An Edmonton photographer is looking up – way up – to capture the furthest reaches of outer space with a telescope and a camera. And the results are stellar. Gabe Sewell is an astrophotographer who works in a locally-owned astronomy store, All-Star Telescope, which he says is the only store of its kind west of Toronto. The store has been open for the past several years, having originally been located in Didsbury, Alta. “We kind of cover everything in the entire western half of Canada and a little bit of the northwestern part of the States as well,” Sewell said, while standing next to an array of telescopes. Adding that the star-studded combination of work and hobby is “fantastic.” “I feel pretty lucky to find myself in such a niche store with such a niche interest,” he said. Starting with an interest in photography at a young age, Sewell wanted to reach higher and searched for a more challenging focal point in high school. “I suppose it was a very deep rabbit hole,” he reminisced. Now he requires advanced equipment and extensive effort to capture heavenly bodies almost beyond the scope of what is visible – from eclipses and planets to distant galaxies and nebulas. “You’re kind of capturing things at the very limit of what cameras are able to see,” Sewell explained. “You’re counting photons … and you’re exposing for hours at a time, tracking objects as they move across the sky, integrating images from multiple nights, extracting details and data that aren’t even visible in the initial exposure.” The astrophotographer says it’s more than just using the largest telescope – as planets will drift within a couple of seconds – but also using filters to block out specific wavelengths of light, anticipating clear skies, and accounting for satellites and other things that could potentially interfere with the perfect frame. He adds it takes several weeks to collect images and put them together for the final result, using special software. “You put those photos into a program that will register the images, align them based on what’s in the image and then it will average the values of all the pixels so the random noise gets averaged out and the signal from the largest target comes through.” Sewell’s prized photo is his last image of the Andromeda galaxy. “It’s the nearest main galaxy to our own. It’s our neighbour,” he said. “It was the first proper image I took with the very large telescope that I have right now.” Other cosmic favourites include a tie between the planets Jupiter, for its size and brightness, and Saturn, with its signature cloudy patterns. “I (also) like taking photos of emission nebulae. They’re very colourful, saturated-looking objects in the night sky,” he added. “They seem very magical almost.” According to Sewell, the long, cold nights of winter are the best time of year to capture the beauty of the sky and space. And while he seeks a personal challenge, he says anyone can get started in astrophotography. “You can get started with just a cheap DSLR and a tripod and some dark skies,” he said, hoping to get more people to just look up at the brighter things dotting the sky. “There’s always more to learn about space and there’s always more to discover.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug
