Just before New Year I spotted a Samyang F2.8 14mm lens for sale on Facebook and decided to buy it. The Samyang is a lens which had been on my want list as it has good reviews for astrophotography and didn’t cost the earth.

My Samyang 14mm F2.8 attached to my Nikon D500 lens.

I had to wait a while before I could test it out due to the weather but as soon as we had clear skies I headed to a favourite spot of mine, a place locally known as Brill-on-the-Hill. It’s a rare high spot in Oxfordshire, it has outstanding views and there’s a windmill which makes for great photo opportunities.

I didn’t go with much of a plan but to improve my photography this year I want to take part in photography challenges and competitions. Alyn Wallace monthly challenge for January is to get a good shot of Orion, so that’s what took most of my focus.

I arrived at Brill around 7pm which meant we’d reached true darkness, the moon wasn’t yet up and Venus hadn’t quite set.

I started by using the Windmill to get a shot of the Plough because I know from experience that the Plough constellation often sits nicely alongside the windmill.

Selfie. F2.8, 20 seconds, ISO 2000, 14mm.

It was one of those nights where it looks clear to the naked eye but once you start taking long exposures you notice there’s some cloud high up, as you can see in this image.

You’ll also notice I had some fun by getting in the picture myself! I framed the shot and then used 10-second timers to launch myself up a very sodden slope before freezing still for the picture. I had a few attempts but was happy enough with this shot. Yes, I need a stronger torch!

Orion. F2.8, 20 seconds, ISO 2000, 14mm.

I then explored a few different compositions for getting Orion above the windmill before settling for the composition above, which was my favourite image of the night. I noticed there was a chance to frame Orion between the windmill and the tree. I hadn’t noticed the puddle when moving into place (‘cos it’s pitch black of course!) but this adds a little something, there’s a depth to this photo.

Following this capture I moved to another area about 50 meters from the windmill, a spot which looks out over Oxfordshire. I tried to capture the setting Venus but I couldn’t get an image I was happy with (see below).

Looking west. F2.8, 10 seconds, ISO 2000, 14mm.

Giving up on Venus, I turned my attention to the Milky Way. It’s not the best season for the Milky Way but it’s still visible. I had two compositions where I took 20 images looking north and thought I could stack them to get a decent amount of clarity but I struggled to do so. The images below are single images from each composition.

The image to the left is probably the better of the two but there’s work to do. I think I can do some further editing to blend in a tree which isn’t blurred and also to better show the milky way (this blog won’t always show the final images but tracks my outings).

Despite the images being hit and miss (which is often the case in photography right?), I was really pleased with what I was seeing on the Samyang. Being able to do longer exposures without star trails was useful and the image quality is good. I’ve got a star tracker but it’s good to have the option not to use it and not risk trailing.

I finished my evening at Brill with a couple more photographs of Orion above the windmill but from a further distance.

As you can see there’s lots of trial and mainly error with my astro photography but with each outing I learn something knew, reflect on the images I took and look to improve the next time.

And, as anyone who also enjoys astro photography will also know, a night spent out under the stars is never a waste of time.

Until next time!

Simon