He might have been shooting the stars since he was seven years old, but Josh Dury is adamant that astrophotography is for everyone – you really don’t need to be an astronomer.
In fact, the advances made in camera technology over the past decade mean that capturing high-resolution images with low noise – the holy grail for astrophotographers – has never been so straightforward.
All you need, says Dury, is a camera that can handle digital noise well, a wide-angle lens that will let in plenty of light via a large aperture and a solid platform to shoot from.
So read on to explore the essentials that this astro pro takes on every voyage…
Inside astrophotographer Josh Dury’s camera bag
“For me, the camera that’s best suited to landscape astrophotography due to its low-light capabilities.”
“A wide-angle lens that gathers plenty of light, which is essential for shooting at a good signal-to-noise ratio.”
“This is a versatile camera and is very good for landscape astrophotography. It usually acts as my second camera body when required.”
“A great lens for shooting panoramas – I used it for the night shot of Durdle Door that’s on my website.”
4: Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C
“The ‘moon bazooka’ is very good for capturing distance shots of the moon, and can be doubled with an extender.”
F-Stop Tilopa V3
“This camera backpack has sturdy tripod straps on the side and is padded on the inside with good dividers that protect my kit really well.”
5: Slik Video Grande II tripod
“Aluminum-based and durable, which I use low to the ground to minimize any environmental effects.”
6: RGBS LCD Shutter Release
“This camera remote has an LED is very handy for inputting information – capture duration, interval, image count – in the dark.”
7: LE Pro head torch
“With two settings – a normal torch light and a red light function – this is essential for night shoots.”
Josh Dury’s go-to apps for astro
BBC Weather and Met Office
(App Store & Google Play)
“Use these to average weather forecasts – the more forecasts you can use, the better.”
The Moon
(App Store & Google Play)
“Essential for planning around moon phases.”
PhotoPills
(App Store & Google Play)
“Very good for planning Milky Way shoots.”
Aurora
(App Store & Google Play)
“The sun is getting stronger: use this to see how strong the aurora is.”
