8 months in - tutorial from my experience so far

[mattastro]

Hi everyone,

Around 8 months ago I finally got the money together for a mount (EQ5 Pro) and so started my astrophotography journey.  Back then with lots to learn I promised myself that once I was producing some basic reasonable images I would write a step by step tutorial for others to read.  I've learnt everything from this forum, youtube searches, the friendly guys at Opticstar, and the odd book.  I know I am still a beginner, but I would have valued another tutorial back in May last year fresh from a beginners perspective, so i've taken a couple of hours to write this in case it helps anyone.  I know i've missed out lots of detail, but hopefully it will help speed someone along the way.

http://ambientgeneration.com/2015/01/19/getting-started-in-astrophotography-tutorial/

Thanks for all your help whilst i've been lurking taking advantage of so much of everyone's expertise,

Matthew.

[Steve789]

Interesting to read someone else's experience. I'm 4 months in to my AP obsession and I'm currently at stage 6 although I've skipped stage 5. I've gone down the converted webcam route as an alternative to stage 5 although I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

[brrttpaul]

Thats a great rough guide and I would like to thank you for taking the time and trouble to put it up

[redmoo]

Nice post! I am about 4 months in and at approx the same stage. Just upto getting Narrowband filters. You are however WAY ahead of me with the quality of the pictures you are generating!

I see you are in Stockport, did you manage to find a decent Astro club around here? The closest one I have found is Bolton.

[Marky1973]

Great post Matt, thanks for sharing. I'm probably somewhere in the middle of all that and looking to upgrade my mount in the Autumn if I can figure out my processing. I think I need to brush up my skills on StarTools as I have been using DSS and GIMP but probably doing to much in DSS....it seems fine for a quick fix, but perhaps less subtle than StarTools. Probably time to splash out on a license.

I see you mention the EOS Utility for controlling the camera. I paid for APT recently which was very cheap and find it much more flexible and packed with more useful tools to help focus and set up your imaging runs.

Great photos too, thanks for the post and inspiration!

[groberts]

Really enjoyed your post Matt.  I've been on a similar journey for the past 18 months (see my website below) and can empathize with your experiences. Your record of costs is particularly insightful, it's not cheap but (initially) it's not too expensive, especially with so much free software and help available. However, there's always something new to get and I feel if you get really hooked on astrophotography, there's a point when higher expenses inevitably start to rack up. It is a difficult journey but, as you're also finding, very rewarding.

Finally, welcome to SGL, at last. I would say that you will find engaging first-hand with the Forum will be particularly beneficial, I have found it an invaluable resource without which I would still be where I was 9-months ago.  Good luck as you continue and very well done so far.     

[mattastro]

Hi Redmoo,

I have occasionally been to http://www.maccastro.com.  Pretty friendly group and they have beginners nights etc.  I went to their telescope show and tell they do in the summer before buying my Explorer 150 - that was very useful.

I think the breakthrough for me image-wise was getting a UHC filter to block light pollution and buying StarTools.  Both of these made a massive difference.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Matthew.

[mattastro]

Hi groberts,

Thanks for your encouragement.  I had quite a long read of your website - very interesting.  I especially liked your round-up of 2014 and how you had progressed.  Also the points where you mention how you made little breakthroughs along the way.

Thanks,

Matthew

[stepping beyond]

Matt that was very informative,

[EnglishNightHawk]

That was a great read Matthew, thanks for the effort you must of put into it!

[pyrasanth]

Deep sky photography gives everybody a rare gift- time to perfect.  The only moments lost are in the human error. With very few exceptions you have all the time in the remainder of your life to seek the perfection of your craft. Enjoy!-  the Universe is by no means static but in the scope of our lifetime the clock ain't moving!