strongmanmike - Thanks Mike! Loved your Tunnel of Fire photo by the way... I can't wait to order a CCD + H-alpha filter and go hunting for wabbits and other furry animals
iceman - Thanks Mike! The processing was light - imported RAW files into Lightroom, turned off the automatic template for a bit more dynamic range, imported all 8 panels into Photoshop and ran Photomerge, softened the edges, tweaked Levels, applied +30 saturation in the Reds channel (unmodded camera), resized, and a bit of wide radius sharpening to boost local contrast around the objects and dark nebulae. The stitching isn't as good as it could be - I've found that Registar does a near-perfect job of it, but crashes with the size of the 5DmkII panels. When I find the time, I'm hoping to try out the SExtractor/SCAMP/Swarp tools that Nick Risinger used for his Photopic Sky Survey.
skysurfer - Thanks! Perhaps "New Year's Milky Way" would be a better title?
I used a Canon 24 mm f/1.4L II lens, though I think it would have been much easier using a 8-15 mm fisheye (I don't have it) to capture the whole sky in the one exposure! The long (5 min) subs seem to bring out the H-alpha regions surprisingly well for an unmodded camera. By the way, it's not just Lovejoy's tail that you see... the whole comet is there!
jjjnettie - Cheers! It was such a beautiful sight under those dark skies. I didn't even get around to setting up my refractor for a peek... I was too busy enjoying the naked-eye views.