon cycle
The moon will have a dramatic effect on our images. A full moon will cut exposure times and make the sky appear more of a blue colour, almost like it’s daytime; however, it will also reduce the number of visible stars. The moon cycle along with the moonrise and set times can easily be found for most locations on the Internet.
Check the weather
Keep an eye on the forecast. Clear skies work well for star trails, but don’t ignore cloudy or partly cloudy nights. The conditions to avoid are mist, fog or rain as the water droplets can settle on the lens surface during long exposures and are almost impossible to detect in the dark.
Light pollution
While light pollution can mean it’s harder to see as many stars, it can also add some much-needed colour to a sky. Light pollution will have the most dramatic effect on a sky when there is a new moon or the moon is yet to rise.
Take a spare torch
I often work in remote locations so I always carry a spare torch with me to find my way back to the car, particularly as my main rechargeable torch often runs out of power. I find a spare wind-up torch works well, as you are then not reliant on battery power.
Charge batteries
Long exposures can quickly drain camera batteries so make sure they are fully charged and that you have a spare.
Night landscape photography: On the night
Step 1. Choose your composition
Arrive at your location while it’s still fairly light to help you easily compose your images. When setting up your camera make sure that your tripod is on secure ground and that it’s not going to move during the long exposure.
Step 2. Shoot RAW
By shooting your images in the Raw format you will be able to apply slight changes to your images at the processing stage. Small adjustments to white balance, exposure and noise can all be applied when converting the Raw files.
Step 3. Set up your camera
Attach your cable release, set your camera to bulb mode and select your aperture. Finally, focus the lens on your subject, and once this is completed remember to switch to manual focusing so that the lens doesn’t start to hunt once it’s dark.
Step 4. Take a test shot
Once it’s dark lock open the camera’s shutter using your remote release. Begin illuminating your subject by flash or torch light. Remember to take a note of the total exposure time and roughly the amount of light applied to your subject.
Step 5. Review your test shot
Review your test shot and work out what areas need more or less light, as getting the correct exposure involves a little bit of trial and error. Once you have decided on what exposure changes to make, simply re-take the shot and keep reviewing the images until you get a result you are happy with.
Night landscape photography: tips to help you take better night photos
Focus using a torch
To aid with focusing in the dark, shine a powerful torch on your chosen subject. Once your camera gets a focus lock, switch your lens to manual focus so that it doesn’t hunt when you press the shutter button.
Compose using high ISO
To compose your night landscape photography shots in the dark, change the ISO setting to your most sensitive available then take a test exposure and recompose as required. Remember to lower your ISO setting back to 100-200 once you’re done.
North star
Take a compass with you and work out the position of the North Star. As the Earth rotates the North Star will appear to stay fixed and the rest of the stars will appear to rotate around it.
Two’s company
Night photography can be quite spooky so having a friend with you will keep you company and make you feel safe.
Dress warm
It can get very cold at night particularly when standing around waiting for long exposures, so warm clothing is essential.
Noise reduction
If your camera has a noise reduction facility, turn it on for your final shot of the evening. Once the main exposure is completed you can pack away your camera while it’s still exposing for the dark frame. When you arrive home it’s exciting to view the completed image for the first time.
Further reading:
Fright night: ghost camera takes spooky London photowalk
Complete guide to outdoor light in photography
Art Wolfe on his approach to night photography
Liam Wong shares new book of cinematic cities at night
How to photograph low light urban landscapes
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And so I’ve decided now to open up the mount and begin the process. I really helps a lot watching a few YouTube videos and reading Rowan Astronomy‘s instructions thoroughly.
There are a few minor steps that would easily make me damage my mount. Below are a few photos attached from the very first steps of taking the mount apart.
In the Twin Cities arts community, Petronella “Nell” J. Ytsma’s name is as synonymous with her epic Agent Orange project as it is with taking pictures of other artists’ work.
“Whether it was Agent Orange or in her personal work … if she was living it, breathing it, a lot of people liked to talk about it, and she could see it in a way that we often don’t see in today’s world,” said her husband, Mark Sauer. “She was compassionate. She was considerate. She was concerned — her moral comfort compass never deviated.”
Her dedication to social activism was evident in her work, from protesting the Vietnam War in her youth to visiting Vietnam and documenting the effects of Agent Orange using a Hasselblad camera for her “Legacy” series. She also took pictures of the Park Square Theater’s early years of productions as well as various political events.
Ytsma, who stood nearly 6 feet talland was a regular swimmer, had just returned home from a workout Sept. 2 when she unexpectedly died of natural causes. She was 73.
Born in Haarlem, Netherlands, in 1948, at 7 years old she immigrated with her family to a Dutch colony in Grand Rapids, Mich. She was in social work until it burnt her out, and off she moved to Minneapolis in 1979to pursue photography. She already had friends here, so it was a soft landing and a fast beginning.
She made a living as a photographer, and though she was a staff photographer at Mia for eight yearsand at the Park Square Theater, and did some university photo instruction, she was known for documenting other artists’ work.
“Everybody I knew who won a Bush Award or a McKnight Fellowship, she photographed them,” said artist Dan Bruggeman, whose work she photographed for decades. “It was a combination of the quality of the work but also that the presentation was always so excellent.”
She met Sauer in 1981 when she happened to be documenting his friend Jody Isaacson’s senior show at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. They married in 1992 and lived on the second floor of a former fire station in St. Paul. Sauer’s boat repair shop, St. Paul Shipwrights, and her studio are on the ground floor.
Ytsma’s has been included in exhibitions at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Dubuque Museum of Fine Art, Augsburg College, and abroad in Berlin, to name a few. She was the recipient of a Percent for Arts grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and a CUE Award, among others.
Kathy Daniels, former director and curator of the St. Catherine University art gallery, curated Nell’s “Legacy” project and also organized a symposium around it. The two first met in 1993 when Ytsma was in a group show, “Women and Land,” at St. Catherine University and became fast friends.
“She spent a long time there and made friends and got into little villages and people’s homes,” said artist Tim Harding. “She was just deeply moved by the whole experience and she talked about it, you know, whenever you bring it up, she would not hold back.”
She also worked closely with people who were dying during the AIDS crisis. She would often invite the dying into her home and care for them, at a time when their families abandoned them.
“The kindness demonstrated by something like that affected I think everybody but especially, you know, I can only speak for me,” said Bruggerman, “But I thought, ‘I should emulate that.’ She was inspiring.”
Along with her husband Ytsma is survived by siblings Edward Ytsma of Shrevport La., Joyce Huizinga of Tuskaloosa Ala., Willamina Godec of Cleveland, Cathy Mahynski of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Theodore Ytsma of Seattle, Wash.
A public memorial is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Weisman Art Museum, 333 E. River Parkway, Minneapolis.
The American love of mountains is inextricably tied to the long history of mountaineering in Europe. While the U.S. would later be responsible for the resurgence of the sport in the 1960s, the original golden age of alpine mountain climbing comes, fittingly, from the Alps–the wonderland of glacial massifs spreading from Switzerland across Germany, Austria, Italy, and France. As the first major waves of settlers crossed the Rockies during the Gold Rush, British and Swiss climbers, with their French guides, were setting a new standard in adventure and popularizing a lifestyle and aesthetic which would echo across time and all subsequent feats of natural exploration.
To put it more succinctly, from the moment the American populace encountered the majestic ranges of the west, they conjured up images of the twisted peaks of the Grandes Jorasses and the Matterhorn, emerald sanctuaries of flowered meadow, weather-worn redoubt chateaus, and the thrilling plunge of a snowy downhill slope.
Thus, when you find yourself driving through the evergreen ridges of the eastern Cascades, it should come as no surprise to find a Bavarian hamlet nestled among the cedars and firs. This is Leavenworth, one of the better-kept secrets of Washington State for both lovers of nature and those with a passion for culture.
A gentle breath of veiled sunlight caresses the rocky banks of a clear river as it makes its way through a deep mountain valley. The faint chill of autumn on the way inspires embers of bright foliage along the banks and up on the hillsides. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.
Leavenworth Washington Nature Photography
For nature photographers, the areas to the South & West of Leavenworth are a visual playground year round. This is especially true in the autumn months when Tumwater Canyon and the entire area from Stevens Pass through the town of Leavenworth explodes with autumn brilliance. My home is just a short two hour drive from Leavenworth, allowing me to visit many times each year.
Just outside of Tumwater Canyon, Icicle Creek and the entrance to the Enchantments, Lake Wenatchee State Park and countless other visual sights beg you to pull the car over and grab a few photos or take a walk along the Wenatchee River as it slowly meanders through the canyon.
A rush of clear water races down from the forbidden peaks of a range of misty mountains. Along the rocky banks, flashes of gold announce the arrival of autumn to the high places. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.
History of Leavenworth Washington
Leavenworth is a central European mountain town in every sense (other than location), yet its charming appearance belies an unexpected history.
The Chinook, Yakima, and Wenatchee peoples called the tranquil vale on the Wenatchee River their home until the coming of white settlers in 1892. These groups arrived with the coming of the Great Northern Railway which aimed to connect Seattle with St. Paul, Minnesota. With a fast and reliable conduit to one of the largest timber industries in the country at the time, logging quickly became the major industry of the fledgling community. By the early 1900s, it was home to the second-largest sawmill in the world.
Fortunes changed, however, when the Great Northern was diverted to pass through the larger town of Wenatchee to the east in 1925. The logging and sawmill operations foundered, and even the less transport-reliant industries like fur trading and gold mining either dried up or fell on hard times as well. For three decades, the town limped along, constantly on the brink of becoming a ghost town.
Then, in the early 1960s, town leaders formed the LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement for Everyone) committee in an attempt to escape the quagmire. The town had seen brief success during the depression with the introduction of a small local ski slope, and it was to tourism that the committee now looked again. In the mid-60s, members Ted Price and Bob Rodgers hit upon the idea of transforming Leavenworth into a theme-town, fashioned after the mountain villages of Bavaria, in the northern reaches of the Alps. Inspiration and guidance for the idea was furnished by the town of Solvang, a Danish enclave nestled among the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains northwest of Santa Barbara which had also seen major success as a tourist destination.
The ensuing remodel, which saw most of the town reconstructed in a south-German style, was an expensive gamble, but a resounding success. Combined with recreations of traditional German festivals and cuisine, and the addition of new ski resorts on the surrounding slopes, Leavenworth became a must-see attraction for anyone passing through the Cascades.
A tangled web of skeletal branches lace together the ashen trunks of a grove of aspen near Leavenworth, Washington. Unfazed as yet by the chill of winter, the fiery hues of the autumn undergrowth bleed through a hush of fog. Fine Art Limited Edition of 100.
Leavenworth Culture
Organized along an alpine Bavarian theme, the appearance and culture of the town closely resemble that of a traditional 19th century German village.
The architecture of the town is mostly comprised of black-and-white half-timbered structures which will most readily be identified with Tudor and Tudor-Revival style buildings, but which have also been a staple of German architecture since the Middle Ages. Gothic fonts and woodblock graphics adorn many of the shops and restaurants, further conveying the feel of an old-world hamlet.
The food to be found in Leavenworth also largely conforms to traditional German cuisine. With brathauses and biergartens scattered along the main street, visitors can sample popular German sausage and wash it down with a stein of cold gold lager.
To complete the experience, a number of festivals are held each year, some with German roots, and some unique to Leavenworth. Of those which are novel inventions, the Autumn Leaf Festival celebrates the vibrant colors of the surrounding Cascade foothills. Tourists can enjoy rock climbing events, rose planting, live music, and even a car show. During the Christmas Lighting Festival, the town is decked in over a million lights of all colors, with visits to Santa, ice skating, carriage rides, music, and more. In terms of traditional festivities, the biggest event is, of course, Oktoberfest. Here, every fall, guests can drink their fill of hearty German beer while enjoying classic German attire, participating in contests, listening to music, and much more. Not to be dismissed or forgotten, however, there is also Maifest, the annual spring festival which includes Maipole dancing, Bavarian music, and a costumed Grand March through the town by the locals.
Despite its orchestration as a tourist attraction, the sights and scenes of Leavenworth leave nothing to be desired, as faithful and immersive as a visit to the old country itself.
A dense stand of quaking aspen sits on the edge of a meadow near Leavenworth, Washington. A brilliant canary yellow spreads through the boughs–a sure sign of cooler weather to come. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.
Winter Sports
Of course, no reproduction of an alpine village would be complete without some offering of winter sport. Though not in league with the snowy meccas of Zermatt or Aspen, Leavenworth offers a number of lodges and slopes for skiers and snowboarders when the days get short and chill. Mission Ridge Resort and the Leavenworth Winter Sports Club are the best ways to get out on the slopes, and Steven’s Pass is the most popular destination for people of all ages and skill levels.
Torrents of troubled whitewater rush across the silken surface of a stony rapid as the wide ribbon of a mountain river is funneled through a spell of shallows. Golden boulders, adorned in dark bands of algae, jut from the sparkling veil. Fine Art Limited Edition of 50.
The Natural Wonder of Leavenworth Washington
The true beauty of the surrounding Cascades, however, can only truly be witnessed in summer. Here, the similarity of the country to the high Alpine wilds of Europe reaches its peak, and in many ways even surpasses it in terms of natural beauty. The jewel of the region, and perhaps of the entire Cascade range, from California to British Columbia, is the Enchantments. Not ten miles from Leavenworth, nestled among a formidable fortress of high rocky crags and glaciers is a collection of sapphire pools arrayed just beneath the clouds. Each year, a special lottery is held by the National Forest Service to allot backpacking permits to those wishing to visit the area. Only twenty-four people are allowed in the entire region per day to preserve the stunning yet fragile scenery.
Yet, the Enchantments are only one small sector of the sprawling Cascades, and every corner of its snow capped peaks and hidden valleys is filled with beauty and wonder. Skiing, hiking, fishing, rafting, and mountain biking are all within reach. Leavenworth offers a perfect base camp for exploring this wilderness, and a welcoming respite from the rigors of the United States’ own unique brand of alpine adventuring.
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Leavenworth is an unorthodox experiment, but one which has become a marvelous success. Nowhere else in the country are the festive traditions of a Teutonic past so gracefully interwoven with a landscape of tranquil wilderness. It’s a strange combination, but one with great historic precedent, and any trip to the little hamlet in the hills will be an experience long cherished and fondly remembered.
Flurries of ruby and gold crowd the banks of a tranquil stream in the heart of autumn in the mountains. A frosty shroud of fog obscures the forbidden scarps higher up in the alpine vale. Fine Art Limited Edition of 200.
The Celestron NexStar 8SE computerized telescope is one of the best-selling telescope packages of all time. It features a large aperture optical telescope and a computerized GoTo mount.
The NexStar series of SCTs have been around for over a decade, and I was finally able to experience this beginner-friendly telescope for myself.
I was impressed with the completeness of this package, from the 1.25″ 25mm eyepiece and diagonal, to the red dot finder mounted to the 8-inch OTA.
Celestron NexStar 8SE Video Review.
This is a primarily visual telescope, meant for enjoying views of the moon, planets, and the brighter nebulae and galaxies through the eyepiece.
But what about astrophotography? The design of the tracking telescope mount (fork-mounted Alt-Az) wasn’t designed for it, but is it a complete waste of time?
In this post, I’ll show my results using Celestron’s NexYZ smartphone adapter. If you’re in the market for a grab-and-go telescope (that excels in views of the moon and planets), I think you will enjoy my review of the Celestron NexStar 8SE.
Celestron NexStar 8SE Review
Is this the all-in-one telescope package that does it all? Not quite, but that’s okay. It gets the important parts right. The telescope OTA (optical tube assembly) is top-notch, while the mount is just enough to get you by.
I asked the AstroBackyard community on Facebook how they felt, and almost all of them had amazing things to say about this telescope. From seeing their first-ever view of the planet Saturn to surprisingly impressive astrophotography, the NexStar 8SE is a widely appreciated piece of kit.
Here is a spectacular photo of the planet Jupiter, captured by Christian Ralph using his Celestron NexStar 8SE telescope.
The planet Jupiter captured using the Celestron NexStar 8SE (Christian Ralph).
There are a few quirks of course (the red dot finder scope is rudimentary, and the single-arm fork mount is a little wobbly), but overall everyone seemed to agree that it was a smart purchase and they got a lot of use out of it. Some people even mentioned that had sold the scope, and wished that they had kept it.
As an astrophotographer, the first thing I noticed was the Alt-Az fork mount, and that’s not what you want if your primary interest is long-exposure astrophotography. (An equatorial telescope mount is best).
But, people have taken impressive images with this telescope, it just requires a different approach. If you’re into photographing planets the Celestron NexStar 8SE will work out just fine. This 8″ SCT was meant for crisp views of solar system objects, and that is where it excels.
If you look at the specifications for this telescope, it highlights some pretty impressive potential for a variety of visual observations. I can see why beginners are drawn to this package as their first serious scope.
The NexStar 8SE is great for spur-of-the-moment observing sessions of the moon or planets.
NexStar 8SE Telescope Specifications
Aperture: 203 mm (8″)
Telescope Focal Length: 2032 mm
Focal Ratio: F/10
Camera/Eyepiece Connection: 1.25″ Nosepiece
Diagonal Included: Yes
Tripod Weight: 10 lbs
Tube Weight: 12.5 lbs
Computerized: Yes
Drive Type: DC Servo motors
Optical Design: Schmidt-Cassegrain
Secondary Obstruction: 35mm
Tube Diameter: 226mm
Tube Length: 432mm
Included Items
8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain OTA
NexStar SE Mount: Motorized Alt-Azimuth/ GoTo
Tripod with Adjustable Steel Legs
Red Dot Finderscope
Accessory Tray
NexStar+ Hand Controller
1.25-inch Star Diagonal
1.25-inch, 25 mm Eyepiece
Mini-USB Port
Celestron Starry Night Software
2 Year Warranty
First Impressions
Setting up the Celestron NexStar 8SE for the first time was a quick and painless experience. Once assembled, the entire kit is light enough to be carried around the yard if necessary.
I used an AC adapter to plug the mount into household power in the backyard, but this mount can also be powered via 8 x AA batteries for complete mobility.
Although the red dot finderscope is simple and inexpensive, it is surprisingly effective at confirming the pointing direction of this high magnification telescope.
Tripod
Right out of the gate, I noticed a few things. The tripod I would call “medium-duty”, it’s similar to the one that comes in the newest Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTI package. It seems stable enough for a mount and scope of this size, and it keeps weight down for travel.
The trade-off of a heavier more stable tripod probably isn’t worth the extra weight. The mount head connects securely using 3 threaded bolts. It has a nice design and it feels secure.
Single Arm Fork Mount
The mount head unit and fork arm have a plastic outer casing, reminding you that this is a budget-friendly GoTo telescope package. The Celestron NexStar remote seats neatly inside of the arm, which is a clever space-saving design.
Users of this Celestron NexStar 8SE mentioned that a dual-arm fork design (like the one on the CPC series telescopes) would help the OTA feel a lot more secure. The motorized mount head is where the cost savings come into play. It feels a little “toy-ish”, but the 8″ NexStar OTA reminds us that this is a serious telescope.
Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope
It’s an 8-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope with a focal length of 2032mm at F/10. The orange tube Celestron SCT has been in production since 1970, and for good reason. It packs plenty of light-gathering power into a compact, practical size.
The optics on this telescope deliver crisp, high-contrast views, thanks in part to Celestron’s Starbright XLT optical coatings.
This telescope collects light at an f-ratio of F10, which is much “slower” than a typical reflector or refractor telescope. This means that the fainter nebulae and galaxies will be tough to observe, especially if you’re observing the night sky from a light-polluted city.
The 8″ SCT optical tube assembly mounted to the single-arm fork mount.
NexStar Hand Controller
The Celestron NexStar 8SE includes a NexStar hand controller, with over 40,000 objects in its database. The hand controller fits neatly inside the arm of the fork mount, and can also be extended for use while at the eyepiece. This is a clever design and works well in the field.
25mm Plossl Eyepiece
A 1.25″ 25mm Plossl eyepiece was included with the telescope. This is a useful magnification for a variety of objects in the night sky from planets, to bright galaxies.
It is important to use an eyepiece that does not have a high magnification when aligning the telescope. You may want to purchase an even wider eyepiece (such as a 32mm Plossl) for this purpose.
The higher the magnification of the eyepiece, the more “searching” you will have to do to align the telescope mount to a bright star.
Portability
Even with the large aperture SCT telescope, the entire kit weighs just 24 lbs in total. The mount, telescope, and tripod can break down into individual parts for easier transport.
This telescope is much easier to bring with you to a dark sky site than an equivalent aperture Dobsonian telescope.
The fully-assembled setup can easily be lifted up and moved across the yard, or brought back into your house or garage.
GoTo Computerized Mount
One of the biggest draws to this telescope, aside from the compact, travel-friendly design, is its computerized GoTo functionality. You can choose an object you would like to view on the hand controller, and the telescope will point right to it.
Of course, to do this, the telescope needs to be where it is on earth for accurate pointing. Luckily, this is a dead-simple process called “SkyAlign“.
The SkyAlign feature is used on several Celestron mounts including the NexStar GT, NexStar SLT, NexStar SE, NexStar Evolution, SkyProdigy, Astro Fi WiFi, and CPC telescopes.
To align the mount you need to point to (and center) three bright stars in the night sky.
You don’t have to know the location or name of a single star in the sky for it to work. You simply choose your location from the database, I chose Toronto (close enough), and point the scope at three bright stars. Any 3 bright stars.
To help you point directly at them, you can use the included red dot finder. Keep both eyes open, and move the scope until the red dot is directly on the star. When you look in the eyepiece, it should be right there, or very close.
Then center the star, and confirm these 3 positions. Once that is done, your telescope knows exactly where to point.
On my first night out with the Celestron NexStar 8SE, I chose to observe the Ring Nebula in the cancellation Lyra. Sure enough, with the simple SkyAlign routine performed beforehand, the telescope slowed right to it, first try.
Now that is a positive first experience. Bravo Celestron.
Recommended Accessories
To really enjoy using this high magnification telescope, do yourself a favor and pick up a nice wide-field eyepiece. As I mentioned. the NexStar 8SE package includes a 1.25″ 25mm Plossl, which is a decent start.
A wider eyepiece will make the star alignment process a little easier and makes for a brighter view. I tested an old Celestron 32mm Plossl eyepiece on the 8SE, and it provided a slightly wider, brighter view through the telescope.
A wider (lower magnification) eyepiece will make the SkyAlgin process easier because the alignment star will be easier to locate in a larger area of sky. If you are looking for a suggestion, I recommend the Tele Vue 32mm Plossl Eyepiece.
If it’s planets you’re after, get a decent high magnification eyepiece too, something in the 10mm or lower range. Keep in mind that the view through a high magnification eyepiece under 10mm will be much dimmer.
The Celestron Luminos 10mm eyepiece is great for viewing planets up-close.
Celestron NexYZ Smartphone Adapter
Yes, you can do astrophotography with the Celestron NexStar 8SE! The simplest way to get started is to use your existing smartphone, and hold it up to the eyepiece of the telescope.
Using this method (eyepiece projection astrophotography), you can capture impressive images of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and even Mars. Keeping the phone still enough for a photo, and lining the camera lens up with the center of the eyepiece is the tricky part.
Thankfully, the Celestron NexYZ smartphone adapter can help with these tasks, thanks to a clever 3-axis design. The adapter clamps on to the objective of the eyepiece (both 1.25″ and 2″ eyepieces), and securely holds your phone in place.
The Celestron NeXYZ Smartphone Adapter.
You can use the 3-axis adjustment knobs to center your smartphone’s camera lens in the eyepiece. Using the “pro” or “manual” mode of your camera, you can fine-tune the camera settings to take an amazing photo of the Moon’s surface or Saturn’s rings.
Smartphone astrophotography with the Celestron NexYZ adapter is best for pictures of the moon and bright planets. Deep-sky astrophotography (of galaxies and nebulae) will require additional hardware such as the Celestron NexStar SE & Evolution Wedge and the proper adapter and t-ring for your DSLR.
Related Post:How to Attach a Camera to Your Telescope
Best Objects to See in the NexStar 8SE
The Celestron NexStar 8SE is best used for high-magnification views of the Moon and planets. Using the included 25mm Plossl eyepiece, the views of Saturn and Jupiter are incredible.
The SkyAlign feature allows you to get up and running quickly, so you can start observing sooner. Here are some examples of objects you can enjoy seeing through the Celestron NexStar 8SE, even from your backyard:
The Moon
Saturn
Mars
Jupiter
Venus
Ring Nebula
Dumbbell Nebula
Pleiades
Andromeda Galaxy
M13 Globular Cluster
Final Thoughts
I have a soft spot for equipment that makes the astronomy experience welcoming and approachable. Too many beginners have had a frustrating experience on their first night under the stars, and many of them do not return to the hobby.
The NexStar 8SE can deliver you your first view of the planet Jupiter, or the Andromeda Galaxy. Getting to this point is straightforward and rewarding, and does not require existing comprehension of the night sky.
The single-arm fork-mount design isn’t perfect, and it sacrifices stability for a compact, portable design. In a nutshell, the telescope and optics are fantastic, the mount is not.
When slewing the telescope at slower speeds (4 or below), I noticed that the response is “laggy”, meaning that the telescope does not move for a second or two after pressing the arrow button.
Be advised that touching the telescope or eyepiece while viewing an object will result in a shaky image, so keep those hands off while observing. This is something you will need to get used to.
The NeXYZ smartphone adapter is a great little design, probably the best one on the market. But capturing anything other than the moon or planets will be challenging.
Others have done it, but unless you’re willing to put the time in using a phone for deep-sky, stick to solar system objects.
You can fasten a DSLR camera or planetary camera to the telescope for much better images, but to accurately track objects you will need to invest in a wedge to orient the telescope towards the celestial pole.
The NexStar SkyAlign system is dead simple to perform, and you can skip over the polar alignment process and get straight to observing. The telescope can find and follow an object in the night sky for you.
Saturn stayed in the center of the eyepiece for almost 20 minutes at over 2000mm focal length – try to do that with a manual dob.
The 8″ telescope has enough aperture to deliver amazing views of the moon, planets, and brighter nebulae and galaxies. If the price of the 8SE is too steep for you, you have options. This telescope comes in 4, 5, and 6-inch versions.
The NexStar series of computerized Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes.
Overall the Celestron NexStar 8SE is a remarkable product, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a practical, travel-friendly, visual scope that allows you to get your feet wet in astrophotography.
Until next time, clear skies!
I was loaned this telescope from OPT for testing purposes, and was under no obligation to provide a positive review, nor was I compensated in any way for this article (or video).
It’s October again, and as timely as ever, the latest face-enhancing software Portrait Pro 23, has been announced with numerous enhancements that will make your portrait images look better than ever.
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The new version of the software has also been greatly enhanced to make the most of the new processing power offered by Apple’s M1 and M2 processors.
Along with the performance enhancements, a few more traditional effects have been added. These include a Backlight Lighting Brush that enables you to brush in backlighting even if there was no backlight when the image was taken.
Another new tool helps tidy hairstyles and beards with the Stray Hair Remover Tool.
If you want to try out the new features, head over to the Anthropics website to download a trial or buy the Portrait Pro 23
