Re: [APML] February Images and Other Stuff

[Matt BenDaniel <matt@starmatt.com>]

Jon,

Really nice stuff.  

The stacking of E200 and 400F seems to work well.

The Central Orion shot is fabulous, but the background is a bit dark.

I notice some dark circles around almost all the stars embedded in
nebulosity in the IC405/410 and IC443 images.  I think they
significantly detract from the shots.  The easiest remedy is to exclude
those stars from the mask (i.e. only shaping the field stars not
embedded in the nebulae).

Matt

> Jon Kolb wrote:
> 
> February was a good month for astrophotography, and I got out three
> nights without ever having to worry about getting up for work.  Part
> of the month's haul has been posted, along with a few new equipment
> and other shots for my web pages.  I'm still working on a composite of
> Sh2-240 and a Provia F 100 film test shot at f/4.  My attempt to shoot
> the Vela SNR from 39.9N was successful but unspectacular and won't be
> posted.
> 
> First, a new photo of me on the Background page, just in case you were
> wondering what recently unemployed folks look like after 24 years of
> steady work.  Actually the shot was taken last Fall.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/the_photographer.htm
> 
> I'm using a new mounting plate I had made at a local machine shop.
> I've been calling it a "multi-mounting plate" but I think the term
> Superthingamajig is more fitting.  This is the plate I used for the
> Leonid storm, and the last photo on the page shows my meteor rig.
> Notice the lack of snow at 9000 feet in November - the other shots
> were taken this month.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/piggyback.htm
> 
> No, this isn't the Michelin Man with a tan looking for some Ass Kung
> Fu.  It's one for Herm and all you other folks in tropical
> locations who don't know what a sharply dressed astrophotographer
> really looks like.  The double-thick knee material lets me get down
> and dirty with a Knife-edge in any weather.  It's about 15F in early
> twilight in this shot, having dropped from 45F in the previous hour
> while I was setting up.  And you call that shindig in Florida a
> "Winter" star party - yeah.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/badger_spring.htm
> 
> Alright, enough of that stuff - on to the astrophtos:
> 
> 1) Borg 100ED at f/6.4 on a night of spectacularly steady seeing -
> best I've ever had.  Cold.  Two 60-minute exposures, one each on E200
> and Provia 400F.  This film combination looks very good together to my
> eye.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/ic405-410_epsilon.htm
> 
> 2) Same setup, date, and exposure info as above.  The stars got a
> little big on me in this one - probably a focus shift due to dropping
> temperatures.  I tried some masking tricks to make them smaller, but
> that wound up making some dark rings around the stars embedded in
> nebulosity.  I'll probably start this one from scratch sometime in the
> future.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/ic443_region.htm
> 
> 3) Borg100ED at f/4 on night of more typical (that is, fair to poor)
> seeing.  Two images on E200, 30 and 45 minutes.  45 minutes is really,
> really deep at f/4 on this film.  I may have gone a bit far with the
> color correction on this one.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/central_orion.htm
> 
> 4) Same rig as 3), a couple of nights later.  Two 40m exposures on
> E200.  This one's kind of a face-slapper, especially at full
> resolution, and I may back off on the Rosette a bit in another run at
> it.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/cone+rosette.htm
> 
> 5) One wide-field shot is ready, done with the 105mm f/2.4 Pentax 67
> lens.  Two 60-minute shots at f/6.7, one each on E200 and Provia
> 400F.  There's some trailing visible at high zoom, probably due to the
> tripod head QR plate slipping again.
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/auriga_milky_way.htm
> 
> Comments always welcome, even if just to make fun of my wardrobe.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Jon Kolb
> Adventures in Astrophotography
> http://home.datawest.net/jkolb/
> jkolb@datawest.net

-- 
Matt BenDaniel
http://starmatt.com


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