The Art of Astrophotography:
An Interview with Todd Bush Perseid Meteor Shower
D
id you ever come across a photograph of a fiery comet shooting through the sky, or the northern lights casting their eerie, magical glow, and wonder, “How did I miss seeing this?” or, “Who took that amazing shot!?” The answer to the latter question might just be “Todd Bush.” Todd Lewis Bush has taken photos as long as he can remember, citing his father as his initial inspiration. Bush opened his first photography studio across from the entrance to Sugar Mountain in 1990, working part time at a one-hour photo lab, before becoming a full-time photographer in in the mid-90s. Today, he is one of the High Country’s most recognizable names in commercial photography. When he’s not focusing on photo shoots for a long list of happy clients, Bush is busy pursuing what he calls his “hobby”—astrophotography—or the photographing of celestial objects and phenomena. “Whenever news of a comet being visible reaches me, I’ll oddly spring up from a sound sleep to get up and go outside to photograph it,” says Bush. “It’s near instinctual.” CML sat down with Bush to learn more about his quest to capture the sky’s marvels and share them with those of us who may otherwise miss the beauty and awe of these heavenly occurrences. CML: Is it accurate to say that the sky is one of your favorite subjects? Bush: Beyond a doubt! Hearing the phrase time and again, “Keep looking up,” inspired me to a lifetime of doing just that. So much in the natural world is encouraging, and worthy of witnessing or photographing to share with those who may not be present when you see something
54 — Winter 2021/22 CAROLINA MOUNTAIN LIFE
By CML Staff Aurora over Beech
fascinating…things like vast expanses and mighty mountains. But the sky is indeed special. Home to soaring birds, clouds and transiting celestial objects, the sky is like a movie screen of activity—ever-changing. CML: How did you first become interested in capturing sky scenes and celestial events? Bush: My interest in astrophotography really kicked in during the mid-80s when Lorie (my awesome wife) and I joined the Charlotte Amateur Astronomy Club (CAAC). The club had an observatory southeast of town in Weddington. CAAC members could get a key to their observatory building and access a 16-inch Cassegrain telescope to which you could attach your 35mm SLR camera and get a taste of photographing night sky objects big-time. Also in the mid-80s, Halley’s Comet made its once-every-75-to-76-year appearance. To see how something barely visible to the naked eye could have so much more impact when revealed in a photograph was what really set the scene for my personal interest in astrophotography. CML: What celestial event or atmospheric phenomenon is the most memorable—where everything came together to create a spectacular moment on “film”? Bush: The totality moment of the Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017 tops the list. But not far behind and not necessarily in order would be photographing several comets; getting to twice witness and photograph aurora borealis right from home in Banner Elk; on a few occasions witnessing an atmospheric phenomenon known as a Glory, as well as seeing and photographing
lightning, meteors, milky way, rainbows, sun-dogs, moon-dogs, iridescent clouds, a mysterious green air-glow at night, and one time at the coast witnessing the elusive green flash that sometimes spectacularly appears just before the sun breaks the horizon. CML: Tell us more about the planning that went into capturing such a rare event as the Great American Eclipse of 2017. Bush: Having photographed and enjoyed several lunar eclipses but having never photographed a total solar eclipse, I had a lot to learn. Eclipse chasers are an elite breed who think nothing of traveling to the other side of the world to see these spectacular and rare events. In 2016, a couple of our eclipse-chasing friends told us about a total solar eclipse in 2017 that would be visible across much of the U.S., giving us time to prepare for photographing it—within a budget. Those same friends had given us a motorized equatorial mount that moves to compensate for the rotation of earth, keeping celestial objects in view as the earth spins. With that mount, and cameras and lenses in hand (including a hand-me-down from Grandfather Mountain’s Hugh Morton, my hero and mentor of all-things-photography), we decided to additionally get a small telescope with more magnification to make the sun appear even bigger for this potentially once-in-a-lifetime event. Next was the matter of selecting a spot along the line of totality—the eclipse’s centerline path where observers can witness a total eclipse of the sun, which is when the moon completely obscures the sun creating a ring of light. After reviewing maps, satellite images and the projected path of the
