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[APML] First astrophoto

Hi everyone,

Okay, this isn't really my first astrophotograph, but it is the first 
that I've finished processing and feel is presentable, however modest a 
start it may be. It's also my first post to the list!

This is a short exposure of Orion that I took back in February 2004. 
I've been taking wide-field astrophotographs for a couple of years now 
but have only recently been able to start scanning and processing them. 
I don't have much in the way of sophisticated or expensive equipment, 
but I've really enjoyed trying to do the best I can with simple means. 
This particular shot was a 5 minute exposure piggybacked on top of my 
little ETX-90 using Ektachrome P1600 film. I used a Nikon 50mm lens at 
f/2.8.

http://colin.rcat.utoronto.ca/astronomy/feb_22_2004/index.html

P1600 is a fantastic emulsion for short exposures. My ETX is about as 
accurate as a $5 watch (and just as plastic), so this film is an ideal 
match for barn-door trackers and other simple mounts. The Horsehead and 
Barnard's Loop were faintly visible on this film with exposures as 
short as 2 minutes! It's grainy, particularly after processing, but I 
don't mind it too much. Would stacking a couple of similar exposures 
with this film help to improve the graininess?

This image was processed in Photoshop to remove the vignetting and to 
bring out the faint details. Since it was such a short exposure, it 
took a fair bit of curving to pull out the detail, at the expense of 
some clipping in the highlights. Do you think I took it too far? I also 
used Matt BenDaniel's star shaping technique to keep the brightest 
stars from clipping and losing their color while bringing out some 
extra detail in Barnard's Loop and the Rosette.

Since taking this one, I've upgraded my setup quite a bit. I'm now 
using a Vixen Super Polaris mount which is a welcome change from the 
ETX. I'll hopefully post some longer exposures that I took with it 
soon. I've also recently bought a Bronica ETR medium format camera and 
am looking forward to getting some time at a dark site to use it for 
piggy back shots.

I'd be very pleased to hear any comments or criticisms you may have 
about this photograph.

Colin

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