We talked to Felix Heisig about how he takes photos stunning like these!
![Sylvenstein lake in beautiful Bavaria (Image Credit: Felix Heisig)](https://skiesandscopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Sylvenstein4-800x1120.jpg)
What’s your focus in astrophotography?
From autumn onwards I focus on deep sky imaging.
From spring onwards, when the center of the Milky Way can be seen again, I prefer to take Milky Way photos.
I also like to photograph our little son, or sometimes macro and animals.
![Glowin in the night (Image Credit: Felix Heisig)](https://skiesandscopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Glowin-in-the-night-800x1121.jpg)
“A lot of things are completely unplanned and spontaneous. You never know when you will be where and what the weather will be like.”
Where do you do your imaging?
I live in Ingelheim, which is near Frankfurt in Germany. Astrophotography is very difficult here because it is very bright.
I usually photograph deep sky from the garden and only with narrowband filters. It’s just too bright with Bortle 5.
![Mystical (Image Credit: Felix Heisig)](https://skiesandscopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mystical-800x534.jpg)
How do you plan your shots?
Most of the Milky Way photos are taken on vacation when we are travelling in a motorhome.
A lot of things are completely unplanned and spontaneous. You never know when you will be where and what the weather will be like.
At home I try to implement more creative ideas, and then I go further out into the country.
The tools I like to use are:
![The Rosette Nebula (Image Credit: Felix Heisig)](https://skiesandscopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Rossette_Hubble_1a-800x1120.jpg)
What gear do you use?
Cameras
The main camera I use for landscape astrophotography is the Sony A7III.
I had this astro-modified by Julien Steeland from Astrolabservice.
I previously had the Sony A7S, which was also modified.
My camera for deep sky is the ZWO ASI183MM Pro.
Plus I use the ZWO ASI120MINI for guiding.
Lenses
I have a range of lenses, including:
- ZEISS Batis 18mm f/2.8
- Tokina 20mm f/2
- Sony FE 14mm f/1.8
- Canon EF 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6
- Sigma 40mm f/1.4
- Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro
Telescopes
My telescopes are the:
Mounts
I have a number of Sky-Watcher mounts:
Plus I have these star trackers:
You can find more information about my gear listed on my website.
My wish list is still very long. There are still a lot of better telescopes, better astro cameras and lenses…😉
![Multiple levels (Image Credit: Felix Heisig)](https://skiesandscopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mehrere-Ebenen-800x535.jpg)
“One of the most beautiful moments I have experienced was in La Palma, at the top of the Roque de Los Muchachos.
At first it was cloudy and then the clouds disappeared and the stars appeared.
I never thought you could see the stars like that. You had the feeling you could touch them. You could even see the darkness. I won’t forget these moments.”
What post-processing do you do?
I use:
- Astro Pixel Processor (for stacking)
- Pixinsight
- Photoshop
For single Milky Way images I use Lightroom and then Photoshop.
![NGC 1499 California Nebula (Image Credit: Felix Heisig)](https://skiesandscopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NGC1499_SHORGB02-800x533.jpg)
What learning resources can you recommend?
- Katja Seidel’s book is a great read for beginners.
- Frank Sackenheim’s YouTube channel offers a lot of free knowledge when it comes to Deep Sky.
- I once wrote a book about editing Milky Way photos. It’s getting a bit old, but I still do a lot of things the same way today apart from a few new tools.
- There are also a few posts on my website. But since the site is new, I haven’t re-integrated everything yet.
![Jumping Rocks (Image Credit: Felix Heisig)](https://skiesandscopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Sprungfelsen1-800x533.jpg)
What’s your favorite moment in astrophotography?
One of the most beautiful moments I have experienced was in La Palma, at the top of the Roque de Los Muchachos.
At first it was cloudy and then the clouds disappeared and the stars appeared.
I never thought you could see the stars like that. You had the feeling you could touch them. You could even see the darkness. I won’t forget these moments.
You can follow me on these channels:
- Facebook (this is where I am most active)
- My website