The first session introduces the instrument. An equatorial mount - the standard for astrophotography - has two axes of rotation: one aligned with Earth's rotational axis, one perpendicular to it. This configuration allows the mount to track a star's apparent movement across the sky by rotating around a single axis, at a rate of one full rotation per 24 hours. Understanding this mechanism is the foundation for understanding why tracking matters and what happens when it is not precise.

Polar alignment is the workshop's first practical skill. Before any tracking can work, the mount's rotational axis must be pointed accurately at the celestial pole - the point in the sky around which all other stars appear to rotate. In the northern hemisphere, this is within one degree of Polaris. The process of achieving polar alignment using a polar scope, or the drift alignment method, is the single skill that most separates competent astrophotographers from struggling ones.

The second session moves to the cameras. Every modern camera can be adapted to work with a telescope as its lens, and the workshop covers both dedicated astronomy cameras and standard DSLRs and mirrorless systems. The critical concepts are: sensor size and its effect on field of view at a given focal length; read noise and how it limits faint object detection; the effect of colour filters in reducing light pollution; and live stacking, the technique of combining multiple short exposures in real time to build up a faint image.

The Marrakech sessions, conducted from the riad rooftop, introduce wide-field astrophotography with camera lenses rather than telescopes. Focal lengths from 14mm to 85mm each produce fundamentally different images of the same sky. A 14mm lens captures the entire Milky Way arch in a single frame; an 85mm captures a section of the galactic core with individual star-forming regions beginning to separate. Understanding which focal length to use for which target is a decision that reshapes how photographers see the sky.

The Atlas sessions introduce the specific challenges of mountain astrophotography: the irregular horizon created by peaks and ridges, the rapid dew point changes as the temperature drops through the night, and the exceptional seeing conditions that high altitude produces. The telescope tracking must be adjusted for the altitude - not all mount firmware handles elevated targets correctly at their default settings.

The Sahara sessions are where the telescope's full capability becomes apparent. The combination of the equipment mastered in the first four nights with the sky quality at Erg Chigaga produces results that participants consistently describe as unexpected. Deep sky objects that are challenging targets from European latitudes - the Eta Carinae nebula, the Omega Centauri globular cluster, the full core of the Milky Way without the horizon obstruction that European latitudes impose - become accessible and straightforward.

The workshop does not assume prior knowledge. Every concept is explained from first principles, with the practical activity following immediately from the explanation. By the final Sahara night, participants who arrived with no astrophotography experience are independently setting up equipment, performing polar alignment, selecting targets and capturing usable images. The sky is the classroom, and the Sahara is its finest campus.

Equipment that participants should bring includes: any camera with a manual mode and the ability to shoot RAW files; a sturdy tripod; a remote shutter release; and warm layers for nights that cool to five degrees in the Atlas and ten in the Sahara. Telescopes and tracking mounts are provided by the retreat.