The Moon this arvo

[Volans]

G'day All,

I took the camera to work today and after the last show I went about taking a few images. I went up into the observatory and opened the dome to a mere slit. I got the Moon through the slit and I have to admit to a bit of pride This is the best Moon shot I have taken.

I cannot beat h0ughy with his hand held, maximum zoom effort as my camera was on a tripod and I was using a cable release.

Peter.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Nice moon shot Peter.

Looks and sounds like you like the idea of taking images Peter. Careful it's a slippery path on the dark side

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by Volans

G'day All,

I took the camera to work today and after the last show I went about taking a few images. I went up into the observatory and opened the dome to a mere slit. I got the Moon through the slit and I have to admit to a bit of pride This is the best Moon shot I have taken.

I cannot beat h0ughy with his hand held, maximum zoom effort as my camera was on a tripod and I was using a cable release.

Peter.

gee thanks Peter, but you have a dome to play with wish i had a dome . Nice shot too. Now for the next attempt, get one through the scope!

[davidpretorius]

Paul, thats naughty, don't tempt him.

JJJOOOPPPITERRRRR is also a great target for taking photos of. Toucam are still very cheap and easy to use.................Paul, now you have me doing the same thing but blatantly!!!

That is a nice shot Peter. I really like the moon, I can spend days on jupiter and for some reason or another i will flick over to the moon with the guide scope and it continues to knock my socks off even at that low magnitude

[Volans]

Thanks fellas! I doubt I will get into astrophotography any more than what I already am. The reason being: post processing. It's not so much that I'm not that sure on what to do, more, I dislike the idea of fiddling with an image too much. My idea of photography is to manipulate the camera functions (lenses, aperture, shutter speed, focus) to achieve the most realistic capture of the object that I can get. I get enjoyment from looking at an image and knowing that I could properly work the camera to achieve that result.

Please don't think I'm dumping on those of you who do awesome planetary images and avi's and the deep sky whispy bits will always hold me spell bound.

Anyway..enough philosophy...glad you liked the image.

Peter.

[iceman (Mike)]

That's nice Peter, well done. I could probably "do it up" a bit, if you'd like?

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by Volans

Thanks fellas! I doubt I will get into astrophotography any more than what I already am. The reason being: post processing. It's not so much that I'm not that sure on what to do, more, I dislike the idea of fiddling with an image too much. My idea of photography is to manipulate the camera functions (lenses, aperture, shutter speed, focus) to achieve the most realistic capture of the object that I can get. I get enjoyment from looking at an image and knowing that I could properly work the camera to achieve that result.

Please don't think I'm dumping on those of you who do awesome planetary images and avi's and the deep sky whispy bits will always hold me spell bound.

Anyway..enough philosophy...glad you liked the image.

Peter.

Umm I would like to remind you that the great astrophotographers ALWAYS manipulate their images, film or digital (AKA David Mailin), but us mere mortals not to the extent of that, although there are some that are right up there in the "Malin Class"! I consider myself to be but a mere babe in the woods, but others like the hunt for the faint and obscure or the unbelievable detail of some far flung planet. Either way, you have made a couragous start. 99 percent of my shots are terrible, its the ones you jag that get you the satisfaction.

There will be more than one event that you so desperately want to capture, so practice now and when the time comes you should be able to nail it! Transit of mercury in november, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions widefields of the spectacular scorpio region, the only one you really have to impress is yourself!

[iceman (Mike)]

I agree with h0ughy.. almost all photos, astro and terrestrial, are manipulated in some way.

It's not "cheating", you're not introducing anything into the image that was not there in the first place. You're enhacing the detail you want to show.

The eye can handle a range in contrast and brightness very well, but the camera can not. Which is why earthshine pictures never have the same oomph that a naked eye view does.. but when those photos are manipulated, it looks much better.

Same as a terrestrial shot where some areas are in shadow and some are exposed correctly. To highlight the detail in the shadow, you need to play around with the levels or curves, and digital images always need sharpening.

Anyway that's my opinion and you're welcome to ignore it

[Volans]

That's cool h0ughy, Mike we are all entitled to our opinions and to a certain extent I agree with both of you. Regardless of what we believe or what we end up with...the fun is in the trying and the experimentation... and right now, I'm having fun!

Mike, play with my image as much as you want and I would be keen to see what hidden detail I have captured! I did do a little playing with it myself, as far as the red, green and blue components go. I got the Moon looking a little more white than the green in my posted image.

Peter.