Here are some astrophotos I've taken lately

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around astrophotography, with participants sharing their recent photos, equipment used, and advice for capturing celestial images. The scope includes technical aspects of photography, personal experiences, and tips for improving astrophotography skills.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares a link to their astrophotography portfolio and invites others to share their own photos or advice.
  • Another participant compliments the photos and inquires about the equipment used, noting the appeal of the Milky Way and aurora images.
  • A participant describes their equipment setup, including a Canon 5dmii and a barndoor tracker, detailing the settings used for capturing the Milky Way and aurora.
  • Some participants express challenges related to weather conditions, particularly cold and cloudy environments affecting their ability to photograph celestial objects.
  • Participants share their experiences with capturing specific celestial objects, such as Orion and M42, and discuss the technical aspects of their shots, including integration time and lens specifications.
  • One participant mentions their interest in time exposures and time-lapse photography, sharing their current equipment and challenges with manual focus.
  • A link to a software tool for astrophotography is shared, with one participant expressing interest in it.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a mutual interest in astrophotography and provide supportive feedback on each other's work. However, there are varying experiences and challenges related to equipment and environmental conditions, indicating that multiple perspectives and approaches exist without a clear consensus.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention specific technical challenges, such as issues with tracking equipment and manual focus, which may affect their astrophotography outcomes. The discussion reflects a range of experiences and techniques without resolving the complexities involved.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in astrophotography, photography enthusiasts, and those looking for tips on capturing celestial images may find this discussion beneficial.

scott mcleod jr
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Really nice photos! I like the Milky Way and the aurora! What equipment are you using?
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
Really nice photos! I like the Milky Way and the aurora! What equipment are you using?
Aurora was an accident lol. I was messing with star trails and i noticed i had about five shots like that.

Canon 5dmii on tripod for the aurora.
And the milky way was with my barndoor tracker with 5dmii 21 x 3 min shots at 6400 iso using 17mm f/4 lens edited in Lightroom and Photoshop stacked in starstax.
 
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scott mcleod jr said:
Aurora was an accident lol. I was messing with star trails and i noticed i had about five shots like that.

Canon 5dmii on tripod for the aurora.
And the milky way was with my barndoor tracker with 5dmii 21 x 3 min shots at 6400 iso using 17mm f/4 lens edited in Lightroom and Photoshop stacked in starstax.
 

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scott mcleod jr said:
Aurora was an accident lol. I was messing with star trails and i noticed i had about five shots like that.

Canon 5dmii on tripod for the aurora.

And the milky way was with my barndoor tracker with 5dmii 21 x 3 min shots at 6400 iso using 17mm f/4 lens edited in Lightroom and Photoshop stacked in starstax.
 
scott mcleod jr said:
Lets talk astrophotos. Anyone got some amazing shots or good advice

My advice is to not live where it is extremely cold and cloudy for 4 months. Orion has been teasing me all winter...
 
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Andy Resnick said:
My advice is to not live where it is extremely cold and cloudy for 4 months. Orion has been teasing me all winter...
I moved to the desert of eastern wa from Bellingham on the coast (cloudiest city in the continental us) I feel your pain ☺
 
great collection of pix there, Scott. You are off to a fine start :)
looking forward to seeing more from you as time goes bycheers
Dave
 
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Tonight the clouds parted and I bundled up to get some pics of Orion and the nebula- I'll stack them tomorrow, while I'm cleaning all the condensate off of my lenses and sensor. Here's some single-frame images- not the best, but whatevs...

with the 85mm, near full-frame:
DSC03084_zpsbmmrgu2s.jpg


at 400mm, zoomed in about 80%:
DSC03167_filtered_zpsvplqx1xy.jpg


the moon, shining brightly (800mm, 100%)
DSC03191_zps7sj6orh5.jpg


and Jupiter, nearby (also 800mm)
DSC03199_zpsf8iruc1y.jpg
 
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  • #10
good stuff, Andy :)

I did a moon shot a few nights ago, the moon is too bright to photo anything else LOL ...
800mm (100-400mm with x2 teleconverter), f11, 2500 ISO, 1/320 sec

2015_02_28_3156-1a.jpg
cheers
Dave
 
Last edited:
  • #11
Very nice
 
  • #12
Here's the results after stacking... much improvement.

85mm_zpscgqv4gov.jpg


orion2.TIF%20RGB_zpswmazjxoi.jpg
 
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  • #13
simply awesome. I want to try to get m42 but my tracker has been acting crazy lately
 
  • #14
That's nice Andy, well done :)
 
  • #15
Last night was a bit warmer, so I could stay out longer- here's two crops of the same object (M42), about 12 minutes total integration time at 800/5.6, ISO 1250:

Composite.tif%20RGB_filtered-1_zpskhkg5ie5.jpg


and at 100%:

Composite.tif%20RGB_filtered-2_zpsbgluw6qs.jpg


M42 reminds me of a Shadow battle crab...
 
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  • #16
Nice pics - astrophotos are something I want to start doing, particularly time exposures, time lapse & a combo of both. I've got some passable moon shots with my Pentax K10D with a 250mm lens and my NEX-5N with a 200mm - but that's about it.

I purchased a Tempus/Astrus time lapse trigger that will take a predetermined # of long exposure images, but haven't been able to figure out how to best use the manual focus on the NEX-5. I've also got the time lapse app for the A5100 my wife uses, but have yet to try it.
 
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  • #18
Thanks Chronos

Looks interesting, haven't seen that one before

Dave
 

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