Re: [APML]: Astrophotography or Astro-Art?

["Wil Milan" <wmilan@airdigital.com>]

The Astro-Photography Mailing List
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>In astrophotography, selection is often a matter of picking an NGC number.
>It is not quite the same as picking a moment in time, an angle of view,
>relationship of objects, effect of lighting, and placing borders that
define
>the image. Composition in astrophotography is often little more than
hitting
>the object. The borders are usually defined by the scope we are using.

I disagree. An astrophotographer does not have the ability to manipulate or
wait for the lighting or perspective to change on an object, but analogous
control is exercised by film selection (particularly as it affects spectral
response), filtering, etc.. Even the act of waiting for the object to be
high in the sky on a moonless night in good seeing is a choice equivalent to
waiting for the conditions to be optimum before taking a terrestrial photo.

As for composition, perhaps some just center the object and open the
shutter, but many astrophotographers do not. I use my own custom FOV
overlays and small-scale astro charts to select very carefully the framing
and composition of a shot, selecting not only the camera rotation angle but
also the focal length to get just the composition I want. (That's why I have
in addition to telephoto lenses up to 400mm I also have and use astro optics
of 430mm, 500mm, 600mm, 700mm, 800mm, 1200mm, 2000mm, and 2800mm.)  And it's
obvious I am not the only one who does this; a lot of others do too.


Wil M.