The Milky Way rises above hills illuminated by light from the side. It is a night scene of the Pilbara

Astrophotograph
Workshops

Unlock the universe through your lens and join Starbright Wonderland Photography for an enchanting astrophotography journey in Mandurah, Western Australia.

Have you ever gazed at the stars and wished to capture their brilliance with your camera?

If you've been longing to capture the cosmos but have been held back by fears of standing alone in the dark, the complexities of camera settings, or the mysteries of photo editing, you're in the right place.

Welcome to Starbright Wonderland Photography, where dreams of stardust and galaxies come to life!

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Looking through a cave through the entrance to the salt ale outside, and the Milky Way core rising

Why Starbright Wonderland?

I’m Suzy, photographer, adventurer and generally pretty happy human being. I have been taking photos for as long as I can remember but I didn’t get my first ‘good’ camera until about 2012. I didn’t even buy that - it was a hand-me-down!

I remember my first attempts at astrophotography; pointing the camera at the night sky with no idea what to look for or what settings to use. I saw all these incredible images in magazines with no idea how to create them. Take a look at the early images of mine below. They're not great. I still love them because each holds memories, but I was always, and still am, so eager to learn more.

It took many nights out on my own under the stars, making many mistakes over the years but it all payed off.

I won Best New Talent at AstroFest 2020 and hosted my first solo exhibition in April 2023.

Suzy sitting on a red rock in a Pilbara landscape holding her camera. She looks happy

“I attended an Astrophotography workshop with Suzy and found her to be so open and generous with sharing her knowledge of photography. She is so professional but totally down to earth and provides a comfortable place to ask questions and learn. She's a genuinely lovely person who is eager to help you get the most out of your images. The quality of her work was reflected in the quality of the workshops - even down to the food provided and beautiful booklet we were given to take home (I've attended other workshops who only provide PDF of information to print yourself). I can't wait to take what I've learned out into the field myself and hopefully attend another workshop in the future. Thank you Suzy!"

Lisa S, WA

attended Mandurah Astro Workshop Oct 23

A comparison between two images, one from 2013 which its slightly blurry of the waterfall and night sky, the second is 2023 and the waterfall I sharp, the sky is bright and well defined. it its a contrast between beginner and expert

two images from lake. 2013 is dark and poorly exposed stars. 2023 is bright, has foreground in focus and star trails in the sky in concentric circles

Now I want to share this love of the night sky with you. I have condensed the last decade of learning, trial, error, mistakes and triumph into a course that will take you from novice to creating your own beautiful astrophotography images in the one workshop.

My Astrophotography workshops have been created especially for beginners. There is no entry requirement other than you want to capture the night sky.

You do not need fancy equipment! There is an idea that astrophotography is an expensive hobby. It really needn’t be. I see so many posts in Facebook groups of people suggesting special tracking mounts or camera modifications to beginners. Believe me, you do not need this. I have the original mount that came on my tripod, my ten year old lens and, well OK I do have a pretty good camera now, but I still use my decade old Canon 6D all the time.

Here is what you do need:

A camera with a manual setting. You will also need to be able to manually focus your lens.
A tripod
Access to a computer with Lightroom

That is it...

Let’s have a look at how the workshop is structured.

a family sit on the shore of an estuary looking at the purple southern lights

flat lay of a workbook, the top copy is closed and shows a starry scene on the cover, the second is open and shows a diagram and table showing lots of information

Astrophotography Workshop

Astro Theory Session

We start by demystifying the exposure triangle, what camera settings you need and discover how to plan your night-scape shoot. I teach how to shoot in different conditions so you are prepared for a variety of astro scenes.

Hands-On Night Sky Workshop

Here you learn hands-on, with me by your side, how to perfect your camera settings and exposure for stunning starry photographs.

By the end of this evening you will have a handful of perfectly focussed, well exposed and beautifully composed astrophotography images.

Remember those incredible images in magazines I mentioned above? The ones I was trying to emulate? Well even when they printed the camera settings my images still looked nothing like those - this is because we need to edit the images.

We capture all the detail and information we need in the camera and it is essential to get that part right, but it is the editing that teases the beauty out.

BONUS EDITING WORKSHOP

Astro Editing Made Easy - online

No need to fear editing software. In our follow-up classroom workshop, we'll edit RAW images taken during our night shoot. Witness firsthand how to transform your shots into stunning works of art. I will be editing some of your images taken on your camera to show you what is possible. You can follow along on your computer so you are practicing with me. Ask questions and use my expertise to create images you are truly proud of.

The online editing workshop happens one week after the in-person Astrophotography Workshop.

By the end of this workshop you will have a handful of beautifully captured and edited images.

So you get 3 sessions, each a minimum of two hours and personalised advice for

$350

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