The MoonshotMastery Academy
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SHELF III · CAMERA

“I drove to a dark site, set everything up, and the Milky Way was not where I expected it.”

Milky Way Landscapes: Planning, Shooting and Stacking

When the Milky Way core is up from Britain and where, scouting a foreground in daylight, Moon phase and weather planning, and stacking several frames to lift detail out of the noise.

The Milky Way rises over a sea cliff lit warm by distant lights at night

What you will be able to do

  1. Plan a Milky Way shoot for a given place, date and Moon phase
  2. Compose a landscape with a strong foreground in the dark
  3. Stack and finish a clean, natural-looking Milky Way image

Night log: the units

  1. UNIT 01 When and where the Milky Way is up 7 lessons · 1 h 31 min
  2. UNIT 02 Dark sites, the Moon and the weather 6 lessons · 1 h 18 min
  3. UNIT 03 Scouting and composition 7 lessons · 1 h 31 min
  4. UNIT 04 Shooting sky and foreground 8 lessons · 1 h 44 min
  5. UNIT 05 Stacking for less noise 8 lessons · 1 h 44 min
  6. UNIT 06 Blending and finishing 7 lessons · 1 h 31 min

What is included

  • Planning the core’s position by date and hour with free planning tools
  • Scouting a foreground in daylight and composing it for night
  • Sky and foreground blended from separate exposures
  • Stacking and noise reduction finished on screen from raw files
  • 18 months of streaming access

Who it suits

Photographers comfortable with manual settings who want landscapes with the Milky Way in them.

Questions about this course

What do I need before I start?

Phone or camera + tripod. Nothing has to be bought in advance: the course opens with what to choose and why.

How long will it take me?

There are 43 lessons, 9 h 19 min of video in all. At about 3 hours a week that is roughly 4 weeks, but the pace is yours: clear nights decide more than the calendar.

How long can I watch it, and is there a tutor?

You can stream every lesson for 18 months from when access starts. The lessons are recorded: there is no live tutor and no marking, and the videos cannot be downloaded.

Pairs well with