With the Leonid meteor shower gracing Welsh skies this month, we talk to Steffan Thomas about his passion for astrophotography
Last year marked a lot of milestones for Steffan Thomas, a 20-year-old astrophotographer from Felindre, just outside of Swansea. In May, his Mineral Moon photograph won first prize in a youth festival. In the summer, he received a grant from Big Ideas Wales to grow his small business selling high-resolution prints of his work.
“Those things have encouraged me so much, they really boost your confidence,” he says.
One of the biggest joys of sharing his passion is being able to show people things they might not have known existed. “I can take a picture of something light years away to remind people that there’s so much out there, and I think that’s pretty cool,” he says.
How it started
Thomas is self-taught, having gotten his first camera around his 15th birthday. To him, pictures are like moments held in time, even if it’s just his “cat being weird.” He recalls going to the Swansea Air Show as the final push to get into photography. “I saw people with big cameras taking pictures of planes. I thought that seemed cool, and progressed from there,” he says.
A passion for astrophotography followed – Thomas remembers coming across a video by Youtuber Rickvanman as the start of it all. “I’d never heard of astrophotography before. I just watched in amazement,” he recalls.
He says the first time he tried it, he unknowingly managed to take a picture of the Andromeda Galaxy. “Just a little smudge in the picture, barely a few pixels. I thought ‘wait, that’s a whole galaxy?’” he says.
I think it’s comforting and scary to know there’s all these things in the sky
A technical art
A mistake Thomas recalls making in the beginning is comparing himself to more experienced photographers. He reveals that seeing the breathtaking final product can sometimes make you look at your work and go: “God, that’s horrible.”
When you take a photograph of the night sky, it often is just a black screen. The secret to a great astrophotography picture lies in the editing, in knowing how to bring out the details hidden in the base photograph using the software. “That’s where you can see real talent,” says Thomas.
What also helps is a telescope. With it, Thomas explains it’s as easy as inputting coordinates into a laptop. “It’s kind of cheating,” he laughs. “Before I got it, I would find things myself by just looking at the sky.”
The wondrous night sky
A night of astrophotography fills Thomas with wonder, above all else. “I think it’s comforting and scary to know there’s all these things in the sky.” To him, the most fascinating aspect of it is the sheer magnitude of everything. “There are infinite possibilities, and I’m fascinated by it,” he says.
While November is a good month for astrophotography, the Welsh weather can get in the way. Having tried to capture meteor showers before with varying success, Thomas is excited for the Leonid meteor shower this month. “It’s frustrating, but I’d like to keep trying,” he says.
Steffan’s advice for taking pics of meteor showers
Set exposure to 10 seconds, so the stars appear bright
Be patient! Meteor showers are mostly luck Commit! You might need to watch the sky for a long time
Download a camera app able to sequence exposures When a meteor comes through, the camera will be able to catch the trail!
The future is in the stars
Thomas regularly sells his prints at the local market in Felindre. Earlier this month, he traded at the Taste of West Wales Winter Festival in Carmarthenshire – his biggest festival yet. The near future will also see him setting up an Etsy shop to sell his prints online.