Sharing my journey so far, getting started with astrophotography as a beginner

[AstroLearnerWill]

Hi! Long time lurker first time poster here, 

As an absolute beginner to Astrophotography let me just start with Wow! They did tell me the learning curve was long and steep, and they sure meant it. 😁

Having said that, it’s been thoroughly enjoyable and since the clouds are still overhead I thought I’d write a few words for others who are getting started on a similar journey.  

I went from a modest skywatcher 200p telescope to buying a 80mm refractor and equatorial mount (alongside some other ‘starter’ accessories). 

Check out my blog article below If you’re 1) fairly new to the hobby and 2) interested in learning more about astrophotography, how the switch played out personally for me, and the equipment I’d consider as a good first rig (for imaging mid-large galaxies and other DSOs). All based on research on these forums and elsewhere. 

https://willlewis.co.uk/blog/posts/my-journey-into-astrophotography-beginners-guide-to-the-equipment-you-need/

Disclaimer: I’m yet to use all the gear in anger, I’ll follow up another time with how the software all comes together and hopefully that final spectacular image. Clear skies 🤞 

Edited October 24, 2022 by AstroLearnerWill

[MarcuSmythe]

I am in the same position of venturing my inexperienced foot forward in that direction.  If it were not for the constant clouds I would even gain some experience! Good luck.

[AstroLearnerWill]

11 hours ago, MarcuSmythe said:

I am in the same position of venturing my inexperienced foot forward in that direction.  If it were not for the constant clouds I would even gain some experience! Good luck.

The only upside to the clouds is that I now feel over prepared for the my first imaging session, if there is such a thing.

Good luck and would be interested in how you get on from one beginner to another!

[John Wick]

Same story for myself, started last December with a MSM tracer for Milky Way imaging (live in Bortle 3), just purchased the Star Adventurer ii Pro (2nd hand, never been used it seems, £250) Also just purchased the Samyang F2 135mm, brand new £380. Waiting for the opportunity to test it all.......do have an itch for a goto mount though...

[LaurenceT]

The learning curve is indeed incredibly steep, even as a lifelong hobbyist wildlife and macro photographer with all the attendant complexities I've been absolutely floored by the technicalities of astrophotography and astronomy.

My age of 75 has somewhat been against me as a beginner and it may sound weird but I was actually concerned that I would pop my clogs before producing a deep sky image, I managed to get one last week!

I certainly will have a look at your blog and welcome to this brilliant forum.

[AstroLearnerWill]

1 hour ago, John Wick said:

Same story for myself, started last December with a MSM tracer for Milky Way imaging (live in Bortle 3), just purchased the Star Adventurer ii Pro (2nd hand, never been used it seems, £250) Also just purchased the Samyang F2 135mm, brand new £380. Waiting for the opportunity to test it all.......do have an itch for a goto mount though...

Ah good luck! You are lucky to be in a bortle 3 area I think, hopefully that will help you get some great results!

I'm in a bortle 5 area, so I'll be looking in the future for any filters that might help me remove the light pollution. Based on other folks results it looks like should be able to produce something though.

[AstroLearnerWill]

1 hour ago, LaurenceT said:

The learning curve is indeed incredibly steep, even as a lifelong hobbyist wildlife and macro photographer with all the attendant complexities I've been absolutely floored by the technicalities of astrophotography and astronomy.

My age of 75 has somewhat been against me as a beginner and it may sound weird but I was actually concerned that I would pop my clogs before producing a deep sky image, I managed to get one last week!

I certainly will have a look at your blog and welcome to this brilliant forum.

It really does seem like a hobby that you can as far as you want to, both in terms of complexity but also the strain on your wallet! I think that only adds to the allure.

That's fantastic you were able to get your first image. I'm not sure if you've already shared anywhere but I'm sure we'd all love to see how you got on.

[LaurenceT]

38 minutes ago, AstroLearnerWill said:

It really does seem like a hobby that you can as far as you want to, both in terms of complexity but also the strain on your wallet! I think that only adds to the allure.

That's fantastic you were able to get your first image. I'm not sure if you've already shared anywhere but I'm sure we'd all love to see how you got on.

Yes, the strain on finances can be extreme especially when you're no longer earning any money. I've financed the new hobby mostly by selling off my photography gear that was sitting in the cabinet unused.

You asked for a link to the first ever DSO image:

 

[AstroLearnerWill]

3 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

Yes, the strain on finances can be extreme especially when you're no longer earning any money. I've financed the new hobby mostly by selling off my photography gear that was sitting in the cabinet unused.

You asked for a link to the first ever DSO image:

 

Looks incredible! Awesome first effort. Thanks for sharing.

[dark knight]

It is indeed a complex process to produce an outstanding image, however I found breaking it down into smaller chunks helped make it easier. Choosing targets wisely when in the right area of sky, practice setting up your gear, balancing equipment, cable management, check software is talking to equipment (all can be done in daytime) etc. Then there's the other side to it all, the intimidating image processing! Luckily there is so much help on the forum, never feel like you can't ask questions, never be worried about posting your images but most of all,  all images after processing are speculative based on one's preference, if you like what you have produced you don't need anyone elses approval 😉 Welcome to the dark side

[Jimbo64]

Will, I had seen your first image, so came back here and I've just read the blog post you did on your astro journey to date.  Good work fella!

[Enceladus Dan]

Hello Will, 

I'm still new to this, 16 months into my journey. For me my only experience in Astronomy was using my eyes, when my job took me to remote places around the world. On top of learning how to use my gear I bought, I had to learn image processing, as I had no experience what so ever. 

I have recently been getting my fix of AP during this bad spell of weather were having, by following some youtube tutorials on Pixinsight by Lukomatico. They are very good and easy to follow, all data and tools needed are provided (just need pixinsight free trial) 

I am so amazed at how much better my images are after, I will definitely be buying pixinsight. I just need to work out if I get an astro cam or PI first. Choices, Choices. 

These are the Images from following the tutorials. Now I just need some clear skies to catch some of my own photons again. Seems like it's been forever. 

Clear skies

Danny

[AstroLearnerWill]

11 hours ago, Enceladus Dan said:

Hello Will, 

I'm still new to this, 16 months into my journey. For me my only experience in Astronomy was using my eyes, when my job took me to remote places around the world. On top of learning how to use my gear I bought, I had to learn image processing, as I had no experience what so ever. 

I have recently been getting my fix of AP during this bad spell of weather were having, by following some youtube tutorials on Pixinsight by Lukomatico. They are very good and easy to follow, all data and tools needed are provided (just need pixinsight free trial) 

I am so amazed at how much better my images are after, I will definitely be buying pixinsight. I just need to work out if I get an astro cam or PI first. Choices, Choices. 

These are the Images from following the tutorials. Now I just need some clear skies to catch some of my own photons again. Seems like it's been forever. 

Clear skies

Danny

Wow, your photos look spectacular! Very nicely done! Love the colours and vibrancy.

I was waiting on a trial licence from pixinsight, so I got going with Siril and GIMP and followed these tutorials:

Siril - Full image processing (pre-processed with scripts)

The Budget Conscious Astronomer: Background Extraction using Gimp - YouTube

Star Reduction in GIMP — a tutorial using Wavelet Decompose | by Paul Bleicher | Medium

Which helped me produce my first image of M31, I'm proud of it but as always there is a lot to improve on.

Kit: Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro, 600D astromodified, HEQ5 Pro, 0.85 reducer/flattener, no filters.
200s lights.

Edited November 7, 2022 by AstroLearnerWill

[Enceladus Dan]

I wish I could claim them as mine, but the data is downloaded with the tutorial. 

I have since gone back to 2 of my old images data and pixinsight has made a big improvement. 

this was M42 taken last october and processed with DSS and Gimp. 

this is the same data but stacked and processed in pixinsight. Now im debating on buying PI this month or delay a month and try to get second trial, as i also want a ASI533MC. Getting PI now will slow down getting the cam. Ahhhhhh need a winning lotto ticket. 

cracking pic of M31, was one of my first DSO images too. You have done far better than my first attempt, my colour was off, blown out core and a terrible gradient. You have got some nice detail with the dust in the arms, well done. This is one target I want to go back to and get a lot more data on.

This year seems to be a wash out with heatwave (my 600D didn't like the hot nights) now the constant clouds when I'm off work. 

Regards

Danny

 

[AstroLearnerWill]

The image processing makes such a huge difference, I spent hours pouring over youtube videos and tutorials which netted some significant improvements in my images. It's amazing what you can do with data that you didn't even know was hiding in your images.

Great efforts with M42, really got what looks like some deep reds there in the 2nd image. Did you use a h-alpha filter at all? I think the next step for me will be to take some shots with (and buy..) a ha filter and take some shots without, then combine into a HaRGB photo. I don't know if that means I'll need to take two sets of darks/biases/flats as the optical train will change, that would add a lot of time to the process and a lot more cloud-free sky required..

I'm not there yet but also have aspirations for a proper zwo cooled cam, definitely an improvement on the DSLR by the sounds of it.

This hobby goes like something like this:

- Buy expensive gear

- Learn, practice, create awesome image

- Look to improve further and reach the next level of photo, which requires new accessory / filter / equipment

- Buy expensive gear

- Learn, practice, create awesome image

- Repeat...

😁

[Enceladus Dan]

My M42 data was taken with a canon M3 mirrorless camera( impulse buy, thinking less backfocus would be a good thing, turned out after buying a coma corrector I still need 55mm backfocus anyway) only filter I used was an L-Pro light pollution filter as I live in a city with bortle 5 going 6 sky. Good thing is at 1am most street lights go out. 

I have now got a L-Extreme which I have only dabbled with so far, struggling with exposure length to get red channel off the left of the histogram. I've gone to 5 mins+ and higher ISO but the noise in the darks is out of control. APT reports camera temp of 37or more. This made me look into making a camera cooler for my 600D (the mk2 version is coming) and also getting an astro cam. Soo much I want to buy, just need to prioritise. 

My EQ5 does me well, although I want I HEQ5 or EQ6-R I can wait for now as I'm getting 5 mins plus with guiding. 

I have thought of trying HaRGB using my DSLR in RGB and using the L-Extreme to take out Ha data. You make a good point about extra flats needed i never even thought of that. I think darks and bias will be OK to use the same. 

Your definitely right with the buy, try, learn and buy again. So many things I thought would be enough or all I would need. Then changed my plans after having learned more.