Re: [APML] Astrophoto results from desert southwest

["Chris Schur" <cschur@cybertrails.com>]

Jeff, looks like you had a fantastic shooting session. I especially like the
wide angle shot of scorpius!

Chris Schur
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff Ball <jeffball@zoominternet.net>
To: 'Discussion of Film Astrophotography' <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2003 8:29 PM
Subject: [APML] Astrophoto results from desert southwest


> Hello all,
> I have completed processing images from a recent trip to New Mexico
> Skies and Sunglow Ranch, Arizona.  I have two journal pages dedicated to
> these two sites.  I joined with other APML members and observers for 16
> nights of imaging.  We had a great time and a lot was learned in the
> exchange of ideas on astrophotography.  I look forward to their posts
> when completed.  Unfortunately, only 6 nights were able to be used
> photographically.  The past few months have provided me an opportunity
> to work on a few things.
>
> I have come to the conclusion that exposing the current picks of slide
> film, E200 and Provia 400, beyond 1 hour with my 130 f8 scope was
> gaining me nothing.  So I decided to pick up a faster lens and purchased
> a Traveler via Astromart.  I am very impressed with the Traveler and new
> field flattener.  Minimal vignetting in only the extreme corners is seen
> on 6x7 format. I also imaged with a newly acquired 300mm Pentax f4 lens.
> My goal was to capture the Milky Way and the dust cloud areas.
>
> I shot some Provia and E200 early on and we were fortunate to have Rick
> Thurmond on site at New Mexico to develop our slides the next day.
> Thanks to Rick for doing a wonderful processing job.  I really liked the
> overall presentation of the E200 more than the Provia and went to E200
> exclusively for the remainder of the trip.  I found one hour at f6 to be
> a good exposure on the E200 at those dark sky sites.
>
> I also broke down and bought a monitor calibration kit-the Spyder with
> Optical software.  I really think this makes a huge difference.  I know
> they are expensive, but I am very pleased with the results.  It took me
> a while to really see gray as my monitor had been really biased towards
> blue.
>
> I had a chance to really go through Jerry L's book on CD.  This is part
> of the core curriculum for image processing.  I thought I had a little
> grasp of Photoshop until I read this CD.  Jerry really assists with
> setting up the software for the most efficient use.  His
> non-astronomical graphics really helped me to envision the processes
> that were taking place in Photoshop.  This was a great idea to include
> non-astronomical images as a teaching tool of the fundamentals of image
> processing.  Wonderfully done and thanks to Jerry.
>
> My processing may not be perfect, but I do think I have developed a
> certain consistency thanks to members on this list, textbooks by members
> on this list, and Jerry's book on CD.  I hope you like the images.
> Comments or questions welcomed as always.
>
> http://www.astro-photography.com/new_mexico.htm
>
> Jeff Ball
> www.astro-photography.com
>
>
>
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