Proliferation of Astrophotgraphy Social Media pages

[TrevorW]

I'm amazed at the number of social media pages on Fb promoting to be Australian or local state sites but every Tom Dick and Harry from all corners of the world who point any old camera at the sky and profess to be Astro photographers post on them, a lot of what I've seen is not IMO truly astrophotography eg: composite pictures of the moon, planets and certain nightscapes



This may raise the heckles on some people but people are entitled to an opinion whether that opinion is unfounded who knows but there is a lot more to this hobby I think than pointing a camera at the night sky and taking a image, without any understanding of the science, to me astrophography is an ancillary to my already prolific interest in astronomy.



Although I think the proliferation of posts to this site appears to have dropped somewhat over the last few years I"m glad it exists adding some credence to our hobby with a member base consisting of people with sound knowledge in all areas of astronomy etc

[glend (Glen)]

Avoid Facebook.

[N1 (Mirko)]

There are worse subjects to proliferate. And you gotta start somewhere. And calling something astrophotography that maybe isn't is just about the least offensive thing a person can do.

[Granada]

I think it's good that interest in astronomy seems to have picked up, including astrophotography which has been enabled by better tech. I'm all for people pointing their cameras towards the sky and pursuing their interests and curiosity

[multiweb (Marc)]

Most of it is astro art or fantasy land but anything that popularize astronomy has to help with LP by making people aware of the beauty of a dark sky and in the end maybe something finally gets done about it. Wouldn't it be cool if one day a law was passed to turn off non essential lights after midnight?

[TrevorW]

Originally Posted by multiweb

. Wouldn't it be cool if one day a law was passed to turn off non essential lights after midnight?

Working on it here in WA

[TheCrazedLog]

The word astrophotography means photographing the stars.

Within any hobby, profession or pursuit, there are degrees. I do woodwork. I make lousy work. But I am a woodworker. Am I a master woodworker, whatever that means? Far, far from it.

I am a pilot. I have a pilot's licence, I can fly a plane, both legally and actually. Can I match the skill level of aerobatic pilots? Not a hope in hades. I am, however, irrefutably, a pilot.

These people may not understand equatorial mounts, may not understand various stacking techniques. I don't understand the stacking techniques to any great degree and there are many techniques that I am yet to learn.

It means more people discovering the wonderful sky under which we live, more people learning to appreciate the beauty that is out there, more people learning more about a fascinating subject.

I have no problem with them calling themselves an astrophotographer. The more that call themselves that, the more that join us, that happier I am. For all that join and leave immediately after one photo, a few stay and instead of posting pictures for likes, they look harder and ask "what am I looking at?" and "why is it so?"

To those and all who ask, I'll happily share what knowledge and enthusiasm I can.

[xelasnave]

Hi Trevor
You may be suffering from a wider exposure to the world, as we all do, because of the net, that now puts before you things that although always there in the past are now put before us such that we think there is a sudden explosion of a particular behaviour...it's the net.

I recall when I first started holding a camera to the eye piece and took photos of the Moon I had a lot of Expeience in visual and thought photography was a casual pass time if not employed to supplement an astronomy diary ... and I was horrified to meet a chap who talked me into playing around with my Moon shots to make them red or in negative...but after a while I thought what fun... all these folk don't have to be seen as detracting or taking away from astronomy as they are photographers and artists firstly ..he was an artist and photographer interpreting things differently was his thing..not up to anyone to judge him for him doing his thing...anyways when you start to look around you start to find there are many different groups that if you fell to taking time to judge them would see you doing nothing else...the net can overwhelm one if you let it and certainly makes one realise the little world one lives in is in the minority when measured globally. Moreover one must guard against thinking that one's opinion is the correct one necessarily ...our standard does not make it the norm...and there is no reason to feel anger if one encounters a different view.

If these folk irritate you that is a pity as it does you no good and they don't even know you are upset...if you want to do something perhaps add a comment to these photos saying..hey if you like taking photos of the night sky check out the photos on this site..iis of course...

Mainly....as the years go by they are to be enjoyed and ones main goal must be not to let anything out there take anything out of your day.

It upsets me when I realise I upset so many people here...well not so much these days as I realise it is them who have the problem of inability to encounter a view different to their own and not manage such in a mature fashion...Usually these sort of folk can't find any joy anywhere and grizzling is just a habit...nothing I can do for them.
I hope you and yours are all ok.
All the best.
Alex

[Startrek (Martin)]

I don’t do Facebook or whatever it’s called
My only connection with electronic media or social media is IIS and Astro suppliers forums which are operated in a controlled environment, overseen by moderators and is a great way to ask questions, share thoughts, comments , ideas and present your own work
I feel privileged and humbled to live in an age of technology where you can image a Galaxy located millions of light years from Earth from the comfort of your backyard with a simple telescope and camera
I don’t worry much about what other people are doing outside of the above
Once you head towards the back end of your life you tend not to worry about the small stuff , just enjoy the wonders of the universe and our amazing hobby, which I’m sure on occasions we may take for granted
Thanks for posting
Clear Skies

[TrevorW]

Well said Alex, I know one end of a lathe from another but I don't call myself a machinist, I know how to saw, miter, make dovetails in wood etc but I wouldn't call myself a carpenter. There are many things that I can do few if any perfectly but in everything I do attempt I endeavor to do my best.



I know a lot about astronomy ,science etc in general but I wouldn't call myself an astronomer.



However I wouldn't deign to post an image that didn't reflect some iota of realism, nor do I consider night scapes to be astrophotgraphy, call me an elitist or purist I don't really care. What prompted my post was a Fb page where an image was displayed showing the great conjunction which was a composite image and not a true reflection of what was visible, then when someone pointed this out, how it shouldn't be allowed to be posted on the site, let alone be recognized as the page banner that promotes astro photography, he was shot down by many of the members and even the group administrator.



Look I'm a cyclist and have ridden bicycles for many years I do more K's on my bike than I do in my car but there is more to being a cyclist than just riding a bike, likewise to me there is more to being an astro photographer and in some ways these Fb pages promoting astro photography etc do the hobby a disservice if the science etc isn't maintained.

[xelasnave]

Thank you Trevor

The thing is and it is really hard to accept is over 70 % of the world are not scientific.

They all have their luxuries delivered by science but casually reject science for incredibly silly reasons... that is what I find unacceptable nevertheless I can rationalise why this is the case by studying our history and thousands of years exposure to primitive superstition has clearly left it's mark...however such a rationalisation enables me not to become angry when I think of the suffering and lives lost due directly to humans inability to recognise science leads us to sensible understanding of most things.

As I said remaining calm is key... recall here folk getting worked up about Buz A punching a guy and turning on me because I advocated a non violent response would have been a sensible response.. what got me was how all became so upset and emotionally invested when presented with a different opinion..but I am pretty sure I would have been the only person who stayed calm and did not form any dislike to others because their opinion was different to mine. I would no doubt be a rat bag because I held a view that non violence was a sensible option..I just think staying calm peaceful and kind guarantees not only a better life but a much longer one.

I simply say don't you let these folk on the site upset you because if you do then they have won, and the truth stands irrespective of the number of votes it receives.
Again take care.
Alex

[Hodur (David)]

Methinks the issue... Astrophotographers on Social Media flog the Milky Way above a camp fire too death. It’s the same with Lighthouses and stars-scapes it’s the equivalent of “chocolate box” photography, it’s making our craft cheap.
BTW I’m crap at the craft, yet even I can identify Chocolate Box Astrophotographers

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by Hodur

BTW I’m crap at the craft, yet even I can identify Chocolate Box Astrophotographers

Unless you get a few CHOCOPODs.