1 00:00:00,670 --> 00:00:02,700 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: Hi, I’m Michelle Douglass, assistant 2 00:00:02,710 --> 00:00:06,519 podcast producer at the National Trust. And before we start, I 3 00:00:06,530 --> 00:00:09,189 wanted to flag up the slightly different format for this 4 00:00:09,199 --> 00:00:09,890 episode. 5 00:00:10,289 --> 00:00:12,789 In line with the UK’s current social distancing 6 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,860 recommendations, our presenters are currently social distancing 7 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,760 and weren’t able to record some of the final voiceovers. 8 00:00:21,049 --> 00:00:24,860 So from time to time in this episode, you’ll hear my voice 9 00:00:24,870 --> 00:00:27,520 instead of the voice of our presenter, Jo Dyson. 10 00:00:28,170 --> 00:00:30,889 So now that’s out of the way. Let’s get back to this week’s 11 00:00:30,899 --> 00:00:31,629 episode. 12 00:00:38,009 --> 00:00:41,250 JO DYSON: You’re listening to the National Trust Podcast. I’m 13 00:00:41,259 --> 00:00:45,400 Jo Dyson from the National Trust in the Southeast. In my last 14 00:00:45,409 --> 00:00:49,799 episode, I experienced the majesty of a winter walk through 15 00:00:49,810 --> 00:00:50,840 the Lake District. 16 00:00:51,270 --> 00:00:54,830 I’m still in the Lake District. And tonight I’m braving the 17 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,540 chill once more to discover the wonders of the cosmos in one of 18 00:00:58,549 --> 00:01:01,200 the National Trust’s dark sky areas. 19 00:01:11,569 --> 00:01:15,110 After my walk earlier today, I spent a few hours resting in 20 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,949 this surprisingly comfortable camping pod at the Wasdale 21 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,300 Campsite in the Western Lake District. 22 00:01:22,629 --> 00:01:26,160 Generally on a camping trip like this, night-time is for 23 00:01:26,169 --> 00:01:29,790 sleeping, but apparently I’ve been missing some of the lake’s 24 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:34,510 most beautiful views, and these can be only experienced after 25 00:01:34,519 --> 00:01:34,809 dark. 26 00:01:38,220 --> 00:01:41,629 I was told by Lewis, the National Trust ranger, that if I 27 00:01:41,639 --> 00:01:55,930 looked out of my camping pod at night, I’d see loads of stars 28 00:01:55,930 --> 00:01:57,209 Looking out of the door I can't see a single star. I think it's 29 00:01:57,209 --> 00:01:57,550 a little bit cloudy. 30 00:01:57,550 --> 00:02:00,809 Without any stars in the sky, I’m a bit bemused as to what 31 00:02:00,819 --> 00:02:04,190 Lewis is going to show me, but I’m sure whatever Lewis has 32 00:02:04,199 --> 00:02:06,540 planned will be exciting. 33 00:02:06,540 --> 00:02:07,899 Lewis! 34 00:02:07,899 --> 00:02:09,259 LEWIS ROBERTSON: Hello. 35 00:02:10,339 --> 00:02:11,220 JO DYSON: Great to meet you. 36 00:02:11,220 --> 00:02:11,949 LEWIS ROBERTSON: You too. 37 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,070 JO DYSON: Where are the stars?! 38 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:15,759 LEWIS ROBERTSON: They may be just hidden by the clouds, 39 00:02:15,770 --> 00:02:16,619 unfortunately. 40 00:02:17,669 --> 00:02:19,490 JO DYSON: What would we be seeing normally? 41 00:02:19,580 --> 00:02:21,600 LEWIS ROBERTSON: Well, every single star that you could 42 00:02:21,610 --> 00:02:22,330 possibly see. 43 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,440 Wasdale has got so few houses and buildings within it. There’s 44 00:02:26,449 --> 00:02:28,479 just so little light that comes off of it. 45 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,320 You can see the stars an awful lot better when the skies are 46 00:02:31,330 --> 00:02:31,820 clear. 47 00:02:32,229 --> 00:02:34,869 JO DYSON: Do you need to come somewhere quite as remote as 48 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:36,850 Wasdale to see stars? 49 00:02:37,119 --> 00:02:38,740 LEWIS ROBERTSON: Generally, the more rural you can go, the 50 00:02:38,750 --> 00:02:41,155 better, but you don’t necessarily have to go to some 51 00:02:41,155 --> 00:02:43,820 place quite as remote as Wasdale to get a good view of the night 52 00:02:43,830 --> 00:02:44,190 sky. 53 00:02:44,199 --> 00:02:47,380 All you really need is to be just away from lights as much as 54 00:02:47,389 --> 00:02:49,610 you can be in and then just look up. 55 00:02:50,020 --> 00:02:51,669 I did have a surprise set up for you. 56 00:02:51,679 --> 00:02:53,789 I have an astrophotographer who’s going to show us how to 57 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,410 take pictures of the night sky and unfortunately there’s not 58 00:02:57,419 --> 00:02:59,970 much night sky, but I’m sure he’ll still be able to teach us 59 00:02:59,979 --> 00:03:01,720 a thing or two about taking photographs at night. 60 00:03:01,729 --> 00:03:04,559 So if we take a walk down to the car park, we’re going to see 61 00:03:04,570 --> 00:03:05,440 what he can teach us. 62 00:03:08,759 --> 00:03:11,770 JO DYSON: Earlier on today, we were driving down this road on 63 00:03:11,779 --> 00:03:15,240 our way to Wasdale head campsite, and obviously we could 64 00:03:15,250 --> 00:03:18,279 see all of Wast Water to our right, all the peaks in the 65 00:03:18,289 --> 00:03:18,883 distance. 66 00:03:18,883 --> 00:03:23,479 This is quite strange now to think that all we can see is 67 00:03:23,490 --> 00:03:26,929 this kind of metre radius with the light that’s being given off 68 00:03:26,940 --> 00:03:28,699 from our head torch. 69 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:31,339 LEWIS ROBERTSON: It gives you a completely different perspective 70 00:03:31,350 --> 00:03:33,380 of the same place that you’ve enjoyed in the daytime. 71 00:03:33,899 --> 00:03:37,119 JO DYSON: Lewis, what first got you interested in photographing 72 00:03:37,130 --> 00:03:37,860 the night sky? 73 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,339 LEWIS ROBERTSON: I first got interested when I was taking on 74 00:03:41,350 --> 00:03:43,789 holidays as a kid up to the Northwest of Scotland with my 75 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:44,220 parents. 76 00:03:47,050 --> 00:03:50,550 When you go further North, generally your view of the night 77 00:03:50,559 --> 00:03:53,479 sky gets a little bit better just because there’s less light 78 00:03:53,490 --> 00:03:56,789 pollution as you go further North, but you can also get a 79 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,039 really good view of the aurora borealis sometimes. 80 00:04:00,100 --> 00:04:02,380 JO DYSON: The aurora borealis is the northern lights? 81 00:04:03,500 --> 00:04:06,440 LEWIS ROBERTSON: The first time I saw that, it’s just, you’re 82 00:04:06,449 --> 00:04:06,899 hooked. 83 00:04:09,710 --> 00:04:13,119 I’ve only seen it from Northern Scotland, so it’s maybe not as 84 00:04:13,130 --> 00:04:17,089 spectacular as perhaps Iceland, but you can still see the sort 85 00:04:17,100 --> 00:04:20,760 of towers and spires that you see on those fancy images, but 86 00:04:20,769 --> 00:04:21,228 they’re maybe just a little bit duller. 87 00:04:21,228 --> 00:04:30,320 So we’re just coming up to one of the car parks now. It’s a 88 00:04:30,329 --> 00:04:32,630 really good place to stop and have a look at the stars. 89 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:34,630 There’s a nice little beach where you can get just onto the 90 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:36,779 edge of Wast Water itself and get a really good view of the 91 00:04:36,790 --> 00:04:37,459 night sky. 92 00:04:38,929 --> 00:04:41,190 Steven’s actually down by the lake waiting for us. 93 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:41,910 JO DYSON: Great. 94 00:04:44,649 --> 00:04:45,456 Hi, you must be Steven? 95 00:04:45,456 --> 00:04:45,940 STEVEN HANNA: Yes. Hi, how are you? 96 00:04:47,570 --> 00:04:48,328 Nice to meet you. 97 00:04:48,328 --> 00:04:48,559 JO DYSON: I’m Jo. Nice to meet you. 98 00:04:48,980 --> 00:04:51,279 Not the stars that we were expecting this evening! 99 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:51,559 STEVEN HANNA: No! 100 00:04:52,549 --> 00:04:54,299 JO DYSON: So what can we photograph? 101 00:04:54,609 --> 00:04:57,019 STEVEN HANNA: We’re going to shoot the actual lake itself, 102 00:04:57,029 --> 00:05:00,100 and hopefully get some nice moody images of the clouds 103 00:05:00,109 --> 00:05:02,779 rolling over the top of the fells in the distance. 104 00:05:02,980 --> 00:05:05,720 JO DYSON: Will we be using a flash to get this kind of 105 00:05:05,730 --> 00:05:06,209 photography? 106 00:05:06,339 --> 00:05:07,719 STEVEN HANNA: No, we’re not going to use any flash. 107 00:05:07,719 --> 00:05:08,040 JO DYSON: No flash? 108 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,084 STEVEN HANNA: No. No kind of lighting at all. Just going to 109 00:05:10,095 --> 00:05:12,795 let the camera do its magic. The camera can pick up loads of 110 00:05:12,804 --> 00:05:15,524 detail which the naked eye can’t. So hopefully once we 111 00:05:15,535 --> 00:05:17,644 start to do a few long exposures, you should be able to 112 00:05:17,654 --> 00:05:20,304 see the rocks in the foreground and the lake and then the 113 00:05:20,315 --> 00:05:21,654 mountains in the distance. 114 00:05:22,095 --> 00:05:23,825 JO DYSON: So Steven, could you talk me through the kit that 115 00:05:23,834 --> 00:05:24,704 we’ve got here? 116 00:05:24,885 --> 00:05:26,977 STEVEN HANNA: What we’re shooting on is a Sony mirrorless 117 00:05:26,977 --> 00:05:29,614 camera, and we’re going to be shooting with a really wide 118 00:05:29,625 --> 00:05:32,325 angle lens, because ideally we’d want to be filling as much of 119 00:05:32,334 --> 00:05:34,135 the sky as possible with stars. 120 00:05:34,595 --> 00:05:36,825 Obviously got a tripod. So we’re going to make sure everything’s 121 00:05:36,834 --> 00:05:37,834 really secure. 122 00:05:38,380 --> 00:05:40,540 When it comes to astrophotography, what you 123 00:05:40,549 --> 00:05:43,839 really want to be using is what they call a fast lens. So that 124 00:05:43,850 --> 00:05:49,005 means a lens that can go down to something like f/2.8 or f/3.5. 125 00:05:49,005 --> 00:05:52,179 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: F-stops are one of the three camera settings 126 00:05:52,190 --> 00:05:55,389 you’ll need to understand to master night-time photography. 127 00:05:55,389 --> 00:05:59,579 F-stops allow you to control how light can pass through the lens 128 00:05:59,589 --> 00:06:01,190 and onto the camera sensor. 129 00:06:01,500 --> 00:06:06,059 So we set our cameras to an F-stop of 2.8, but some cameras 130 00:06:06,070 --> 00:06:08,519 go as low as f/1.4. 131 00:06:08,519 --> 00:06:12,239 Now while these lenses allow you to get brighter pictures in dark 132 00:06:12,250 --> 00:06:16,290 surroundings, there is a trade-off. Using a low F-stop 133 00:06:16,299 --> 00:06:19,220 setting can make it difficult to focus your lens. 134 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,779 STEVEN HANNA: So maybe we should start with trying to get some 135 00:06:25,790 --> 00:06:27,284 focus first of all. 136 00:06:27,284 --> 00:06:27,489 JO DYSON: Yeah. 137 00:06:27,959 --> 00:06:29,670 STEVEN HANNA: So what we’re looking for when we’re doing 138 00:06:29,679 --> 00:06:32,339 that is we’re looking for what’s called infinity focus. 139 00:06:32,670 --> 00:06:35,589 What you’ll find is a lot of lenses will have a mark on it 140 00:06:36,369 --> 00:06:41,130 which shows where infinity focus is meant to be. Now that is only 141 00:06:41,140 --> 00:06:45,553 a guide. It’s normally most lenses are not a hundred percent 142 00:06:45,553 --> 00:06:45,555 accurate. 143 00:06:45,555 --> 00:06:48,609 So a good starting point is to put it to infinity, and then 144 00:06:48,730 --> 00:06:51,500 using the stars. So you would zoom in on the live view in the 145 00:06:51,510 --> 00:06:54,630 camera. Put the star in the very, very centre of the frame, 146 00:06:54,950 --> 00:06:55,970 and you would zoom in. 147 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,279 Because obviously we don’t have stars in the sky, we’re actually 148 00:06:59,290 --> 00:07:02,549 going to use the lights of the building away across the other 149 00:07:02,559 --> 00:07:03,329 side of the lake. 150 00:07:03,700 --> 00:07:08,029 Just rotate the manual focus ring on the lens until we can 151 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,899 get the lights or the stars to be as small and as pinpoint as 152 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:13,589 possible. 153 00:07:14,369 --> 00:07:17,570 Now, the drawback of that is obviously if we’re shooting 154 00:07:17,579 --> 00:07:20,600 stars or we’re shooting the fells in the distance here, they 155 00:07:20,609 --> 00:07:23,450 would be in focus, because they’re so far away. But we have 156 00:07:23,459 --> 00:07:26,339 to be careful if we have anything in the foreground 157 00:07:26,359 --> 00:07:28,970 that’s really close to the camera lens, there’s a chance 158 00:07:28,980 --> 00:07:30,565 that it’s going to be slightly soft. 159 00:07:30,565 --> 00:07:30,869 JO DYSON: Okay. 160 00:07:31,279 --> 00:07:34,989 STEVEN HANNA: So I tend to keep the tripod up quite high and not 161 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,619 have anything in the immediate foreground- 162 00:07:37,630 --> 00:07:40,109 Just to make sure that we keep everything nice and sharp. 163 00:07:41,529 --> 00:07:43,420 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: The next setting you’ll need to get to 164 00:07:43,429 --> 00:07:47,869 grips with is ISO. This allows you to adjust the sensitivity of 165 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,815 your camera sensor. And this time, the higher the setting, 166 00:07:50,815 --> 00:07:51,440 the brighter the image. 167 00:07:51,450 --> 00:07:56,940 The trade-off with this setting is that higher ISOs can result 168 00:07:56,950 --> 00:07:58,510 in grainier images. 169 00:07:58,980 --> 00:08:01,779 The third and final parameter you’ll need to set is the 170 00:08:01,790 --> 00:08:02,769 shutter speed. 171 00:08:02,829 --> 00:08:06,579 This lets you control the amount of time the sensor is exposed to 172 00:08:06,589 --> 00:08:09,679 light. This is measured in seconds and the longer the 173 00:08:09,690 --> 00:08:12,079 exposure time, the brighter the image. 174 00:08:12,239 --> 00:08:15,750 But again, this setting must be handled with care. Set your 175 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,730 shutter speed for too long and your image may have some 176 00:08:18,739 --> 00:08:20,609 unwanted characteristics. 177 00:08:23,179 --> 00:08:25,100 STEVEN HANNA: Ideally for stars, we’ll be shooting maybe in 178 00:08:25,109 --> 00:08:28,260 around about like 20 to 30 seconds. Any more than that and 179 00:08:28,269 --> 00:08:30,619 you’re going to start to get those little star trails in the 180 00:08:30,630 --> 00:08:33,427 sky that– 181 00:08:33,427 --> 00:08:34,730 JO DYSON: So it would look like a shooting star? 182 00:08:34,730 --> 00:08:36,239 STEVEN HANNA: It would, yes. There’s a mathematical way of 183 00:08:36,250 --> 00:08:38,569 actually working it out, and it’s called the 500 rule. 184 00:08:38,569 --> 00:08:38,729 JO DYSON: Okay. 185 00:08:39,309 --> 00:08:43,530 STEVEN HANNA: So basically you take 500 and you divide it by 186 00:08:43,539 --> 00:08:45,330 the focal length of your lens. 187 00:08:45,830 --> 00:08:49,960 This here is an 18mm wide angle lens, so it works out anywhere 188 00:08:49,969 --> 00:08:51,640 between 20 and 30 seconds. 189 00:08:51,830 --> 00:08:56,530 Normally what happens is cameras will go up to 30 seconds that 190 00:08:56,539 --> 00:08:59,489 you can just manually adjust yourself. And then if you want 191 00:08:59,500 --> 00:09:03,609 to go longer than 30 seconds, so what you’ll have to do is put 192 00:09:03,619 --> 00:09:05,522 your camera into what’s called bulb mode. 193 00:09:05,522 --> 00:09:05,849 JO DYSON: Bulb mode? 194 00:09:06,169 --> 00:09:08,859 STEVEN HANNA: So you have to have some sort of a self timer 195 00:09:08,869 --> 00:09:13,059 or a cable release. I think because we don’t have any stars, 196 00:09:13,070 --> 00:09:17,059 we’re not worry too much about limiting our exposure time. So I 197 00:09:17,070 --> 00:09:19,075 think what we’ll do is go for a minute. 198 00:09:19,075 --> 00:09:20,250 JO DYSON: Shall we give it a go? 199 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:21,119 STEVEN HANNA: Yes, let’s do it. 200 00:09:23,210 --> 00:09:25,770 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: The three camera settings work in unison 201 00:09:25,780 --> 00:09:29,450 and adjusting one may change the others and affect your image. 202 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,750 It’s a delicate balance of trial and error which can take a while 203 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,739 to get right, but when you do it can produce some spectacular 204 00:09:37,750 --> 00:09:38,110 images. 205 00:09:38,110 --> 00:09:38,469 JO DYSON: Oh! 206 00:09:44,469 --> 00:09:46,309 STEVEN HANNA: So you can see the way it’s actually picked up. 207 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:50,169 JO DYSON: Gosh, you can really see all the mountains in the 208 00:09:50,179 --> 00:09:50,859 background. 209 00:09:50,869 --> 00:09:54,690 STEVEN HANNA: So you can see some of the low clouds just kind 210 00:09:54,700 --> 00:09:58,340 of rolling over the fells and then some of the rocks. 211 00:09:58,349 --> 00:10:00,409 JO DYSON: Gosh, it’s quite incredible what it’s picked up 212 00:10:00,419 --> 00:10:02,780 when all we can see with the naked eye is pitch black. 213 00:10:02,820 --> 00:10:04,539 STEVEN HANNA: Yeah, probably at the minute I’d say it actually 214 00:10:04,549 --> 00:10:07,739 looks maybe a little bit dark, so we would probably have to 215 00:10:07,750 --> 00:10:11,700 either put the ISO up even further, which is going to make 216 00:10:11,710 --> 00:10:12,780 it- 217 00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:13,080 JO DYSON: More grainy. 218 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,440 STEVEN HANNA: Exactly, yeah. Or else we’ll start to adjust our 219 00:10:15,450 --> 00:10:16,210 shutter speed. 220 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,650 So if we were to go into maybe a two minute or a four minute long 221 00:10:19,659 --> 00:10:23,020 exposure, hopefully we should see a little bit more detail. 222 00:10:25,929 --> 00:10:28,229 JO DYSON: How did you get into astrophotography? 223 00:10:28,719 --> 00:10:32,239 STEVEN HANNA: One of the first things was Tim Peake, the 224 00:10:32,250 --> 00:10:33,260 British astronaut. 225 00:10:33,869 --> 00:10:38,710 On Twitter and Instagram he started posting images that he 226 00:10:38,710 --> 00:10:40,010 was taking whenever he went up in the space station. 227 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,419 That just really piqued up my interest of what was actually 228 00:10:43,429 --> 00:10:47,890 capable. And then a guy back in Northern Ireland was running an 229 00:10:47,900 --> 00:10:49,500 astrophotography workshop. 230 00:10:49,510 --> 00:10:52,659 We went up to Mussenden Temple, which is one of the National 231 00:10:52,669 --> 00:10:55,380 Trust properties back in Northern Ireland, and we had 232 00:10:55,390 --> 00:10:58,150 clear skies the whole night and just being able to photograph 233 00:10:58,159 --> 00:11:01,580 the Milky Way and the detail the camera was picking up. It just- 234 00:11:01,580 --> 00:11:03,719 it just blew my mind. 235 00:11:05,260 --> 00:11:08,849 That was two minutes, almost two minutes we did that for. So if I 236 00:11:08,859 --> 00:11:10,799 show you the difference. 237 00:11:11,268 --> 00:11:13,710 JO DYSON: It’s huge, isn’t it? The mountains almost like it’s 238 00:11:13,719 --> 00:11:15,349 just shot in the day. 239 00:11:15,450 --> 00:11:17,789 STEVEN HANNA: It’s amazing the detail that the long exposure 240 00:11:17,799 --> 00:11:21,409 can pick up. And you’ve also got that little reflection coming 241 00:11:21,419 --> 00:11:22,797 across the lake from the house that the other side, the lights. 242 00:11:22,797 --> 00:11:24,700 JO DYSON: Yeah. And you can see all the clouds in the sky with 243 00:11:24,710 --> 00:11:31,729 the different mountains. Yeah. It just really looks like a sort 244 00:11:31,739 --> 00:11:34,320 of overcast day shot really, doesn’t it? 245 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:37,900 STEVEN HANNA: We have another camera set up, and I’ve just 246 00:11:37,909 --> 00:11:40,590 messed up all the settings for you. Do you want to have a go at 247 00:11:43,109 --> 00:11:43,328 setting that up? 248 00:11:43,328 --> 00:11:43,546 JO DYSON: Yes, can I? 249 00:11:43,546 --> 00:11:47,429 Okay, first up. That F-stop is now saying f/8. So I’d like to 250 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:48,769 set that to f/2.8. 251 00:11:48,769 --> 00:11:52,669 STEVEN HANNA: That’s right. The 2.8 is going to let in much more 252 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:53,059 light. 253 00:11:53,409 --> 00:11:56,140 JO DYSON: I need to make that ISO number much higher. So at 254 00:11:56,150 --> 00:11:59,553 the moment, that’s saying 2000. We had it on 12,800. 255 00:11:59,553 --> 00:12:00,580 STEVEN HANNA: We had. Yeah. 256 00:12:01,619 --> 00:12:03,169 Because it is so dark here. 257 00:12:03,369 --> 00:12:07,979 JO DYSON: That shutter speed is only showing 13 seconds. 258 00:12:08,609 --> 00:12:10,746 STEVEN HANNA: Our last thing is – 259 00:12:10,746 --> 00:12:10,972 JO DYSON: Infinity! 260 00:12:10,972 --> 00:12:11,650 STEVEN HANNA: Yes, it's focusing. 261 00:12:12,710 --> 00:12:15,859 What are we looking for then whenever we’re trying to get our 262 00:12:15,869 --> 00:12:17,200 stars into focus? 263 00:12:17,750 --> 00:12:18,605 JO DYSON: The brightest point? 264 00:12:18,605 --> 00:12:18,840 STEVEN HANNA: Yeah. 265 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,450 Well done. Good to go. 266 00:12:27,359 --> 00:12:30,119 JO DYSON: How do you compose a shot if you’re an 267 00:12:30,169 --> 00:12:31,140 astrophotographer? 268 00:12:31,150 --> 00:12:33,710 STEVEN HANNA: If you’re shooting somewhere where there’s maybe 269 00:12:33,719 --> 00:12:37,549 not as nice scenery around, you probably maybe want to include 270 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,599 much more of the sky, and almost fill the sky with stars. 271 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,919 The likes of here at Wast Water, you’ve just got the beautiful 272 00:12:43,929 --> 00:12:46,630 lake and the fells, you would want to include that in the 273 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:46,950 image. 274 00:12:46,950 --> 00:12:47,260 JO DYSON: Yeah. 275 00:12:47,260 --> 00:12:49,500 STEVEN HANNA: Though if you’re in a really beautiful area, you 276 00:12:49,510 --> 00:12:52,559 may as well try and incorporate it, so you’re almost shooting a 277 00:12:52,580 --> 00:12:55,349 landscape, but just with the night sky. 278 00:12:55,390 --> 00:12:57,849 JO DYSON: So I’m ready to shoot. 279 00:12:57,869 --> 00:12:58,669 STEVEN HANNA: Ready to go, yeah? 280 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:00,250 JO DYSON: Yeah. Okay. I’ll just take the picture. 281 00:13:04,719 --> 00:13:10,369 Great. Steven, these photographs are amazing. Look at these 282 00:13:10,380 --> 00:13:13,789 beautiful images, Steven. It’s making me think, what would we 283 00:13:13,799 --> 00:13:16,229 see if it wasn’t such a cloudy evening? 284 00:13:16,530 --> 00:13:19,429 STEVEN HANNA: Okay, well there’s a few different apps we can use. 285 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,320 And this is one called Sky Guide, which I would use quite a 286 00:13:22,330 --> 00:13:26,590 bit to actually let you see what is in the sky. We load it up– 287 00:13:26,590 --> 00:13:28,014 JO DYSON: So you’re pointing it at the sky? 288 00:13:28,014 --> 00:13:36,035 STEVEN HANNA: Yeah. And if you just move around- 289 00:13:36,035 --> 00:13:40,609 JO DYSON: Oh yeah. We’re literally just turning around, 290 00:13:40,619 --> 00:13:46,080 pointing the phone up at the sky and it’s showing us in real-time 291 00:13:46,090 --> 00:13:48,996 what stars would be behind those clouds. 292 00:13:48,996 --> 00:13:50,373 Leo. 293 00:13:50,373 --> 00:13:55,090 STEVEN HANNA: Here’s part of the Milky Way, just over here and 294 00:13:55,099 --> 00:13:59,871 you can see Sirius. 295 00:13:59,871 --> 00:13:59,873 JO DYSON: Oh yeah. 296 00:13:59,873 --> 00:13:59,880 STEVEN HANNA: There’s the constellation of Orion. You can 297 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,454 easily recognise that with the three stars that seem to be in a 298 00:14:03,454 --> 00:14:03,799 line. 299 00:14:03,799 --> 00:14:05,239 JO DYSON: Yes. Is that Orion’s Belt? 300 00:14:05,250 --> 00:14:10,770 STEVEN HANNA: Yeah. Then if we keep going right, there’s the 301 00:14:10,780 --> 00:14:11,929 Andromeda Galaxy. 302 00:14:13,309 --> 00:14:16,650 This section of the Milky Way is called Deneb. It’s actually the 303 00:14:16,659 --> 00:14:19,070 shape of a cross. And then the middle of it, if you can see 304 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,789 there, there’s a Nebula. It’s actually in the shape of North 305 00:14:21,799 --> 00:14:24,840 America. And it’s called the North American Nebula. 306 00:14:24,849 --> 00:14:28,640 So you can see how it’s pink and purple. What you can find is if 307 00:14:28,650 --> 00:14:31,169 you’re doing the longer exposures, whenever you have 308 00:14:31,179 --> 00:14:34,369 stars, it’ll bring out some of these lovely colours. 309 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,690 Now obviously our naked eyes can’t see, but the longer 310 00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:38,390 exposures in the camera can see. 311 00:14:39,460 --> 00:14:42,239 And then that is Polaris over here. 312 00:14:42,750 --> 00:14:43,760 JO DYSON: The North Star. 313 00:14:44,219 --> 00:14:54,400 STEVEN HANNA: We’ve had rain, we’ve had wind, we’ve had a lot 314 00:14:54,409 --> 00:14:55,856 of cloud, we’ve had no stars. 315 00:14:55,856 --> 00:14:56,343 JO DYSON: Yeah. 316 00:14:56,343 --> 00:14:58,650 STEVEN HANNA: There’s this one other thing we can do, which is 317 00:14:58,659 --> 00:15:00,710 quite a lot of fun. So we’re going to do a little bit of 318 00:15:00,719 --> 00:15:04,239 light painting. So we’re going to still use our long exposure, 319 00:15:04,250 --> 00:15:05,549 probably about 30 seconds. 320 00:15:05,559 --> 00:15:07,960 But if you and Lewis want to get your torches, we’re going to 321 00:15:07,969 --> 00:15:10,059 actually move them about. And what that’ll do is that’ll 322 00:15:10,070 --> 00:15:13,510 create some lovely trails of the movement. So whatever shapes you 323 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,109 make, the long exposure is going to capture those. 324 00:15:16,299 --> 00:15:19,320 JO DYSON: So Lewis, I’ve got my white torch light. You’ve got 325 00:15:19,330 --> 00:15:20,280 your red torch light. 326 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:20,460 LEWIS ROBERTSON: Yep! 327 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,360 JO DYSON: I reckon we give it a go to make our own stars. 328 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,380 LEWIS ROBERTSON: In the absence of some real ones. Let’s make 329 00:15:26,429 --> 00:15:26,780 our own. 330 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:28,460 JO DYSON: Okay, right. 331 00:15:29,799 --> 00:15:37,619 STEVEN HANNA: Okay, so three, two, one, go! 332 00:15:41,979 --> 00:15:44,030 JO DYSON: I don’t know if I did the star shape. 333 00:15:46,260 --> 00:15:47,109 STEVEN HANNA: Oh yeah! 334 00:15:48,690 --> 00:15:51,164 LEWIS ROBERTSON: That sounds promising. 335 00:15:51,164 --> 00:15:54,469 STEVEN HANNA: Hey, that’ll do! 336 00:15:55,369 --> 00:15:56,609 JO DYSON: Yours is a good star! 337 00:15:56,619 --> 00:15:57,840 STEVEN HANNA: A pretty good effort I think! 338 00:15:59,659 --> 00:16:02,739 JO DYSON: We’ve created our own stars in the absence of real 339 00:16:02,750 --> 00:16:05,510 ones. That’s fun! Cool! 340 00:16:05,510 --> 00:16:09,719 Steven, that’s been so interesting. I didn’t know you 341 00:16:09,729 --> 00:16:11,616 could capture some things when it’s so dark. 342 00:16:11,616 --> 00:16:14,590 STEVEN HANNA: Yeah. It’s quite amazing that our naked eye sees 343 00:16:14,599 --> 00:16:17,820 just black and yet the camera can just make it look almost 344 00:16:17,830 --> 00:16:18,590 like daylight. 345 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:20,323 JO DYSON: Thank you. That’s been really, really good. 346 00:16:20,323 --> 00:16:22,140 STEVEN HANNA: You’re very welcome. You got your stars at 347 00:16:22,150 --> 00:16:23,967 the very end! 348 00:16:23,967 --> 00:16:27,042 JO DYSON: Exactly, yeah! 349 00:16:27,042 --> 00:16:32,590 Now my previous holidays to the lakes have always been in much 350 00:16:32,599 --> 00:16:37,150 warmer months, so yeah, my first visit in the winter, which I 351 00:16:37,159 --> 00:16:40,380 wouldn’t have thought to do previously, although it’s cold 352 00:16:40,390 --> 00:16:45,409 and I’ve got about 20 layers on, it really does create quite a 353 00:16:45,419 --> 00:16:48,900 magical feeling, because it’s so much quieter, you really do beat 354 00:16:48,909 --> 00:16:54,479 the crowds and you enjoy this landscape in a much more 355 00:16:54,489 --> 00:16:56,678 private, peaceful way. 356 00:17:10,538 --> 00:17:13,468 Thanks for listening to this episode of the National Trust 357 00:17:13,479 --> 00:17:18,208 podcast. Until next time from me, Jo Dyson. Goodbye. 358 00:17:18,939 --> 00:17:21,280 MICHELLE DOUGLASS: This episode was recorded before the 359 00:17:21,290 --> 00:17:24,719 government COVID-19 travel restrictions came into place, 360 00:17:24,969 --> 00:17:28,260 and since then we’ve sadly taken the decision to close all our 361 00:17:28,270 --> 00:17:31,719 gated parks and gardens in addition to our houses, shops, 362 00:17:31,729 --> 00:17:35,199 and cafés to help restrict the spread of coronavirus. 363 00:17:35,650 --> 00:17:39,420 For now, we’d encourage you not to explore our places in person 364 00:17:39,469 --> 00:17:42,834 and instead explore our back catalogue of over 70 podcast 365 00:17:42,844 --> 00:17:45,364 episodes from the comfort of your own home. 366 00:17:45,755 --> 00:17:48,484 To find more audio from the National Trust, go to 367 00:17:48,494 --> 00:17:53,994 nationaltrust.org.uk/podcasts. And to stay up to date in our 368 00:17:54,005 --> 00:17:57,444 response to the COVID-19 pandemic, go to the front page 369 00:17:57,454 --> 00:18:01,035 of our website or keep an eye on your inbox and social feeds.