Photography of Celestial bodies, Astrophotography by Ajith Everester

Ajith Everester, from Tamilnadu, an expatriate is living since 2005 in Qatar. He started in 2011, with his photography skills development and began with wildlife photography. He became interested in astrophotography as his daughter wished to see the planets using a telescope. He was fascinated in taking and sharing photos, observing celestial objects and stars that he now became an astrophotographer. He also turned his house roof into a personal observatory.

Human beings are fascinated and infatuated with the phenomena and celestial objects. Man indulges in the cosmos using different telescopes to astronomical flights. The Earth inhabitants kindled interest in him that he went deeper to know what lies in the skies. Using advanced gadgets and equipment, his keenness in astrophotography increased and his enthusiasts also capture and see what happens in the skies. Now, the numbers have rise in manifolds.

Astrophotography is photography of celestial events, astronomical objects, and the night sky areas. The astronomical object (the moon) was the first photograph and it was taken in 1840, but not until the late 19th century with his advances in technology it allows for detailed photography. He records the details of the Sun, Moon, and planets. While astrophotography images the objects invisible to human eye such as nebulae, dim stars, and galaxies.

Ajith Everester, started as a bird photographer, became a wildlife photographer, capturing the Qatar wildlife, especially the desert fox. Slowly, Ajith got interested in the sky and stars, that be began doing astro photography, the Milky Way. Later his interest in sky and stars made him a dedicated astrophotographer.

Ajith was a professional working as a health and safety manager in a construction company and in 2011 he bought his first camera. He got the camera to take his daughters photograph. One fine day he met a wildlife Doha-based photographer, DileepAnthikad, and made him his mentor in photography. Ajith continued with wildlife photography for nearly seven years, and a few of his photos are published in European magazines.

Besides wildlife photography, Aijth did sky photography. He got interested in astrophotography in 2017 by luck. He started watching planets with his Grade IV daughter and became interested in seeing the planets. He continued observing celestial objects and stars using the telescope and also took photos of the objects. He studies the way to photograph the stars and the ways of handling equipment for a year.

Pursuing astrophotography is not cheap accepts Ajith. He says there is a need for full family support and is impossible to handle for a man with a regular job. His interest in deep space objects has made him spend QR40, 000. Initially he was inspired by the Nasa deep space photos and the colors coming up at the sky at night. He loved to see the unseen that is more beautiful than you see on the earth.

Ajith loves photographing celestial objects; he loves the silence of the night to focus on objects. Ajith’s next target is capturing Eagle Nebula that is the stars birth place. He says nebula gets set early and mostly is on the horizon in day time, so he has to wait for nearly a year to capture nebula.

Ajith says an astrophotography is not easy job. It involves facing different natural and man-made challenges. Ajith travels 80 to 90 kilometers most days of a week from his home to capture best views at night of the nebulas and galaxies. He says it takes around three to four hours to get one photograph of the skies. Astrophotography requires the camera to stay open for four to five minutes and it results in taking photos continuously. Thus, there are hundreds of photos stacked together. Later it is processed through special software.