First post

[AndyCarroll]

G'day guys, I have been lurking around this forum on and off for some time now and finally got the urge to try it myself So with my 600d and plastic fantastic 50mm on top of a very dodgy hinge tracker this what I got. This is only 6x30sec exposures and 2x darks under some very windy conditions and no alignment other than a compass and angle gauge. I should add that I have no idea how to use PS but learning is half the fun

147107

Hope this post's right as I have little idea how to use these forums :)

[cometcatcher]

With a first post like this, after 100 you will be a master. :)

Yeah barn door trackers work very well for wide field shots. Well done and keep up the good work.

[AndyCarroll]

Lol, Well I don't think I will ever reach the level of work that some show on here but that's ok I really enjoy getting out and looking up.

This one I took from my backyard in western sydney with the same settup and a bit of cropping, I hate light pollution but what can you do.
147123

I have no idea what I am looking at here perhaps someone can enlighten me.

[Larryp]

You've got the Eta Carinae nebula, Andy. You are going great guns with that camera! :thumbsup:

[lazjen]

If you don't know what you've got, try using http://nova.astrometry.net/. It does a very good job of solving images and gives some excellent annotations too.

Here's an example of one I did for an eagle nebula pic: http://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/73265#annotated

[AndyCarroll]

Thanks mate that will come in handy,.

[blink138]

i love the "first post"
pat

[ourkind]

Wow great shot! Welcome aboard Andrew, looking forward to seeing some more of your photographs soon!

[AndyCarroll]

Thanks for your comments guys, it nice to be able to share with people that are actually interested. My wife god bless her does her best but if see has to look at anymore pictures of stars I think she will snap lol ( she is probably not unusual :D )

The first one I posted was taken at Mittagong a couple months back on a hunting trip, and really surprised me how well it turned out.

It was a freezing cold day but clear and calm, then come night time the wind did it's best to blow me off the hill, so I snapped a couple of shots and retreated to the cabin to drink port before I got frost bite .

I don't know why I like this shot so much as the PS work is not much more than some histogram stretching, maybe I will keep the RAWS until I learn some skills and try again. :question:

For now I need a better way to find the SCP so i can expose for more than 30 seconds. Most of my work is done at home so the light pollution makes it impossible to find.If anyone has a simple method to align a hinge tracker I would be interested.:shrug:

[andyc]

Blimey, they're really good images considering the setup. That barn-door tracker must be working well to get the point star images you have in your Eta Carinae shot. :thumbsup:

[AndyCarroll]

It has good and bad nights, all depends on how often the temp changes as this affects the timing. Also if I reposition the camera the shift in weight buggers things up.

To be honest I spend more time adjusting the tracker than I do taking pictures lol

One day I might find the money for some real good gear but until then I have to make do.