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First attempt at sketching - M81 & M82


SuburbanMak

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Fascinated by the idea of using the eye & brain as the “camera” to sketch a negative then processing in PS.  
 

Very much a first attempt to capture the view of my first galaxies beyond our own & M31.

9745A827-41A4-460D-AE81-EA633DE6C34A.jpeg

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Very nice, and the PS inversion adds a certain something too ...

Strangely for someone with a background in photography, I feel no urge to attach any of my cameras to my 'scopes, but the attraction of a simple, less than £10 worth of pencils and a bit of paper ... which encourages careful close observation rather than a quick tick against a list ... yes, sketching rather appeals to me !

Heather

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9 minutes ago, Kon said:

Very nice sketch and detailed notes.

Thank you @Kon - its a start, M82 looks like it felt to view, pleased with that - Bode's itself isn't quite right, but then I have a reason to go back...

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1 hour ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Very nice, and the PS inversion adds a certain something too ...

Strangely for someone with a background in photography, I feel no urge to attach any of my cameras to my 'scopes, but the attraction of a simple, less than £10 worth of pencils and a bit of paper ... which encourages careful close observation rather than a quick tick against a list ... yes, sketching rather appeals to me !

Heather

Thank you @Tiny Clanger - I can certainly see me doing more observing this way and as you say, it makes for deeper looking. 

I have been so keen to get out and find all these exciting things since getting the bug again that I have been guilty of a bit of list ticking. Starting to tackle fainter objects means closer observation & more effort to find them which translates to wanting to spend more time on the target - having finally found M63 the other night for example,  I wasn't in a hurry to leave.  Even though it was the faintest of smudges with the ST80 I wanted to record the stars around it partly to come back and confirm with the big atlas (& a nice warm brew!) that I had in fact seen what I thought I had, sketching seems a perfect partner to this kind of observation. 

I too have done lots of regular photography with SLRs & DSLRs over the years & I whilst  can see the appeal of imaging, some astonishing things are possible with amateur equipment, its almost a different hobby.
For me right now though there is appeal in the sheer wonder of being able to see photons that have crossed unimaginable distances with my own biological image-processing & rendering power (limited though that certainly is!). Bodes galaxy is 12 million light years away - the light I was lucky enough to collect on Friday night started out roughly when the "missing-link" species started to look a bit different to the other great apes, blimey. 

I like the thought of being able to record all that organically,  here's my latest thinking on an expensive guidance and imaging set-up... 

image.thumb.png.fd44f50058f10a9c533c869e2ebdc935.png

Edited by SuburbanMak
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1 hour ago, SuburbanMak said:

Thank you @Tiny Clanger - I can certainly see me doing more observing this way and as you say, it makes for deeper looking. 

I have been so keen to get out and find all these exciting things since getting the bug again that I have been guilty of a bit of list ticking. Starting to tackle fainter objects means closer observation & more effort to find them which translates to wanting to spend more time on the target - having finally found M63 the other night for example,  I wasn't in a hurry to leave.  Even though it was the faintest of smudges with the ST80 I wanted to record the stars around it partly to come back and confirm with the big atlas (& a nice warm brew!) that I had in fact seen what I thought I had, sketching seems a perfect partner to this kind of observation. 

I too have done lots of regular photography with SLRs & DSLRs over the years & I whilst  can see the appeal of imaging, some astonishing things are possible with amateur equipment, its almost a different hobby.
For me right now though there is appeal in the sheer wonder of being able to see photons that have crossed unimaginable distances with my own biological image-processing & rendering power (limited though that certainly is!). Bodes galaxy is 12 million light years away - the light I was lucky enough to collect on Friday night started out roughly when the "missing-link" species started to look a bit different to the other great apes, blimey. 

I like the thought of being able to record all that organically,  here's my latest thinking on an expensive guidance and imaging set-up... 

image.thumb.png.fd44f50058f10a9c533c869e2ebdc935.png

Perfect !

 

Heather

Edited by Tiny Clanger
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Nice. I did a lot of sketching of Mars back in the Autumn, and it really forces you to observe, rather than look (as MikeDNight's signature says)

7 hours ago, SuburbanMak said:

like the thought of being able to record all that organically,  here's my latest thinking on an expensive guidance and imaging set-up... 

image.thumb.png.fd44f50058f10a9c533c869e2ebdc935.png

Before you know it, you'll have a full set of pencils, putty erasers, blending stumps. 

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On 09/03/2021 at 15:07, SuburbanMak said:

Thank you @Kon - its a start, M82 looks like it felt to view, pleased with that - Bode's itself isn't quite right, but then I have a reason to go back...

Your sketch of M81 & 82, including the impressive star field that you've drawn is a delight to look at. A sketch like that gives an observer looking for the first time, a real idea what he or she is going to see visually. I like what you said about "a reason to go back..."  it's amazing that no matter how many times you sketch the same object, you always seem to see something you missed previously. And you build a terrific record of sketches to look back on.  When you do return to M82,  you might like to study it by itself using averted vision, as it really is an impressive galaxy. I'd be very interested to see your future sketches. Spend some time on it and you won't be disappointed - honest! ☺  You've got some great times ahead, as you're going to see so much more with a pencil in your hand; and you've got many excellent visual observers on SGL that you learn from and emulate. Welcome to a great club! 

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14 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Your sketch of M81 & 82, including the impressive star field that you've drawn is a delight to look at. A sketch like that gives an observer looking for the first time, a real idea what he or she is going to see visually. I like what you said about "a reason to go back..."  it's amazing that no matter how many times you sketch the same object, you always seem to see something you missed previously. And you build a terrific record of sketches to look back on.  When you do return to M82,  you might like to study it by itself using averted vision, as it really is an impressive galaxy. I'd be very interested to see your future sketches. Spend some time on it and you won't be disappointed - honest! ☺  You've got some great times ahead, as you're going to see so much more with a pencil in your hand; and you've got many excellent visual observers on SGL that you learn from and emulate. Welcome to a great club! 

Thank you - this is really lovely feedback & everyone commenting here obviously derive huge value from sketching what they see.

 I will definitely be doing more as soon as the clouds clear - probably picking fewer targets for my next sessions to allow time, really feels like a development of the hobby.

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