Starry Skies

emalvick · 01-20-2015, 10:31 PM - **1 Like**

Using the techniques outlined by InterestedObserver for shooting with light pollution. I took the following shot tonight using my K3 with the FA 43 mm to capture the comet before it disappears from view.

I essentially used the expose to the right technique, which seems to be the goal. The original RAW was about 2.5 stops over-exposed (f/1.9, ISO 6400, 6-sec) and then corrected in LR. I generally tried to follow the 500 rule outlined in one of those posts, too. Overall, the technique was successful, although the haze in the sky made the sharpness a bit difficult to obtain.

The comet is in the lower right third of the image (green dot). The tail is only faintly visible in the original, too faint to enhance successfully. It is mostly lost by time it was posted. I think that is a case where something like stacking could be useful. For one shot, I'm happy.

dakight · 01-21-2015, 05:11 AM

I'm a bit frustrated. We are socked in with clouds both last night and this morning. I'll look again this evening and see if the conditions are better. There's no escaping the general urban glow without driving out of town 25 or 30 miles, but I can at least get away from the nearby street lights, etc. which should give me a fighting chance to get something worthwhile.

emalvick · 01-21-2015, 09:25 AM

Originally posted by dakight

I'm a bit frustrated. We are socked in with clouds both last night and this morning. I'll look again this evening and see if the conditions are better. There's no escaping the general urban glow without driving out of town 25 or 30 miles, but I can at least get away from the nearby street lights, etc. which should give me a fighting chance to get something worthwhile.

The image I posted was within town. There was one distracting street light, and we've had a lot of fog where I'm at, which I'm blaming a bit for what I feel is a not fully sharp image. I am grateful for the post made earlier. I've never been able to successfully stack images, as much as I'd like to, and I didn't want to rely on something I've not got to work for that comet. I may try again tonight, however, if I can. I really want to see if I can get the tail to show up.

dakight · 01-21-2015, 11:19 AM

Originally posted by emalvick

The image I posted was within town. There was one distracting street light, and we've had a lot of fog where I'm at, which I'm blaming a bit for what I feel is a not fully sharp image. I am grateful for the post made earlier. I've never been able to successfully stack images, as much as I'd like to, and I didn't want to rely on something I've not got to work for that comet. I may try again tonight, however, if I can. I really want to see if I can get the tail to show up.

Good Luck!

dakight · 01-21-2015, 09:01 PM - **1 Like**

I played around with interval shooting and stacking in Deep Sky Stacker but I got no better results than just a simple single exposure. 5 seconds at f2.8 and iso 320 with some post processing has yielded this image:

Obin Robinson · 01-21-2015, 09:14 PM

Not bad. You're definitely coming along. What you need to do is leave the shutter open a bit longer. A bare minimum of 10 seconds at ISO 1600 for each image should be what you stack your images with. Don't forget to take darks and flats if you want the best results.

Don't feel bad about your results with Deepskystacker. I have been using the program for YEARS and it still takes me a time tweaking it to get good results. It's free but it's flaky. I find the online tutorials to be extremely helpful. Search youtube for deepskystacker and you will find a few good tutorials. Astrophotography is like understanding flash settings for portraits. It's confusing at first but hang in there. Once you understand it then you will laugh at when you thought it was tough.

obin

dakight · 01-22-2015, 07:32 PM - **1 Like**

OK. I took the stack of 30 images and ran it through the "Star Tools" program. Here is the result. I intend to buy a license but because I only had an eval version it wouldn't let me save the file so I did a screen print then took it back into Photoshop for some final tweaks.

Attached Images

Kendigitize · 02-23-2015, 09:52 AM - **1 Like**

Your heading in the right direction. Go much higher ISO 1600-3600 and try adjusting the tonal curve to get the fainter stars to pop. Here are some of my shots. and Yes the telescope will work!

Iksobarg · 04-04-2015, 10:15 AM

Dakite,
Thanks for sharing!

Your next forum to register at:
www.cloudynights.com

Welcome!

and set aside $$ because you're going to need to.

Best to you!
John

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01-20-2015, 10:31 PM - 1 Like	#16
emalvick Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Davis, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,642	Using the techniques outlined by InterestedObserver for shooting with light pollution. I took the following shot tonight using my K3 with the FA 43 mm to capture the comet before it disappears from view. I essentially used the expose to the right technique, which seems to be the goal. The original RAW was about 2.5 stops over-exposed (f/1.9, ISO 6400, 6-sec) and then corrected in LR. I generally tried to follow the 500 rule outlined in one of those posts, too. Overall, the technique was successful, although the haze in the sky made the sharpness a bit difficult to obtain. The comet is in the lower right third of the image (green dot). The tail is only faintly visible in the original, too faint to enhance successfully. It is mostly lost by time it was posted. I think that is a case where something like stacking could be useful. For one shot, I'm happy.

01-21-2015, 05:11 AM	#17
dakight Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,216 Original Poster	I'm a bit frustrated. We are socked in with clouds both last night and this morning. I'll look again this evening and see if the conditions are better. There's no escaping the general urban glow without driving out of town 25 or 30 miles, but I can at least get away from the nearby street lights, etc. which should give me a fighting chance to get something worthwhile.

01-21-2015, 09:25 AM	#18
emalvick Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Davis, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,642	Originally posted by dakight I'm a bit frustrated. We are socked in with clouds both last night and this morning. I'll look again this evening and see if the conditions are better. There's no escaping the general urban glow without driving out of town 25 or 30 miles, but I can at least get away from the nearby street lights, etc. which should give me a fighting chance to get something worthwhile. The image I posted was within town. There was one distracting street light, and we've had a lot of fog where I'm at, which I'm blaming a bit for what I feel is a not fully sharp image. I am grateful for the post made earlier. I've never been able to successfully stack images, as much as I'd like to, and I didn't want to rely on something I've not got to work for that comet. I may try again tonight, however, if I can. I really want to see if I can get the tail to show up.

01-21-2015, 11:19 AM	#19
dakight Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,216 Original Poster	Originally posted by emalvick The image I posted was within town. There was one distracting street light, and we've had a lot of fog where I'm at, which I'm blaming a bit for what I feel is a not fully sharp image. I am grateful for the post made earlier. I've never been able to successfully stack images, as much as I'd like to, and I didn't want to rely on something I've not got to work for that comet. I may try again tonight, however, if I can. I really want to see if I can get the tail to show up. Good Luck!

01-21-2015, 09:01 PM - 1 Like	#20
dakight Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,216 Original Poster	I played around with interval shooting and stacking in Deep Sky Stacker but I got no better results than just a simple single exposure. 5 seconds at f2.8 and iso 320 with some post processing has yielded this image:

01-21-2015, 09:14 PM	#21
Obin Robinson Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 272	Not bad. You're definitely coming along. What you need to do is leave the shutter open a bit longer. A bare minimum of 10 seconds at ISO 1600 for each image should be what you stack your images with. Don't forget to take darks and flats if you want the best results. Don't feel bad about your results with Deepskystacker. I have been using the program for YEARS and it still takes me a time tweaking it to get good results. It's free but it's flaky. I find the online tutorials to be extremely helpful. Search youtube for deepskystacker and you will find a few good tutorials. Astrophotography is like understanding flash settings for portraits. It's confusing at first but hang in there. Once you understand it then you will laugh at when you thought it was tough. obin

01-22-2015, 07:32 PM - 1 Like	#22
dakight Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,216 Original Poster	OK. I took the stack of 30 images and ran it through the "Star Tools" program. Here is the result. I intend to buy a license but because I only had an eval version it wouldn't let me save the file so I did a screen print then took it back into Photoshop for some final tweaks. Attached Images

02-23-2015, 09:52 AM - 1 Like	#23
Kendigitize Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Photos: Gallery Posts: 324	Your heading in the right direction. Go much higher ISO 1600-3600 and try adjusting the tonal curve to get the fainter stars to pop. Here are some of my shots. and Yes the telescope will work!

04-04-2015, 10:15 AM	#24
Iksobarg Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 208	Dakite, Thanks for sharing! Your next forum to register at: www.cloudynights.com Welcome! and set aside $$ because you're going to need to. Best to you! John

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