First light image completed with the new AP rig.
It appears that I have almost slain the spacing Dragon too! Yee ha
Taken from my light polluted suburban backyard, under a full moon!
Full credit to Chroma for their wonderful NB filters which really work well under extreme conditions and compliment the nice clean new sensor on the fabulous new 6162 camera!
TAK TOA 130
QSI 6162
Chroma 5nm & 3nm filters
TAK NJP mount
SX Lodestar Guider
Having now got the spacing riddle solved, I would have liked more data of course, but the clouds are not helping here in Melbourne!
I'm pretty darn happy though with these new toys & the results.
What a truly spectacular image, Andy. I love the rich colour and stunning depth of detail. This has to be up there with the very best images I have seen on IIS. Congrats - great work!
Lovely image Andy, I'd be pretty darn happy with that myself! It is surprisingly subtle for you, I tend to use your images as encouragement to push mine harder ;-)
What a truly spectacular image, Andy. I love the rich colour and stunning depth of detail. This has to be up there with the very best images I have seen on IIS. Congrats - great work!
Cheers,
Richard
Wow thanks Richard,very kind of you to say so. Mind you the new toys certainly helped as I've imaged this thing with three different setups now and this was by far the nicest dataset.
Quote:
Originally Posted by codemonkey
Lovely image Andy, I'd be pretty darn happy with that myself! It is surprisingly subtle for you, I tend to use your images as encouragement to push mine harder ;-)
Cheers Lee! Glad you noticed! Yes the data was pretty good (albiet not as much as I would have liked) so I wanted to deliberately play it down a bit - respecting the light, the Tak resolution, big sensor & all that...
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
A work of art Andy. Love the framing and colouring, wow, spectacular.
Greg.
Hey thanks Greg!
Really appreciate the good vibes there - cheers!
Suitably dramatic for first light Andy. Great image - congrats!
Cheers Pete! Seems I get to image this thing every second year, but it never gets old, it’s truly my favourite nebula.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Placidus
A joyous result. Nailed it.
Thanks M&T, now that this one is done, I’m looking forward to getting this rig semi- automated next! Slowly getting my head around Ekos, and time is something I have to spare now
Just looking at this image again, the framing is a big part of the wow factor here.
Apart from the lovely spread of colours (I like images that have a balance of various colours and not too much one dominant colour), the framing is very clever.
The use of the diagonal, getting the petal neb in there nicely taking up one corner, the full extent of the spiralling twisty neb which is a very interesting feature and the ridgeline of the main fighting dragons which is the usual subject of the image is uniquely positioned instead of bang straight in the top 1.3rd of the image.
A good study in excellent composition, framing and colour balance. Add on the excellent resolution of the TOA scope and the large sensor makes for a top end image.
Just looking at this image again, the framing is a big part of the wow factor here.
Apart from the lovely spread of colours (I like images that have a balance of various colours and not too much one dominant colour), the framing is very clever.
The use of the diagonal, getting the petal neb in there nicely taking up one corner, the full extent of the spiralling twisty neb which is a very interesting feature and the ridgeline of the main fighting dragons which is the usual subject of the image is uniquely positioned instead of bang straight in the top 1.3rd of the image.
A good study in excellent composition, framing and colour balance. Add on the excellent resolution of the TOA scope and the large sensor makes for a top end image.
Greg.
Cheers Greg! Glad you noticed and thanks for the wonderful feedback!
If there's one mantra I hope that I can inspire my AP colleagues with it's "Don't just plonk your target in the middle of the frame!"
We're creating a marriage of technical & artistic imagery - far too often the basics of composition are overlooked when framing ie: rule of thirds, golden mean etc.
Pretty sure that there's no written rule that one's target must reside in the centre of the frame!
Cheers!
Quote:
Originally Posted by topheart
Hi Andy,
I agree with Greg's detailed comments re framing and impact.
A top shelf image indeed!
Your stars are looking MUCH better now Andy! In the official first light even the on-axis stars looked like they were suffering from an aberration but they're all looking good now
I do agree with you on framing, it is something that I don't do. I'm one of those "plonk it in the middle" guys
Fantastic result after all that back and forth getting the spacing sorted. The spacing of the Tak might not have been quick and simple to sort but boy does it look worth it!
Your stars are looking MUCH better now Andy! In the official first light even the on-axis stars looked like they were suffering from an aberration but they're all looking good now
I do agree with you on framing, it is something that I don't do. I'm one of those "plonk it in the middle" guys
Cheers Col - you're producing some great images lately, and with just a little more time spent framing ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xeteth
Another spectacular image of a spectacular object. Fantastic work Andy!
Cheers David - it's a magnificent target!
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_bluester
Fantastic result after all that back and forth getting the spacing sorted. The spacing of the Tak might not have been quick and simple to sort but boy does it look worth it!
Thanks Mate, yes it's been a bit fiddly, but time well spent. One dreams of a uniform astro standard for manufacturers threads, spacing & fittings - but it will probably never happen!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobF
Beautiful image Andy.
Why the move to the Tak refractor if you don't mind me asking?
Cheers Rob!
I won the big QSI 6162 in a competition, but my Newt wouldn't render a full frame image circle without spending serious megabucks on a bigger focuser & paracoor. Also when I set up most nights, moving the 'scope outside affected the collimation, which I had to painstakingly fine tune each time while under the stars.
A nice big FF capable refractor seemed the best solution.. and I have always dreamt of owning a Tak!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikolas
Speechless is all I can say Andy absolutely beautiful
Why thanks Nik - very kind of you - cheers!
Quote:
Originally Posted by StuTodd
The stars are looking spot on Andy, you've nailed the beasts at last!
Also, looks like the neighbours is bigger than yours...
Lol - thanks Stu that's our family tent in the background, we set it up to take the kids camping in the backyard over Easter
What a truly spectacular image, Andy. I love the rich colour and stunning depth of detail. This has to be up there with the very best images I have seen on IIS. Congrats - great work!
