Module 03
Photograph the first stars
Balance a dark sky and a grounded foreground without turning the night into daylight.
Lessons
- Plan around cloud and moonlight
- Compose before darkness
- Choose a starting shutter time
- Recognize movement and noise
Plan a small evening
Check cloud cover, access, and the weather before leaving. Tell someone where you will be. Carry a light, a warm layer, and a charged phone. Pick a location you have already visited in daylight, with a clear route back.
Moonlight changes the photograph. A bright moon can help reveal land and water while reducing the visibility of faint stars. A darker evening may favor the sky but leave the foreground almost unreadable. Decide which part matters before setting exposure.
Keep the foreground deliberate
Arrive with enough light to frame the scene. A ridge, tree, or shoreline gives the sky a place to sit. Keep its outline simple. A strong silhouette can be enough; you do not have to recover every shadow.
Try a short exposure first and inspect the stars at full size. If they are streaking, reduce the shutter time. Increase ISO only as needed, and judge the tradeoff on your own camera. Longer focal lengths usually make movement easier to see.
Bring home a comparison
Make two photographs: one that favors the sky and one that favors the land. Keep the composition fixed. In your notes, describe what changed in the brighter areas and what appeared in the shadows. This is a comparison exercise, not a requirement to blend the two frames.