Claire Bradshaw
Name: Claire Bradshaw
Camera: Altair Astro TEC 26C and 26M plus 174M High Speed
Favourite type of photography: Astrophotography
Location: Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Website: www.astronomywithclaire.co.uk
Instagram: @astronomywithclaire
How did you get into photography?
I got into astronomy at an early age and was taking photos of the stars using my dad’s film SLR in my early teens. I got a pair of binoculars for Christmas and was hooked after seeing all the details of the Moon and the colours of stars. Years later, a friend won a bit of money on the Euro Millions and gifted me an automated telescope - my astrophotography took off from there!
Do you have any photographic qualifications or accolades?
Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS)
What's the first photograph you remember seeing or shooting?
A section of Orion using my dad’s SLR when I didn't know the 500 second rule so they all came out as star trails. And not pretty ones.
What do you love about photography?
To the human eye, the night sky is just a dark expanse with a plethora of shining stars. But take a few long exposures and a multitude of shapes and colours appear. From distant galaxies, to stellar nursery nebulae to the remains of giant stars that exploded long ago as supernovae. I love being the conduit bringing the night sky to people’s eyes and showing them what is really out there - a museum of time.
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What do you wish you'd learned about photography earlier?
Access to astrophotography equipment doesn’t come cheap - for me it was a choice between family or gear. Later in life, this balance changed. Every shot, every piece of processing is a new learning for me - learning a new technique, bringing more photons out of the dark. I got a U in A Level physics at 6th form because maths, like red wine, doesn't agree with me. But I think this helped me a lot later in life with my career in eLearning, taking a subject and turning it into something people can understand - something that didn't happen in my physics class. So now I use these techniques to help people to understand the wider Universe around them.
Where is your favourite place for photography?
My telescope mounts are set up in the garden and shoot objects as they progress east to west, different objects present in different seasons. I use a laptop indoors to remote control the telescopes and love seeing the first frame come through after a 5 minute exposure. But the real magic happens in front of the processing computer when the data is all compiled. The computer software compresses all of the pixels into the shadows of the histogram, waiting for me to tease them slowly into view. That is really exciting.
Do you have a favourite photographic technique?
In astrophotography there are so many! From deep-sky long exposures to lunar/planetary and solar. Although I love deep space, I think being able to see the surface of the sun with special filters, something we cannot see due to the danger to our eyes normally, is one of my latest favourite techniques. It is like surfing - courting danger with nature herself to get the real rush!
Can you briefly outline your approach to image processing?
Astrophotography is about time and capturing as many images as possible to eliminate noise, but the exposures are 5 mins long. That’s 12 in one hour; 36 in 3. Typically, it is good practice to get 24 to 48 images of one filter. And deep sky typically needs 3 filters (Hydrogen, Oxygen and Sulphur). That's 48 x 3 - nearly 150 x 5min or over 12 hours! This data is stacked and merged together in three frames covering the three filters, each seeing different aspects/colours/chemicals of the object. Processing means combining these together into RGB or GRB or RBB and running lots of tools to bring the colours out of the dark.
What's your favourite lens?
My Quad 350mm telescope gives a great field of view with 4 lenses inside to prevent image distortion.
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Do you have a favourite accessory?
So many! But a new filter tilt bracket I have will allow me to remove Newton Rings from my solar pictures - I can't wait to try it out!
Have you found the perfect camera bag yet?
I have a new travel kit for shooting worldwide, one kit bag for the telescope, one for all the equipment/cables and the travel mount will go in the hold!
Which photographers have influenced or inspired you, and how or why?
Gosh lots - so many astrophotographers have created some amazing work; Stacey Downton was a big influence in the early days of getting the right kit - she just made everything so accessible and friendly - and Luke Newbould has been a massive influence on my processing - the software I use PixInsight looks incredibly hard to use, but his easy going nature is easy to follow to produce amazing results.
Please recommend 2 or 3 female photographers to follow on Instagram.
Rachel Roberts @rachelrobertsnz_ and Ivana Peranic @cellistontheroof - amazing Milky Way and solar/planetary imagers in that order
Is there a camera, lens or accessory that you don't have yet but you'd like to buy at some point?
Another 26M and set of HSO filters! Expensive! Or maybe a full-frame mono TEC camera - even more expensive!
Is there a genre of photography that you love but that you haven't tried yet?
Portrait. I have done cityscape and macro in the past, but I love people and finding out things about them - learning how to photograph them would be amazing!
What's your proudest photographic moment?
That's tough! When I sold my first framed photo, I felt amazing - to know something thousands of light-years away that I brought to life was hanging on someone’s wall felt overwhelming. I hugged them when I met them!
If you could have one superpower that could help you with photography, what would it be?
No need for sleep. Astronomy has to take place at night, obviously, and in the summer season, with the Sun not setting until 10:30pm, and you need several hours of photos, either you stay awake or sleep, risking your gear to the elements or worse.
Your favourite baked goods are?
My mum’s homemade scones.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I've always loved things to do with space or astronomy, but knew I would never be able to be academic. So I branched out into astrophotography and doing talks on the subject using my skills from eLearning to help people to understand the night sky without needing to have a PhD. I also love geocaching, board games and Lego.
