For 13 years I have studied the art of photographing the night sky. My photos have been published by Astronomy Magazine, NASA, and have even been turned into Forever Stamps by the US Postal Service. My passion is educating others, and I want to show you tips and tricks for producing stunning night sky photographs during my workshops. I will guide you step by step through the process of capturing and post-processing night sky photos and timelapses. I offer my workshops in either single or multiple night packages. During the day, I will teach you my post-processing methods using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Please email me at [email protected], or call me at (412) 680-6408 for pricing and to schedule your workshop!
Workshop testimonials
Dale Davis, M.D., Florida
"Just returned home from your 2 day astrophotography workshop and I could not have been more pleased with the entire week-end. We spent two full days and nights and half a third day before my home bound flight working on editing sequences and learning Adobe Premier Pro. The workshop was a one-on-one interaction between Matt and myself. I had had about 2 years of experience using time lapse and learning on my own about photographing stars, star trails, and the Milky Way, but this time was what made it all come together. We spent two nights at the Houston Astronomy site, which is a privately owned (by members) area approximate 75 miles west of the lights of Houston in the country. The light is minimal here. I was able to get two clear nights, and wonderful views of the Milky Way and the stars. Matt taught me how to set up the shot, the settings, and exposure and timing. The following night we did a sunset (day to night time lapse) and also managed to do a second shoot, of Polaris (North star) to be used for single print, time lapse, and star stacking. I found Matt to be an excellent and patient teacher, anxious to have the student learn, and take ownership of the shoot, rather than hand hold the student through the shoot. We also did post-shooting computer processing at the hotel for as long as was required until I learned to my satisfaction. I never felt rushed. I’d be happy recommend this workshop to anyone interested in timelapse and astrophotography."
Robert Victor, Kansas
"I attended a workshop with Matt in August 2016 where we photographed the night sky in Kansas. His knowledge of the constellations and their movements is extremely vast. Add to that his ability to visualize and guide participants to artistic perspectives gives people a great advantage when starting out in astrophography."
Chiaki Nonoyama, Washington
"After thoroughly enjoying Matthew's Ranger Talk about the night sky at the Mount Rainier National Park, I set up my tripod outside to see if I could manage taking the pictures. Although I had learned the basics of manual settings, I knew little of night sky photography and wondered why I couldn't press the shutter. Luckily, Mathew was still available inside and he was more than kind to explain the steps. He came out with me, suggested the settings for lens and camera, and explained pros and cons of particular combinations. I felt elated seeing the first images I captured and would have practiced for hours if it weren't for the clouds that moved in quickly to hide the stars and milky way. It was also fascinating and inspiring to see the breathtaking photos he had taken. I would have loved to attend more talks and workshops of night skies and photography. Big thanks to Matthew for this amazing experience!"
Sai Nakama, Washington
"The one-on-one Q&A session about astrophotography with Matthew definitely had me assured I was on the right track. I learned how to use the histogram for getting proper exposure, as well as a number of ways of keeping everything in focus. I was also happy to learn a number of new ways I can use my image editing software, as well as some alternatives."
Shrinidhi Kumbaji, Washington
"I was a part of a night photography workshop on top of Mt. Rainier with Matt Dieterich and I have nothing but extremely positive things to say about the knowledge, passion and honesty with which Matt approached the workshop. He was very approachable and answered all my questions and even went to the extent of sharing a lot of the photos he had taken and the settings and process he had to go through to get to the final image. That is something I have not seen in other workshops. I had acquired a tremendous amount of knowledge on night photography, Astrophotography and Photoshop in the single workshop session with Matt. I would have loved to pick his brains more often and attend his workshops again but I was moving out of Seattle to Dallas. I wish Matt the very best and I'm sure anybody who is a part of his workshop will leave a happy camper with a lot more knowledge than they had started with. Thanks Matt and keep up the good work"
