Photography Nights at Lick Observatory
Bring your camera and photograph one of the most scenic spots in the Bay Area. Just 20 miles from San Jose, Lick Observatory sits 4,200 feet atop Mt. Hamilton, offering breathtaking sunsets and stunning night sky views. A longtime favorite for photographers, this iconic location is perfect for capturing the beauty of the cosmos and the historic observatory.
The 36-inch Great Refractor telescope will be placed in a photogenic position, with the dome open, weather permitting.
Photographers are able set up their camera equipment and/or telescopes in the parking lot in order to capture the exterior of the main building, the San Jose city lights, and stars in the night sky.
Drones may not be flown on the Observatory property.
Photography Night is for outdoor shots only.
Tickets
Admission fee: $75.00 with fees you pay $81.88 per vehicle.
Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday April 16, 2025 at noon on Eventbrite.
Parking is limited, we have spaces for 25 vehicles, one ticket per vehicle, 4 people maximum per vehicle. Buses, RVs, and trailers are not permitted to the Photography Night.
Driving to Lick Observatory
Allow a one hour drive from San Jose. Please drive carefully; the road is scenic, but winding. There are no gas or automotive services on Mount Hamilton Road, so please plan accordingly. Find more travel information here.
Need inspiration for what to shoot?
Check out the Lick Observatory Flickr collection and Instagram feed for ideas.
Join the Photography Events Mailing List
If you’d like to receive information about Photography Nights at Lick Observatory, please join our Photography Events mailing list.
Photography Night Etiquette
With so many avid photographers on site, all wanting to get that special shot of Lick Observatory, the 36″ Great Refractor, the night sky, and/or city view, attendees must be aware of how their actions affect those around them. Here is a short etiquette guide to help make sure everyone gets a fantastic photo and enjoys the evening.
- Be courteous and considerate of other photographers, remember that you are not the only photographer on site.
- Do not position yourself in front of other photographers – ask if you are in their field of view.
- Check with those to either side before walking in front of their camera – they may be in the middle of a long exposure.
- Check with those to either side of you before turning on a light (flashlight, headlamp, phone, etc.) – they may be in the middle of a long exposure.
- If you do want a closer view/perspective, check with others before you move forward to be sure you don’t walk into their frame. Please make it a quick intrusion and don’t stay there too long!
Tips for Nighttime Photography
Photography Nights are a great opportunity to hone your photography skills. There is no one way to get beautiful photographs after sunset, but here are a few points to get you started.
Equipment
While you don’t need all the equipment listed below to get great nighttime photos, it certainly helps.
- Tripod – Most nighttime photography requires longer exposures, so a stable tripod is essential for most photos.
- Fast lens – A lower-aperture lens will let in more light, with generally f/1.4 or 2.8 or similarly low f-ratios being preferred. If you don’t have a lens with that low an f-stop setting, you can still get great nighttime photos, but you may have to do longer exposures.
- Learn to use the Bulb setting on your camera before it is dark – figuring out how to manually set the aperture and exposure time in the dark is challenging at best.
- Cable release – While not essential, it is very helpful to use a cable release to start your exposures. This reduces the chance of shaking the camera when pushing the shutter release button.
- Lens stabilization – In most cases if you are using a tripod, you’ll want to turn off the lens stabilization if the lens has that feature. The tripod is doing the stabilizing work so the lens doesn’t have to.
- Batteries – Make sure you have extra batteries for your camera. Holding the shutter open for many long exposures will drain the battery more quickly than with general daytime use.
Techniques
- Wide Angle Shots: Lenses less than 16mm focal length are great for wide angle shots of the nighttime sky. The shorter the focal length, the longer the exposure can be before you see star trails instead of point-like stars. A quick rule of thumb to avoid star trails is to divide 600 by the focal length of the lens to get the longest exposure time that will not show star trails. For example, if you are using an 16mm lens, 600/16=37.5, so the longest exposure time you’d want to use is 37 seconds.
- ISO: The higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive to light the film or detector will be, but there will be more noise with higher ISOs. The ideal ISO for nighttime photography varies depending on the camera and the subject matter. In most cases using ISO 800 to 2000 works well for nighttime and astrophotography.
- Focusing: Focusing in dark settings can be challenging and in most cases the camera auto focus function will fail. Hence, learning to use the manual focus of your camera/lens is crucial. Most lenses have a mark indicating the Infinity focus setting, which you want to use for astrophotography. Once that is set, zoom in on a star on the LCD display using the magnify icon and finely adjust the focus until the star is as well focused as you can make it. This procedure may involve taking many exposures to make sure you have the best focus. If you want to focus on a foreground object, if you can illuminate it with a flashlight, the autofocus setting of the camera can adjust the lens to the right focus. At that point you’ll want to put the camera back in manual focus mode without changing the focus, turn off the flashlight, and take your nighttime photo.