Astrophotography: An Interview with Todd Bush

The Art of Astrophotography:

An Interview with Todd Bush By CML Staff

Perseid Meteor Shower Aurora over Beech

Did 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 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

Great Eclipse of 2017 Equipment and Dalai Venus Transit across the sun from Grandfather Mtn.

sun for that day, I chose a dam along Lake Rabun in Lakemont, Georgia.

With cameras pre-programmed with exposure times and intervals, I was able to watch the event live through eclipse glasses while back-floating the warm, calm lake waters—the cameras doing the heavy lifting. As the eclipse entered totality, the coloring in the sky and general feeling was like nothing I had ever witnessed. Otherworldly comes to mind. The silvery light illuminating the world around was like seeing a scene from another planet. The stillness, the crescent shadows on the ground, the joy expressed in shouts of wows by everyone in earshot made for an exhilarating, unforgettable experience.

Note to readers:

Another Great American Eclipse is slated for April 8, 2024 (https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/april-8-2024/).

CML: What astronomical events are you hoping to capture this winter?

Bush: Like many, I’ve always been a fan of the constellation Orion. Orion is a wonderful winter subject. A nebula of glowing dust and gas below the belt of Orion known as M-42 is a birthplace of stars and an ideal target for binoculars, telescopes and most cameras. This winter I hope to get a photo of the whole constellation of Orion that also shows M-42 prominently with its array of reds that show up during long exposures.

CML: Can you provide some guidance for readers who may be interested in astrophotography, including some of the essential tools/equipment one needs?

Bush: Some tips for anyone interested in astrophotography would be to start out researching astrophotography online or in a book. The website space.com has a guide to astrophotography for beginners. Then check out videos on the subject on YouTube, especially those by Alan Dyer. I use the app PhotoPills for planning shoots and really like the app SkySafari for seeing what’s going on in the night sky. Star Walk is very nice too. The app developers’ tutorials on all of these are excellent.

A tripod is pretty much a must, though some modern cell phones and cameras can even capture the Milky Way handheld. Wide-angle camera lenses are nice to use for astrophotography of the Milky Way and meteor showers, as you can go up to 30-second exposures recording a lot of detail without much movement of the stars. The wider the better in that regard. Once you increase the magnification, it is imperative to look into getting a motorized star tracker (or similar) to mount your camera onto. A red headlamp or flashlight is best to have on-hand to help see your gear better without ruining night vision (as a white light can). Practice with and set your camera controls and settings for astrophotography indoors before heading out.

Finally, I recommend visiting the website spaceweather.com to find out what’s going on in the night sky throughout the year.

See more of Todd Bush’s astrophotography at bushphoto. com. Bush’s photographic works, including astrophotography, are available for purchase at BE Artists Gallery in downtown Banner Elk. Bush also teaches digital photography classes at Mayland Community College. Learn more at https://www.mayland.edu/.

Milky Way

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PHOTO BY TODD BUSH

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