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Astrophotographer Julia Icenogle on Why She Made the Move

Julia Icenogle photo of an Aurora over mountainous landscape — Z f, NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S at 24mm focal length, f/2.8, 4 sec, ISO 2000. I’ve chased the aurora many times, but nothing could have prepared me for the fantastic display on the night of May 10, 2024. At first I was worried that the ridge to the north of my location, or the tree line to the northeast might block the lights, but the aurora was so intense that it occupied the entire sky. Several shots from that night were actually taken looking south!

Julia Icenogle is an astrophotographer and illustrator based in Seattle, Washington. She started her photographic career with a DSLR, then was using an APS-C size (crop sensor) mirrorless camera before making the switch from another brand to Nikon full-frame cameras with the Z f and Z 7II. After a busy season which took in the spring total solar eclipse, a major solar storm and plenty of expeditions to capture the Milky Way, Julia sat down with us to talk about her approach to astrophotography and what she needs from her camera gear.

Julia explains what first drew her to the art of astrophotography, and why she keeps at it, despite the unique challenges.

I’ve been interested in astronomy and photography since I was a kid, but it took a couple of decades before I realized I could combine the two. My first night photo was taken on a Nikon D5000, and it is an objectively terrible image, but seeing the stars appear on the LCD screen for the first time felt like a kind of magic. That was it—there was no turning back, and that’s what keeps me going.

You have to be pretty enthusiastic about astrophotography to do it, because it can be very challenging. Clouds may drift in at the exact moment the Milky Way is in the perfect alignment. Your focus could be off. An airplane might somehow manage to find its way into every shot, and fatigue from hours of being up all night can lead to dumb user errors. But occasionally you’ll get something amazing.

Julia Icenogle photo of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse — Z f, NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S + Z Teleconverter TC-1.4X at 560mm focal length, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO 400. The eclipse in spring this year was pretty much my first time using the Z f. With every hour it seemed less likely that we’d see anything because of cloud cover. When totality started, and the eclipsed sun finally emerged, I frantically got the camera aligned and began shooting at various shutter speeds, getting as many images as I could while staring in awe at the sky. Just a few miles down the road, people didn’t see a thing.

The solar eclipse earlier this year is a good example. Despite years of historical weather data suggesting that Real County, Texas would have a good probability of clear skies, things were not looking great in the days leading up to the eclipse. With the forecast worsening, I considered packing up camp and driving all night to Arkansas, the next nearest spot with a better outlook. In the end I decided to stay put and take my chances. On the morning of the eclipse, a thick cloud cover rolled in as predicted. Following local folklore, we whistled for more wind to clear the sky, which must have worked, because about halfway through totality the eclipsed sun emerged in all its glory!

Julia Icenogle photo of a starry sky over a mountain landscape and its reflection in a lake — Z f, NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S, f/2, 13 sec., ISO 3200. Lost Lake is a popular spot for astrophotographers. On perfectly windless nights, the lake becomes a mirror for Mt. Hood. This is a single exposure.

Z f for Astrophotography

In addition to the image quality benefits of the Z f’s full-frame sensor compared to my previous APS-C format cameras, the manual dials are very handy for night photography. When you’re looking down at a screen to change exposure settings, you can easily blow out your night vision, so being able to change settings by touch is fantastic. My previous cameras had a similar control layout, so when the Z f was announced, it was a lot easier to contemplate making the switch back to Nikon, and also upgrade to full-frame.

The manual dials are also useful during time-sensitive events like a solar eclipse. You’re watching the most amazing phenomenon and you’ve only got a minute, and you know that if you mess up, it’ll be years until you get another chance. In a situation like that I don’t want to be distracted staring at settings on a little screen for even a second. During the eclipse I wanted to get a variety of exposure times in order to capture prominences and the inner, middle, and outer corona. I was able to do that quickly by touch, just by turning the shutter speed dial a notch or two in either direction.

Julia Icenogle photo of car lights around the bend in the rode, taken in low light with a slow shutter speed — Z f, NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S at 24mm focal length, f/2.8, 117 sec., ISO 640. I’ve met some wonderful friends through astrophotography, and often the camaraderie is the main factor that keeps us motivated to get out to shoot. On a cloudy night, I had an idea for an interesting shot. My friend volunteered to drive up and down this mountain road during a long exposure and had the brilliant idea to open the sunroof with all the interior lights on for an interesting effect.

With so many possible variables that can affect a shoot, Julia spends a lot of time planning her expeditions. How does she approach a typical shoot?

I spend an embarrassingly long time searching satellite views on Google Maps for possible dark sky locations with no light pollution. The topographical maps on the Gaia GPS app help to determine if a mountain or landmark will be blocking the view. I’ll also check to make sure that the area I’m considering will be accessible at night and isn’t on private land. I scout locations during the day if I can, but sometimes I don’t have any option except to show up and hope for the best.

I use the PhotoPills app to check Milky Way core alignment, another app called Astrospheric to check the sky conditions, and yet another called Windy to double check the weather forecast. I also stay alert for notifications about potential Aurora activity and if I get pinged that it’s looking good, I’ll drop everything and go do that instead.

Julia Icenogle photo of Baring Mountain in low light with stars in the sky — Z f, NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S at 14mm focal length, f/2.8, 10 sec., ISO 2500. The summer solstice this year took place just a day before the full moon. I was backpacking in the Wild Sky Wilderness. It never got truly dark that night, so the Milky Way wasn’t visible, but the moon did light up Baring Mountain dramatically, making it worth the effort.

The camera settings required for successful night photography are completely different to other kinds of subjects. With shutter speeds often running into several seconds, high ISO sensitivities and very little light, getting clean, sharp images takes practice. How does Julia approach the challenge?

For the purposes of focus and composition I set my lens aperture wide open, and I usually focus manually on Jupiter or some other bright star or planet about a third of the way into the frame. If there’s still some ambient light, I might turn focus peaking on, which helps. Starlight View mode in the Z f is great for twilight and moonlight, and it’s very useful if I arrive at my location after sunset, when I’m composing shots in near-darkness. I shoot in manual exposure mode with the lens aperture either still wide open or slightly stopped down, and usually start with an ISO setting of between 2000-3200. When it comes to the shutter speed, I let PhotoPills do the math to determine how long of an exposure I can get away with for my camera and specific lens before stars turn from dots to lines. I don’t like looking at the LCD screen if I can help it because it can cast too much light, so I usually turn the LCD off and use the viewfinder, unless the camera is positioned at an awkward angle.

Julia Icenogle photo of Mt Fernow with the Milky Way in the sky overhead — Z 7II, NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S, exposure for the sky is f/1.8, 6 sec, ISO 2000; exposure for the foreground is f/1.8, 4 sec., ISO 125. This photo was from my new Z 7II’s first backpacking adventure in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. This photo is stacked for focus and exposure. I shot the glacier lilies in the foreground about an hour after sunset, and then waited in the dark for the Milky Way core to align over the mountain.

Back when I was still considering making the switch to full-frame, I borrowed a friend’s Z 7 and did some side-by-side comparisons against my APS-C gear, and it was so much better. When I was shooting on APS-C, I learned a lot of strategies to reduce noise using third-party apps and image stacking and so on, but with the Z f, I’m finding that I don’t need to do any of that. I’ve just been capturing single exposures and adjusting in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I recently added a Z 7II to my collection as well, which has also been great for low-light photography. For lenses, I’m still building out my Nikon mirrorless kit, but I’ve been extremely impressed by the results I’m getting from the NIKKOR Z 14-28mm f/2.8 S and the NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S lenses. My dream lens would be a super-telephoto pancake for moon shots which I could take backpacking, but I know that’s impossible!

Jeffrey Ofori photo of a young tulip and leaves — A yellow Tulip starting to bloom.

Having a day job as a Postal Worker in Canada, Jeffrey Ofori works outside, which is great because he’s a flower photographer, though it can be distracting to come upon lovely gardens as he’s delivering mail. But to say Jeffrey is just a flower photographer might not be accurate either, because he loves all genres of photography.

Jeffrey Ofori photo of a daisy about to bloom — A Daisy just starting to bloom.

Inspiration from Cinematography

My inspiration comes from—believe it or not—cinematography and color grading, [like] when you’re watching a movie or documentary and there are certain scenes that really draw you in and portray a mood or feeling. I combine that experience with all-inspiring mother nature, and when you bring it down to the macro level, a whole other world opens up.

This cinematic moodiness is brought out by altering the hues or colors of the image palette in his images. And it’s created a unique and visible style when you’re scrolling through your Instagram feed and come upon Jeffrey’s images. You instantly know who created them.

I aim for the cinematic moody feel for my flowers when editing. I always go for that vibe. It’s hard for me to take just a picture of a flower and leave it as is, there are a few instances when I barely edit the photo leaving the flower and its natural color and beauty. For the most part I like to have the flower or petals be the main focal point rather than the background and I want the flowers to tell a story.

Jeffrey normally knows in his head how the final image will look before he’s even brought the image into Adobe Lightroom. He says: “When I capture an image, a lot of the time I already know how it will look in post.” He adds: “I tend to have a calming feeling when I look at my final images. I like to give them names, which are sometimes quirky, sometimes serious. Most of the images that stand out to me though, are the ones that I name.”

I’m a huge fan of cinematography, color grading and color theory.

I’ve created my own custom presets that I work with to get the feel I’m looking to achieve. A lot of the time I shoot underexposed with the white balance set to Cloudy, I also always use a polarizer filter to block out the harsh midday sunlight, and I tend to stick to the Golden hours.

Another aspect to his style is that to the viewer, these flowers almost resemble dancers in a way—their petals are dainty, and in the perfect position relative to the rest of the flower. We’d even call Jeffrey’s images “ethereal” which is exactly what he wants his viewer to think. Jeffrey is adept at using texture, depth-of-field, and composition along with his own color style to create macro images of flowers that look as if they’re paintings not photographs.

“I want the [viewer] to bring their own story to what they see and feel when they come across my art. It brings me joy when I hear or read the emotional feedback from people, it’s a humbling experience,” he explains.

The “Blue Ribbon” image (below), which is my most popular and favorite flower it is an African Daisy just starting to bloom and it’s only an inch tall and the petals flow like poured water. With the right Nikon Micro lens these are the kind of results you can get.

Jeffrey Ofori photo of an African Daisy just starting to bloom — An African Daisy just starting to bloom.

No Flowers Were Harmed in the Making of These Images

I don’t manipulate the flowers themselves by adding or subtracting petals but rather I adjust the textures and tones. Like capturing people, every flower is different.

Jeffrey finds many of his subjects in neighborhood gardens and greenhouses. And because he always takes his camera with him, when the inspiration strikes, he’s ready.

I would say 99% of my flower photography is outdoors. I work with what I’m given. I capture flowers as they are in nature. The most I would do is move a leaf out of the way but I don’t cut or reposition the flowers in any way.” The other 1% of the time I capture indoors with store bought flowers but it is very rare, don’t get me wrong, indoor still life flowers are just as beautiful. I just like to shoot flowers in their natural elements and surroundings.

Jeffrey Ofori photo of an orange dahlia as it starts to bloom — A Dahlia just starting to bloom.

Embracing Nature

A shallow depth of field is probably most important to Jeffrey, he explains, especially close-up. It allows him to manually pinpoint his focus on a certain part of the flower rather than the flower being photographed completely in focus—to turn an image of a flower into a beautiful landscape that fills the frame.

As for color, I change it to how I see it. I’ll use different hues and shades to make you look twice. Most people know what the natural color of the flower looks like, what I aim to do as an artist is make you feel how a flower looks.

I consider myself an artist and the camera is my brush. When I use the quote “a rose is a rose is a rose” what I’m trying to interpret to the viewer is that it’s okay to use your creativity and not follow the norm, dare to be different and become your own. Macro photography is a world within a world where we walk past little things everyday that go unnoticed. If we just take the time and slow down, we can really embrace what nature has to offer. “We are here for experiences not appearances.”

Jeffrey Ofori photo of Echeveria Runyonii flowers — Echeveria Runyonii, completely altered colors.

Jeffrey has quickly gained a following on Instagram, having only joined the social media platform in early 2021. He understands the importance of engaging with followers, interacting with them. Along with regular posts, he replies to many of the comments he receives. “I appreciate that most of my work can be recognized based on my style,” he says.

Astrophotographer Julia Icenogle on Why She Made the Move

Z f for Astrophotography

Inspiration from Cinematography

No Flowers Were Harmed in the Making of These Images

Embracing Nature

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