MPB Meets: Astrophotographer Nicholas Römmelt

For more than twenty years, Nicholas Römmelt has photographed the night sky from the top of the Alps. His astrophotography has won multiple awards, including the Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards and Sony World Photography Awards, and led to the publication of his photobook, Sternbilder: Die Alpen bei Nacht (2017), which is now in its second edition. 

Nicholas Römmelt’s remarkable astrophotography often features a lone person, holding up a small torch against the darkness. Surrounded by stunning mountainous landscapes and the starry sky above, Nicholas Römmelt’s model provides a sense of human scale to the vast expanse of space. The figure, standing alone on a rock in space, serves as a hopeful symbol of life against the infinite night. And what beautiful photography it is, too. 

In this interview, Nicholas Römmelt discusses his journey to becoming an astrophotographer, recommended camera gear and astrophotography advice for beginners.

MPB: Why did you decide to specialise in astrophotography?

NR: Ever since I was a very young boy, the stars and the night sky have fascinated me. I devoured everything I could find about them. I started photography late, around my 30th birthday. But I’ve been a mountaineer since I could walk, so photography in the mountains—and finally the stars—was just the ‘logical’ conclusion.

The decisive point for me was probably back in 2003, when I saw a photo of the Milky Way. I knew I just had to try to create that myself. But back then, almost nobody in Europe had much experience with digital photography and the Milky Way, and there were no tutorials or workshops on the topic. So, it was a long and rocky road to get to today's point.

MPB: How would you describe your way of working?

NR: I love panoramic photography, especially at night. So I can simply bring home more of the gigantic view. My pictures are rarely taken spontaneously. Most of the time, I have planned a spot weeks in advance or have already been there several times to get a picture. Then, it’s just up to the weather to play along. 

I only have a narrow time window to fit in the astronomical part of the composition. Some are possible only for a few days, once a year. If the weather’s bad, the chance is lost, and the project goes into the drawer until the next opportunity. 

From my point of view, it’s completely different if you tinker with a Milky Way in perfect composition over a landscape—in the comfort of your home in the image editing program—compared to actually having to go hunting for it. But for me, that’s exactly the attraction of the whole thing. It's not about creating content as fast as possible to generate likes, but to let a vision become reality.

MPB: Why do you include human figures in your astrophotography?

NR: Mostly, you see my wife and mountain partner, Christina. I'm only in the picture when it gets too cold for her, and she has already crawled into her sleeping bag! Joking aside, I prefer to stand behind the camera than in front of it. Christina has perfected the art of remaining extremely still in the dark night on an exposed cliff for the approximate 2–15 seconds necessary for exposure. 

It’s all about what I want to convey to the viewer: how it felt to stand exactly at this point and marvel. A photo is primarily two-dimensional, and even the viewing medium—like a mobile phone screen—does not really improve the landscape in relation to understanding the dimensions of the section shown. 

If you put a human element in relation, the viewer can quickly get an idea of scale. Also, I think that one can identify oneself rather with the person. In our fast-moving time and the daily flood of images, the viewer’s eye remains hanging a little longer and begins to explore the image.

With my pictures, I want to show that there’s something very valuable out there—and we are about to lose that. Nature to marvel at, to let your soul dangle, to experience and to ground yourself. If I stand under a starry tent and realise that I can only see the stars of our home galaxy with the naked eye, which has a diameter of 100,000 light years, it quickly grounds me as a tiny little insignificant human being. 

We are losing the night. Millions of people have never been able to see the Milky Way with their own eyes, simply because ever-increasing light pollution makes it impossible. If you don't know something, you can't stand up for its preservation. 

MPB: What are the biggest challenges for you in astrophotography?

NR: Being in the right place at the right time. It has become more of a trend in recent years to get to the right place at the right moment with Photoshop, and so skies are swapped. 

A Milky Way from the southern hemisphere is packed over a landscape from the northern hemisphere, or a landscape taken during the day or at dusk rather than at night. Composition and time blendings show us ‘fictitious’ landscapes for which the right moment was irrelevant. 

I have nothing against that in principle. But, unfortunately, some photographers pass off these artificial images as reality—and that’s where it stops for me. 

MPB: As an astrophotographer, how important is camera gear for you?

NR: The right equipment is certainly an essential factor to be able to work professionally. But even the best equipment doesn’t necessarily make a good photographer. You can conjure up a good picture even with the simplest camera. 

I've been shooting with Canon since day one. Canon cameras are workhorses that don't grumble at -25°C in an arctic winter blizzard or at +50°C in the desert. 

I recently traded in almost all of my Canon DSLR gear for a mirrorless Canon EOS R and Canon EOS R5 and some Canon RF lenses. The upgrade to mirrorless has made my work much easier.

MPB: Can you tell us some must-haves for astrophotography? Do you have any advice for beginners?

NR: At the start, any DSLR or a mirrorless camera with a full-frame sensor, a fast wide-angle lens and a really stable tripod will be enough. 

I always chuckle a little when some people buy equipment worth thousands, and then arrive with a tripod that is completely overwhelmed for the weight.  For long exposures, beyond 15 seconds, you need a good tripod. Otherwise, the slightest breeze will ruin one image after another. 

Later, you might be able to ‘trick’ the Earth's rotation a little with a small Astro tracker and take your photography to the next level. 

Perhaps the most important tip is not to focus too much on the technical aspect of photography, but to get a taste of astronomy. Everything about us runs according to fixed rules and in certain cycles. If you know your way around the night sky, you'll find your motifs more easily.

MPB: Do you have a favourite image or place? If so, why is it special to you?

NR: I don’t have just one favourite place. I moved from Munich to Tyrol, which is a relatively dark place, and I have many favourite places very close to me. I can climb a mountain right from my front door. Otherwise, many of my favourite places are in the far north on the mountains of Norway. But here, it's mostly about the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter.

Looking for more info about astrophotography? Check out Michael Pacheco’s astrophotography advice, look at the best Canon EF lenses for astro, or read our interview with astrophotographer Jonny Hill. Or, read more interviews on the MPB content hub.