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Re: [APML] My first pictures

Hi Shawn !
 
Welcome in this fabulous world of astrophoto :) Your start is good !
 
Here you'll find a lots of good advice but make some search in the archives of APML http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/ you'll be glad to find a lots of good stuff !
 
Here's a good site where you can read good things too http://www.rocketroberts.com/astro/techart.htm#tripod
 
For star trails , Ray gave you good advices.
 
The 50mm you plan to buy is an excellent choice , faster the lens is better for tripod astrophoto to avoid star trail with ~20 seconds exposure.
 
Try a fast film , like fuji superia x-tra 800 , you'll have more stars on your pictures :) Don't avoid the Moon , make some experiments with the moon in your picture , you can be surprised of the results .... a foreground illuminated by the moon can be beautiful too !
 
For your notes , you can write them but personaly I prefer a dictaphone , it's easier in the dark :) 
 
I hope that help !
 
Dom :)  

Shawn Wallbridge <shawn@synack-hosting.com> wrote:
Hi, I recently got into Astrophotography (just after seeing all the
Transit pictures). Last week was my first opportunity to actually go
out and take some pictures. I don't really have the right equipment
yet, so I just did some star trails with my Nikon F75 and a tripod.
Most of the pictures didn't turn out, but a couple sort of did, here is
a link (http://www.wallbridge.net/astro/).

I hope to go out again soon, take better notes and hopefully avoid the
problems I ran into last time (technical issues, going out way too
late, and having a REALLY bright moon). I really wish I the picture I
was taking when some kind of satellite had passed turned out, but it
didn't :-(

Eventually my Meade ETX-90 will show up and I can get some decent
pictures out of it. I will need to find a camera better suited to
astrophotography, the l ocal camera shop has an FM2, but I have to limit
my spending after buying the Meade.

The one thing I am thinking of getting right away is a Nikon 1.8 50mm
lens that the local shop has. It works with the F75 and the FM2, and it
would be easier to use in the dark (the lens on my F75 doesn't have any
markings for focusing, so the infinity mark would be handy (I am not
sure if that's why lots of the pictures didn't turn out, I might have
been focused past infinity and the stars became blurs)), it is pretty
cheap, so it sounds like a good idea, what do you guys think?

thanks
shawn

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