Club Meeting, 'Night Time Photography' - Tuesday 16th September 2025.
On Tuesday, 16th September, Morpeth Camera Club welcomed our guest speaker and club member Natalie Wright
with her presentation entitled ‘Night Time Photography.’ Natalie began by saying that she fell in love with the night
sky when her mother gave her a book written and illustrated by Patrick Moore when she was a child. She had used
telescopes, but it wasn’t until a year ago that she began to delve into Astrophotography. It is challenging; with the
importance of light, the right conditions, perseverance, and patience being the key to achieving good results.
She shared some of her earlier images taken with single exposures. Then, she explained that she started using apps
that predict Aurora sightings. These applications rely on satellites that monitor the sun. One app helps plan a location
by predicting the position of the moon and the Milky Way, while another app forecasts cloud cover.
She went on to describe the Bootle Scale, a nine-level classification that measures the brightness of the night sky
due to light pollution, indicating the number of stars visible and the quality of astronomical observation possible at
a given location. Bortle 1 signifies an exceptionally dark sky, and Bortle 9, which indicates a heavily light-polluted
urban sky. Natalie then went on to show examples of her panoramic night shots, where she explained that she had
stitched eight portrait images together. We then saw examples of light painting, using a torch to highlight specific
areas, which she said adds depth to the subject.
She explained that different colours of the Aurora are determined by different atmospheric gases interacting with
solar particles, and also the altitude of the collision. A short quiz was followed by information on other phenomena
such as comets, lunar eclipses and lightning.
She then went on to explain the equipment she uses to capture the Milky Way, such as a tracker, dust blower, lens
warmers, a red mode light, and not forgetting, a waterproof camera. This was followed by stunning images of the
Aurora taken from Blyth, Cramlington and Dunstanburgh and a series of time-lapse videos which included a three
minute Solstice Storm taken over a period of three hours.
Club Chairman Jeremy Cooper thanked Natalie for sharing with us her journey into night time photography, for
showing us her lovely images, adding that it was also a science lesson. He hoped that she had inspired the club
members to experiment with this difficult genre of photography, after which refreshments were enjoyed.
Steph.
with her presentation entitled ‘Night Time Photography.’ Natalie began by saying that she fell in love with the night
sky when her mother gave her a book written and illustrated by Patrick Moore when she was a child. She had used
telescopes, but it wasn’t until a year ago that she began to delve into Astrophotography. It is challenging; with the
importance of light, the right conditions, perseverance, and patience being the key to achieving good results.
She shared some of her earlier images taken with single exposures. Then, she explained that she started using apps
that predict Aurora sightings. These applications rely on satellites that monitor the sun. One app helps plan a location
by predicting the position of the moon and the Milky Way, while another app forecasts cloud cover.
She went on to describe the Bootle Scale, a nine-level classification that measures the brightness of the night sky
due to light pollution, indicating the number of stars visible and the quality of astronomical observation possible at
a given location. Bortle 1 signifies an exceptionally dark sky, and Bortle 9, which indicates a heavily light-polluted
urban sky. Natalie then went on to show examples of her panoramic night shots, where she explained that she had
stitched eight portrait images together. We then saw examples of light painting, using a torch to highlight specific
areas, which she said adds depth to the subject.
She explained that different colours of the Aurora are determined by different atmospheric gases interacting with
solar particles, and also the altitude of the collision. A short quiz was followed by information on other phenomena
such as comets, lunar eclipses and lightning.
She then went on to explain the equipment she uses to capture the Milky Way, such as a tracker, dust blower, lens
warmers, a red mode light, and not forgetting, a waterproof camera. This was followed by stunning images of the
Aurora taken from Blyth, Cramlington and Dunstanburgh and a series of time-lapse videos which included a three
minute Solstice Storm taken over a period of three hours.
Club Chairman Jeremy Cooper thanked Natalie for sharing with us her journey into night time photography, for
showing us her lovely images, adding that it was also a science lesson. He hoped that she had inspired the club
members to experiment with this difficult genre of photography, after which refreshments were enjoyed.
Steph.