035 Misc Photography Crew

[DVDowns]

Thanks Desmond!

Yeah, SA has a lot of problems, but it's a beautiful country. There was some truly spectacular scenery in the West and North Cape. I'll post some more when I manage to plow though all 24,000 pictures (166 GB!).

I loved hiking in the Drakensberg - back then when we went up onto the escarpment and had to walk on the border of Lesotho we carried my dad's revolver, this picture is about 30 years old. The good part of New Zealand is that I'm probably scarier than most of their criminals

[the3dwizard]

Just discovered this thread. Wow impressed with the pictures posted here! Not professional but like to dabble.

So how about some astrophotography? Just digital photography with very big lenses and long exposures.

These were taken with my modified Canon 60D. Modification is to remove the first filter to let more of the wavelengths around 656 nm in. This is attached to my telescope with 190 mm aperture and a focal length of 1000 mm which puts it at about f/5.3.

[Mark1T]

Just discovered this thread. Wow impressed with the pictures posted here! Not professional but like to dabble.

So how about some astrophotography? Just digital photography with very big lenses and long exposures.

Fantastic shots. If you shot those, how did you know where to look or point?

[the3dwizard]

Fantastic shots. If you shot those, how did you know where to look or point?

Thanks! That part is actually easy now. My mount, which holds the telescope, is computer controlled. I have software that I can use to look up the position of an object. The software can then tell the mount where to move to. Then the software can take a shore exposure (~15s) to capture the star field. Then it performs pattern matching to see how far off it is and then will move the telescope again if need until the object is centered. Then I acquire around 2 dozen exposures of around 5 ir 10 mins each and then stack and process them to get the final image.

Thought you might be interest in how the camera is attached. In the picture the red unit is the focuser that I can control from my laptop to focus the camera. The little silver and black assembly is another camera that focuses on one star to keep the telescope centered on the object during the long exposure by sending signals to the computer to tell the mount where to move for the corrections. These happen about every 1-2 secs. If tracking is not perfect then you get star trails which we don't want in these images. I created a custom cable to power the camera from a 12V battery and the image acquisition is controlled by the laptop through the USB cable.

[DocHoss]

Just discovered this thread. Wow impressed with the pictures posted here! Not professional but like to dabble.

So how about some astrophotography? Just digital photography with very big lenses and long exposures.

These were taken with my modified Canon 60D. Modification is to remove the first filter to let more of the wavelengths around 656 nm in. This is attached to my telescope with 190 mm aperture and a focal length of 1000 mm which puts it at about f/5.3.

Utterly fantastic work! Makes my star shots look like I used a potato camera

Thanks! That part is actually easy now. My mount, which holds the telescope, is computer controlled. I have software that I can use to look up the position of an object. The software can then tell the mount where to move to. Then the software can take a shore exposure (~15s) to capture the star field. Then it performs pattern matching to see how far off it is and then will move the telescope again if need until the object is centered.

But that takes all the challenge out of using setting circles and star charts! LIke GPS vs a topo map.

Then I acquire around 2 dozen exposures of around 5 ir 10 mins each and then stack and process them to get the final image.

It's amazing the quality one can get that way. Amateurs now have pictures better than the best observatories when I was a kid.

Thought you might be interest in how the camera is attached. In the picture the red unit is the focuser that I can control from my laptop to focus the camera. The little silver and black assembly is another camera that focuses on one star to keep the telescope centered on the object during the long exposure by sending signals to the computer to tell the mount where to move for the corrections. These happen about every 1-2 secs. If tracking is not perfect then you get star trails which we don't want in these images. I created a custom cable to power the camera from a 12V battery and the image acquisition is controlled by the laptop through the USB cable.

Impressive set-up. I has an envy!

[DocHoss]

Here's my astro-potato-photography Just a camera on a tripod, no clock drive or filters. But a nice dark sky!

Glories of the Southern Skies:

Milky Way with our satellite galaxies the Magellanic Clouds, Southern Cross, and Alpha & Beta Centauri (the pointers).




Magellanic Clouds with the great globular cluster 47 Tucanae below the SMC.

[Mark1T]

Thanks! That part is actually easy now. My mount, which holds the telescope, is computer controlled. I have software that I can use to look up the position of an object. The software can then tell the mount where to move to. Then the software can take a shore exposure (~15s) to capture the star field. Then it performs pattern matching to see how far off it is and then will move the telescope again if need until the object is centered. Then I acquire around 2 dozen exposures of around 5 ir 10 mins each and then stack and process them to get the final image.

Thought you might be interest in how the camera is attached. In the picture the red unit is the focuser that I can control from my laptop to focus the camera. The little silver and black assembly is another camera that focuses on one star to keep the telescope centered on the object during the long exposure by sending signals to the computer to tell the mount where to move for the corrections. These happen about every 1-2 secs. If tracking is not perfect then you get star trails which we don't want in these images. I created a custom cable to power the camera from a 12V battery and the image acquisition is controlled by the laptop through the USB cable.

Incredibly awesome. That is a huge telescope for personal use. I have an idea and challenge for you. Try to photograph our Sun. Might require some specialized filters, i don't know, but would be interesting to see from your setup versus Hubble.


***Dochoss, your shots are great, too. Fabulous, actually.

[DocHoss]

Incredibly awesome. That is a huge telescope for personal use. I have an idea and challenge for you. Try to photograph our Sun. Might require some specialized filters, i don't know, but would be interesting to see from your setup versus Hubble.


***Dochoss, your shots are great, too. Fabulous, actually.

Thanks, Mark!

I forgot to say - I have aperture envy too. What size scope do you have?


Also Mark: there aren't too many filters for ground-based solar use - either plain light or hydrogen-alpha. There are some impressive extreme ultraviolet images from satellite observatories, such as SOHO, SDO, and Hinode. Hubble, though, will never look at or even close to the Sun because it would destroy the optics.

[the3dwizard]

But that takes all the challenge out of using setting circles and star charts! LIke GPS vs a top map.

Thanks but there is no way I would have been able to do this in the good ole days. Imagine setting by your scope with a film camera attached. You look through a smaller scope that is attached to your main scope for 30 plus mins slowly turning a knob to keep the star center in the cross-hairs while you expose your film. Then you have to wait until you can get it developed to see if you were even successful! Not thanks, I'll keep my digital stuff lol

So jealous you get to photograph the southern skies. Very cool stuff!

[DocHoss]

Thanks but there is no way I would have been able to do this in the good ole days. Imagine setting by your scope with a film camera attached. You look through a smaller scope that is attached to your main scope for 30 plus mins slowly turning a knob to keep the star center in the cross-hairs while you expose your film. Then you have to wait until you can get it developed to see if you were even successful! Not thanks, I'll keep my digital stuff lol

So jealous you get to photograph the southern skies. Very cool stuff!

Some thing when I was doing my bird work - it would takes weeks to find out if the pictures were OK!

And your photography wasn't even possible back then - no way to stack dozens of slides.

This was just a 2-week vacation to South Africa. Back in light-polluted central California now.

[pvsampson]

Southern Sky?

[whatevergirl]

3dwizard, incredible shots!!

pvsampson, that's a really simple yet interesting photo. I like the symmetry.

[the3dwizard]

Southern Sky?

You guys have a moon down there too???!! j/k Nice shot! Very crisp on the moon and I like the inclusion of the clouds.


Thanks whatevergirl!

[acrawlingchaos]

Just discovered this thread. Wow impressed with the pictures posted here! Not professional but like to dabble.

So how about some astrophotography? Just digital photography with very big lenses and long exposures.

These were taken with my modified Canon 60D. Modification is to remove the first filter to let more of the wavelengths around 656 nm in. This is attached to my telescope with 190 mm aperture and a focal length of 1000 mm which puts it at about f/5.3.


[img]http://www.the3dwizard.net/images/igallery/resized/1-100/M78_800iso_23subs_5min-8-800-600-90.jpg[img]

[img]http://www.the3dwizard.net/images/igallery/resized/1-100/M33_25x5_800iso_sm-9-800-600-90.jpg[img]

[img]http://www.the3dwizard.net/images/igallery/resized/1-100/helixnebula_std175_1b-11-800-600-90.jpg[img]

Excellent shots. There's a guy in the misc photocrew that does some crazy work like this. I'm considering getting a tracker for my 500mm lens.

Here's my astro-potato-photography Just a camera on a tripod, no clock drive or filters. But a nice dark sky!

Glories of the Southern Skies:

Milky Way with our satellite galaxies the Magellanic Clouds, Southern Cross, and Alpha & Beta Centauri (the pointers).

[img]http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii577/DocHoss/DSC_0891%2002-14_zpsrqnzn6fk.jpg~original[img]


Magellanic Clouds with the great globular cluster 47 Tucanae below the SMC.
[img]http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii577/DocHoss/DSC_0374%2002-17_zpsw2jmpdal.jpg~original[img]

These are great shots. You may just be at the end of your equipment. Also, to really make a lot of astro stuff pop, post process work really helps (though processing astro work is an art in and of itself.

What were the settings and what was the lens?

Incredibly awesome. That is a huge telescope for personal use. I have an idea and challenge for you. Try to photograph our Sun. Might require some specialized filters, i don't know, but would be interesting to see from your setup versus Hubble.

***Dochoss, your shots are great, too. Fabulous, actually.

I've seen some amazing photos from amateurs of the sun. Usually it requires stacking up to hundreds and even thousands of frames. There isn't so much a lot of expense, but a lot involved.

Will have to try. I would only need a $30 filter and I could probably find a cheap or free focus stacking software.

Southern Sky?

[IMG]http://scontent-nrt.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11035701_10205048755850587_8617684456407091170_n.j pg?oh=9c01fa0f91eb9980d134621cc105b7b3&oe=55798FBF[IMG]

This is a great shot. I have yet to get a good shot of the moon coming over the horizon. Well done.

[pvsampson]

Thanks ACC.


Ducks on the creek today.

[jmelanson]

[Frnkd]

JM, Beautiful! How do you get that off-focus effect accept directly on the face?

[jmelanson]

JM, Beautiful! How do you get that off-focus effect accept directly on the face?

Thanks! I shot it with a 50mm @ f2.0 to give me the great DOF. You have to make sure you nail the focus at this f-stop.

[pvsampson]

[acrawlingchaos]

JM, Beautiful! How do you get that off-focus effect accept directly on the face?

Very large apertures give very slim depth of field, so only a sliver of the composition is in focus. When you see blur, the effect is called bokeh. An F2.8 is enough to really seperate the subject out. Most makers have a "nifty fifty" lens. Which is a 50mm 1.8 and fairly inexpensive.

[IMG]http://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10933794_10205075893969023_7796547046789069630_n.j pg?oh=af6848c584da45aa4d243e86dd112e3b&oe=5576E0AA &__gda__=1434558652_aef472d2976971d5cff37ff413ec0a 0d[IMG]

Great composition, but a very wide dynamic range. This is one of those instances where post processing can make a real difference.



Some shots from Ohio

[tmonkey]

nice shots acc

surprised how little snow they have there

[DocHoss]

nice shots acc

surprised how little snow they have there

I was going to say, nice shots, but what's all that white stuff?

[whatevergirl]

Nice work, acc! I like how you've captured Ohio in a different light. Is that a silo?

I've been trying to post some pics of flowers I took (only on my phone) but, they turned out well. (getting an error message when trying to post them here, but I'll figure it out)

Not sure if I hit the right time of day or what, but really nice lighting. I went for a run the other day, and had my phone on me for music so i thought I'd take a few. Does anyone here use any programs to ''enhance'' their photos? For the iphone, ''snapseed'' is pretty fun.

[acrawlingchaos]

nice shots acc

surprised how little snow they have there

It was actually 65 degrees when I went to Hocking Hill so there was a big melt for a few days. After that, it went to bone chilling cold. It wasn't nearly as warm as it looks.

I was going to say, nice shots, but what's all that white stuff?

I lucked out and was away from NH during the blizzards. We got hammered here.

Nice work, acc! I like how you've captured Ohio in a different light. Is that a silo?

I've been trying to post some pics of flowers I took (only on my phone) but, they turned out well. (getting an error message when trying to post them here, but I'll figure it out)

Not sure if I hit the right time of day or what, but really nice lighting. I went for a run the other day, and had my phone on me for music so i thought I'd take a few. Does anyone here use any programs to ''enhance'' their photos? For the iphone, ''snapseed'' is pretty fun.

Yup... did lots of Silos. There was a lot of decay in the area and it made for an interesting subject.

Phones are coming with great cameras now. Which Iphone do you have? Personally, I use lightroom for all my processing and don't really do much w a phone.








Few more shots.





Salt Fork





Cedar Falls

[whatevergirl]

Yup... did lots of Silos. There was a lot of decay in the area and it made for an interesting subject.

Phones are coming with great cameras now. Which Iphone do you have? Personally, I use lightroom for all my processing and don't really do much w a phone.

I have an iphone 4, and really need to upgrade it to the 6. Actually, would rather get a Samsung Galaxy. I'll have to check out lightroom.

Here's an interesting link, for what it's worth relating to the 'best' phone cameras. They have come a very long way...probably comparable to one of my less expensive Canon point/shoot cameras I use. lol

http://thedigitalcamera.net/best-cam...l-comparative/

[Frnkd]

Photos I took in my yard today.


A lizard- there are all these small lizards running around.







close up of a Jade plant and the new rose plant I picked up in February

[pvsampson]

Cool Frank.Bit of a wildlife lover myself.

This fella was at the back door when I got the kids home from school this afternoon,and I moved him to where he wouldn't get trodden on.Biggest green frog I have seen in my life.

[tmonkey]

Cool Frank.Bit of a wildlife lover myself.

I really like it pete but i would have added a little more headroom

[Frnkd]

Cool Frank.Bit of a wildlife lover myself.

This fella was at the back door when I got the kids home from school this afternoon,and I moved him to where he wouldn't get trodden on.Biggest green frog I have seen in my life.

These would be great for memes....lol

frog kidding me.jpg

[pvsampson]

Thanks.

Monkey man I had to crop out a plastic bucket behind.