Astrophotography "a difficult skill"

[Whistlin Bob]

@EmuStardust showed me this video yesterday. The presenter (they're probably called something else on YouTube) does quite a lot of good stuff- but I really like his choice of subject for a difficult skill to learn. It's a little bit sponsored and corporate, but it's an interesting take on a subject close to many of our hearts!

 

 

[vlaiv]

This was actually quite entertaining.

I suddenly have a craving for HP laptop with NVIDIA graphics card for some unknown reason. Subliminal messaging perhaps?

[heliumstar]

Very nice laptops these HPs are. My company laptop is pretty similar HP with Nvidia graphics but 17" screen. It's pretty amazing and fast, fast, fast. For myself though I'll stick with Mac Air and Thinkpads - Thinkpads, nothing better than hardware camera switch and the little red dot.

Edited August 5, 2020 by heliumstar

[Dippy]

My experience with HP laptop: just before Christmas they sent me a compulsory update which disabled their laptop’s sound card and network card. So learned a hard lesson during holidays: don’t buy HP hardware and if you bought, don’t update them to avoid their planned obsoletism, otherwise they grab you and mug you. Am I the only one who thinks this is the reality of 21st century USA? 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Dippy

[Tenor Viol]

There are a number of 'YouTubers' that post useful stuff. Unfortunately the ones that have genuinely structured and thought out programmes are inevitably ones that you need to pay for e.g. Peter Zelinka, although there is useful free material.

[Paul M]

An honest appraisal of one man's journey. Quite entertaining.

I watch a lot of YouTube content. Many of the creators (as youtuber's call themselves) try to generate an income from it. So advertising and product placement are increasingly common. Some I watch even have a few minutes set aside to advertise unrelated products from sponsors. Shaving products and coffee clubs on an aviation channel!

A couple of well known astronomy creators are heavily sponsored. AstroBackyard is awash with product placement and Dylan O'Donnell pushes Celestron. 

Recently I came across Cuiv The Lazy Geek. No product placement but fun to watch. A scatter brain like myself...

[Ouroboros]

Quite a clever combination of information, entertainment and advertising.  

I suspect most of us don’t travel the learning curve like he did by spending thousands on expensive kit at first step.  Most people seem to ease themselves into astrophotography bit by bit, Initially with simple kit and then working up.  Mind you we still spend as much if not more in time, effort and money in the long run!  

[Whistlin Bob]

1 hour ago, Paul M said:

creators (as youtuber's call themselves

I knew they'd use a different word for it!

Whilst I would have liked his equipment (especially the free laptop!) the thing I was most envious of was his dark sky!

I did have to chuckle at the bit where he initially thinks he's nearly there when he's actually falling into his abyss- the use of clouds in the graphic seemed very appropriate too!

[Macavity]

🥳 Can someone do a PRECIS of this... I'm sure he is trying to make
a point? Deadpan comedy? A bit of  "whoosh" for me, I concede! 😸

I have a theory that people of average skills / intelligence can learn
something alien/new in about TWO years? Coincidentally the (real)
length of a typical "degree" course etc. Of course, to take things to
the level of "really good"... "world famous" etc. is another thing... 🙂

In fairness, I am from a different world / generation to his audience?
My favourite "millennial" joke: "Whoa dude, can you play Piano"? ...
"Dunno - Never Tried"!?!? 😉 I sense the KEY is motivation though.

[Ouroboros]

1 hour ago, Macavity said:

🥳 Can someone do a PRECIS of this... I'm sure he is trying to make
a point? Deadpan comedy? A bit of  "whoosh" for me, I concede! 😸

I have a theory that people of average skills / intelligence can learn
something alien/new in about TWO years? Coincidentally the (real)
length of a typical "degree" course etc. Of course, to take things to
the level of "really good"... "world famous" etc. is another thing... 🙂

In fairness, I am from a different world / generation to his audience?
My favourite "millennial" joke: "Whoa dude, can you play Piano"? ...
"Dunno - Never Tried"!?!? 😉 I sense the KEY is motivation though.

This video is an object lesson in how to make a YouTube video to promote yourself and various products in an entertaining way.  He’s very good at it, making the video I mean, but you won’t learn much about astrophotography except, perhaps, how hard it can be. In fact it might put some  people off trying. There are many people who put videos on YouTube genuinely aimed at teaching people how to do things - DIY jobs, playing an instrument, astrophotography and so on. But this ain’t one of those. P.S. I quite enjoyed it.  
 

oh, and P.P.S. We’re doing a great job for him talking about it. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Ouroboros

[vlaiv]

1 minute ago, Ouroboros said:

In fact it might put some  people off trying.

I don't think there is a great concern with that. If anything, it will be doing them a favor

Where I think the value of this video lies is that it informs general public that doing astronomy and astrophotography in general is not an easy task and it is accomplishment of significant value to take an image of astronomical object - be that planet or galaxy or something else.

Since prevailing thought these days is - it is all "Photoshopped"  anyway - it is good to have a video that explains complexities of it in fun way.

[Mick H]

I really like Australian Dylan O'Donnell.

He presents very well and has a sense of humour.

 

 

[Macavity]

30 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

This video is an object lesson in how to make a YouTube video to promote yourself and various products in an entertaining way.  He’s very good at it, making the video I mean, but you won’t learn much about astrophotography except, perhaps, how hard it can be.

Heheh. I sorta assumed that? But thought it a bit overlong! I may checkout his work
when I've an idle moment! In a sense a bit irritating? Ideal location... loadsamoney...
Youtube is a great source of income? LIFE has turned me into a "grumpy old git"? 🤣

Something of a personal crusade that any fool *anyone* can do (basic) Imaging...  🙀
SCIENCE too. But this is something I have pondered... The How (Why?) I do all this.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Macavity

[wxsatuser]

30 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Since prevailing thought these days is - it is all "Photoshopped"  anyway - it is good to have a video that explains complexities of it in fun way.

I bet Mr Penrice will have something to say about that. 😉

[happy-kat]

The videos I like are the ones that help you fix something to repair it. There a lot of dross on YT and it's a maze to skirt around.

[wxsatuser]

The only youtuber I watched when starting out was Forrest Tanaka, then I found SGL.

[Ouroboros]

44 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

The videos I like are the ones that help you fix something to repair it. There a lot of dross on YT and it's a maze to skirt around.

Yes. It’s easy to get distracted. I go on there seriously intending to look up ‘how to’ something or other and I end up watching episodes of Yes, Prime minister or Eric Clapton playing blues with Bob Dylan or something.  

[DaveS]

Moderately entertaining, but looking at a shot in passing he could have saved himself a lot of grief by not trying to do drizzle integration at this stage, and M101 probably wasn't the best target for his FL.

I guess he's got to promote HP laptops but really, saying that the HP laptop was the best thing that improved his imaging was just plain wrong, and could well lead some poor soul astray. The cooled mono camera made the biggest improvement, though why he felt the need to take hundreds of subs is beyond me.

[Ouroboros]

What publiciser could resist a name with “101” in it as the “introductory galaxy“? Even though it isn’t.