Yesterday evening presented me with a wonderful chance to photograph Venus and Jupiter as they both slowly made their way towards the western horizon. The shot below was a 1/3 second exposure taken using a 70mm focal length at ISO 100 with an f/stop of 5.6. I adjusted the white balance to shaded and set the quality mode to RAW. The image was then post processed by adjusting the white balance and applying a soft focus effect in Photoshop.
Once I had taken a good number of exposures through the a200, I thought it would be interesting to sketch the two planets through the 25×100 Strathspey binoculars. My intention here was to combine the two sketches into one final wide field image just as you can see below. The 25×100s don’t offer the best observational capabilities when viewing planets, but the final sketch offers a little more depth than the actual photograph above. I hope you enjoy both.
Tags: Callisto, DSLR, Europa, Ganymede, Io, Jupiter, Photoshop, Strathspey 25x100, Venus, X1 Sgr
Great sketch, as always. It’s funny how Jupiter doesn’t seem so bright next to Venus.
Thanks Aaron! I’d agree that Jupiter certainly isn’t as bright when compared to Venus, but I have to say that this was probably one of the best observations I have made of Jupiter. It was really nice to see the planetary disc so well defined.
Wonderful sketch of Venus and the Jovian system, Ewan! The way you captured the brilliance of Venus in the sketch, and the progressively fainter levels of Jupiter and its moons really does capture the depth you noted.
Thank you for your kind words Jeremy! Really means a lot to me. It’s been such a joy to observe these two wonderful planets in the winter sky. I felt that a photographic record of Jupiter and Venus just wasn’t enough. I really wanted to capture the essence of these two celestial bodies and I’m really pleased that you think I have achieved that.