Re: [APML] First astrophoto

["Taras R.Hnatyshyn" <tarashnat@earthlink.net>]

Colin,

Good job on the first attempt. I really can't add much to what has 
already has been said about the about your processed photo.

I remember my first deep sky photos which were a 5 minute exposure of 
M31 from the Catskills and a 1 minute exposure of M42 from NYC. I was 
pleasantly surprised by what that image of M42 caught...

Medium format is a great match for wide-field piggyback shooting. I 
acquired a Hasselblad for this purpose two years ago, and I got so 
hooked that I've ended up getting more bodies and quite a few lenses. 
Having a second body allows me to take star trail photos with one of my 
other lenses while I'm tending to the camera mounted on the LX200. One 
thing I found when testing the first camera in daylight, so as to be 
totally comfortable with its operation, I fell in love with shooting 
with it in many situations. So much so, that my Minolta 35mm cameras 
are currently gathering dust.

Taras


On Apr 19, 2005, at 5:03 PM, Colin Clark wrote:

> 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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>
>
--
                         <end of message>
******************************************************************
* Taras R. Hnatyshyn                     tarashnat@earthlink.net *
*    http://homepage.mac.com/tarashnat/astrophoto/welcome.html   *
*  73°59'18.4"W 40°43'37.2"N    or    74°25'24.4"W 41°40'42.0"N  *
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