Québec is under a curfew until February (for now), we are not allowed to go out after 8pm, which is not great for Astrophotography or astronomy.

So I thought of putting this guide to show you some ideas we can try to achieve from our own house, hopefully you have a backyard, a window, or a balcony.

If you like it please share it 🙌
#lockdownideas #curfew #couvrefeu #zenderfullchallenge

01- Sirius

Sirius is the brightest star in our sky nowadays. It's colour changes a lot when it's close to the horizon so that would make it a perfect time to take it in pictures or video. It's so bright and located near Orion constellation, you cannot miss it.

02- Constellations

If you're lucky and have a good view from your house, you can easily try to take bright constellations such as Orion in a photo. Here's an example of the comet Neowise along side with @radiocanada building in Montreal.

03- Startrails

This is maybe my favorite photo to try from home. Just leave your camera shooting for 1.5 hours and then stack the photos. For more info, check my IG live and a Facebook live where I explain the process.

04- Longer Startrails

The longer the trails the more interesting the result it. That's my balcony view!

05- ISS and Startrails

You see that line on the top left corner? That's the International Space Station. Use the app @ISS_Detector to find out where and when it's gonna pass near your location. Take a long exposure towards that direction and voila! Bonus: Keep shooting for a longer period and you can get Star Trails and the ISS as well.

06- Car trails

If your apartment has a view on the streets then how about taking pictures of car trails. Simply put your camera on a tripod and shoot a long exposure

07- Timelapse Moon set

Obviously the moon is always here (almost) making it an interesting subject to shoot from our home. Try also to take a time lapse of it setting like in this example.

08- Timelapse Moon rise

Use an intervalometer and leave your camera on your tripod. This works also with your phone, I recommend the app Hyperlapse.

09- Room obscura

If you have windows in your apartment, try this out because it's super fun. Start by covering all your windows (I used trash bags), your room has to be pitch black. Then get a coin, place it at the center of the window and cut the circle in the trash bags. Light will then come into your apartment mirroring what's going on outside.

10- Bokeh

This actually also works on bright stars like Sirius. Try being out of focus it helps creating nice bokeh effects.