Why take pictures? An answer.

[ollypenrice]

There are good reasons not to get involved in imaging. Ask your bank manager for details.

But, but, as I write this the last Ha panel of my 'All Orion' picture is coming in and will be there by breakfast time - I hope!

And this is the point; only in an image can the deep features of this favourite constellation be seen. Barnard's Loop is too large and too faint to be seen any other way. Only the naked eye could see wide enough and only the camera can see deep enough. Now someone spying on me would see a geezer staring at his computer, but they would be quite mistaken. I am staring in awe at the immensity and glory of Orion. Believe me.

However, for the Double Cluster get up to the eyepiece. Horses for courses.

Olly

[Earl]

Dont stop with Orion though

Take it up through Taurus

[Petrol]

only the camera can see deep enough.

Hi Olly

I went to talk to an elderly gentleman for some advice last year. I am a newb but was slightly sceptical about his advice…. He suggested that imaging was not a good idea. He went on to say that it would mean loads of gear - PC’s and new technology….Grab and go was the best way.

I read between the lines but when I realised that you can’t see that much without imaging… the rest is history.

I just want to add…. I wish I was in your neck of the woods, it’s always cold and wet in NW UK. I would also love to have one of your astronomy hols

Keep up the good work – It’s cloudy here as usual so think yourself lucky that you have clear skies

Best regards

Pete

[JamesM]

Just to offer an alternative view to keep you on your toes Olly.

I love images because as an observer, they educate me as to what is out there and I would fully concede that our eyes (..mine certainly) cannot reveal to us all that there is to behold. I also really enjoy POW and to witness all the effort and expertise that goes into the 'production' of the images is trully impressive and really does show what can be done. HOWEVER, (...this is when I prepare my own bombfire:D) it is because of the information that images can reveal and in recognition of the failings of observing, that I am the proud owner of many Hubble and other imaging books to digest on those cloudy nights and this is my point - why would you spend a lot of money and most certainly a lot of time producing an image which I can find in a book for £20?

James

(...now seen running down to the bottom of the garden with various food supplies in order to hide over winter :D)

[inspectapart]

I think the old guy had a point!

When you say You cant see much unless you image, well that isn`t true is it? You dont actually see the object as you do when visually using a scope. You just see the image, and you can see an image of any astronomical object known to man by looking at the thousands of pictures taken by other photo astronomers, or the Hubble telescope.

I think that the enjoyment of actually seeing the object through the telescope is what it`s all about.

The taking and processing of photo`s is in itself a very enjoyable and rewarding pastime. But it is different from visual astronomy in that; it is the pleasure of actually seeing the object with your eye, through your particular scope. This is a most rewarding experience, that has been enjoyed since astronomy began.

Well that`s my four pennyworth anyway.

Bob

[Ant]

I agree with you completely Olly.

I was so impressed with your Orion WIP that I have a camera lens for the H9, I have borrowed a 2" Ha filter and I'm going to have a go myself.

You've got to look at the double cluster with your own eye's - stunning

Ant

[Petrol]

I think the old guy had a point!

When you say You cant see much unless you image, well that isn`t true is it?

Bob

Hi Bob,

First of all I want to point out I am a newb...

When I looked at M31 through my scope... it was just a smudge. I took a pic and it was more than that... I saw some detail...

For me, pics are the way forwards

[Mike_F]

To me, (just starting out on the imaging path) it's as plain and simple as one word:

"Colour"

I personally find it very frustrating that I can look at wonderful objects like M42 through my 'scope, knowing that the nebulosity is absolutely awash with colour that I just can't see.

[Astro_Baby]

< Grabs a bag if popcorn and a seat to watch the show

[Moonshane]

< Grabs a bag if popcorn and a seat to watch the show

me too!

my own perspective on this is that if you buy a filter or two and a decent aperture (10-12"+) you WILL have lots of awesome things to see. granted they will not be like the fabulous images the guys put together but still great and rewarding.

personally, I would love to get into imaging but two things stop me.

1) cost of entry - OK you can get good results with webcams and widefield shots with DSLRs but for me it's the standard of images that Olly et al produce that I want to get to. this costs a lot of money which I don't have and I'd sooner have a larger scope than take photos currently.

2) time - taking these images takes a lot of time and processing. it also takes time away from observing which I love. working full time and with limited time due to weather and family commitments means I don't feel it's right for me currently.

thankfully there's lots like Olly to show us what we're missing!

[NickH]

I agree with you completely Olly.

I was so impressed with your Orion WIP that I have a camera lens for the H9, I have borrowed a 2" Ha filter and I'm going to have a go myself.

You've got to look at the double cluster with your own eye's - stunning

Ant

Ditto...lens on the 4000 is now a must!..

[Macavity]

Get a Watec Camera... See SOME of this on screen and interactively.

I suppose, to imaging purists, the equivalent of "holiday snaps", but...

[GazOC]

I owned a Mintron camera and it left me totally cold, it was just a picture on a screen and although there was more detail showing than there was in the eyepiece I just didn't feel in any way "connected" to what I was seeing like I do when I'm observing.

[Ant]

Personally I really like the fact that there are so many different facets of the hobby, solar, lunar, double stars, imaging, observing, meteors etc... the list goes on and on.

I enjoy reading enthusiastic posts from a nights observing session, not really into observing myself, but it was great to read. I enjoy all aspects of astronomy I just don't want to do all of them myself.

I enjoy reading peoples observing reports in the same way that an observer enjoys looking at my images (well maybe not mine, but you know what I mean ).

I'm just pleased there room for all!

Ant

[Photosbykev]

It's the challenge that gives me the greatest buzz when I point my cameras skywards. With the naked eye you might see a smudge, with a scope maybe more detail and some colour, with a camera you can capture far more than you could ever observe and you get to keep it

[starstalker]

for me imaging is a way to capture the moment,example: when i used to go fishing and caught a nice fish we always took a picture of it, when i used to shoot handguns i used to bring the used targets home so for me its just a way to have something to physically hold as a reminder of the day(or night!), i guess what i am trying to say is imaging and observing are not separate things in my eyes, one just leads to the other.

[NickH]

Personally I really like the fact that there are so many different facets of the hobby, solar, lunar, double stars, imaging, observing, meteors etc... the list goes on and on.

I enjoy reading enthusiastic posts from a nights observing session, not really into observing myself, but it was great to read. I enjoy all aspects of astronomy I just don't want to do all of them myself.

I enjoy reading peoples observing reports in the same way that an observer enjoys looking at my images (well maybe not mine, but you know what I mean ).

I'm just pleased there room for all!

Ant

Well said that man!

[ollypenrice]

Just to offer an alternative view to keep you on your toes Olly.

why would you spend a lot of money and most certainly a lot of time producing an image which I can find in a book for £20?

James

This really is an interesting point about photos and I simply cannot answer it. But for some reason I can pore over a picture I have taken (or 'constructed') myself with a sense of involvement that I cannot bring to a picture by someone else. It really is not like looking at a picture at all. How can I explain it? I feel I am there in space.

I often talk to Maurice Toet (co-Apodder with SteveL et al) about this and he just says, Yes but that is YOUR picture of Orion...

It is not rational at all.

I would like to stress that I love observing, especially with an apo, for the beauty of those tiny glittering stars and a sense of the depth and mystery of space. You need a hell of an imaging rig to resolve the E star in the Trapezium, too!

Olly

[Whippy]

Spot on Ant .

Tony..

[toshapetriji]

I´m a newb too, and for me it´s all about really looking at something I´ve been ¨vaguely aware of all my life.¨

Photographs are interesting certainly, but I want to see with my eyes.

[GazOC]

Enjoying having an end product and a sense of achievement is the one thing I do understand about imaging.

[saturn5]

Personally I really like the fact that there are so many different facets of the hobby, solar, lunar, double stars, imaging, observing, meteors etc... the list goes on and on.

I enjoy reading enthusiastic posts from a nights observing session, not really into observing myself, but it was great to read. I enjoy all aspects of astronomy I just don't want to do all of them myself.

I enjoy reading peoples observing reports in the same way that an observer enjoys looking at my images (well maybe not mine, but you know what I mean ).

I'm just pleased there room for all!

Ant

Dont think its possible to sum up astronomy any better than that Ant,there's just so many "genres" for want of a better word.

[Nexus 6]

Of course take pictures! Use whatever it takes to ENJOY what the cosmos has on show for us. I say this as a purely visual astronomer but I can't deny the sense of awe when I view shots that have been posted on the forum. How lucky we are to be able to see such images, wouldn’t have been possible not so many years ago. The technology is the driving force behind this and it counts for the visual observer as well.

For me, it’s looking at objects as they appear to me at the time I look through the ep I really enjoy. No matter how many times you may have seen M42 the conditions are always different. Seeing, what kit you are using to observe with, were you happen to be at the time, mean to me every time may be a wonder to the eyes, lets just enjoy it!

Alan

[simon84]

This was a horrible dilemma for me when I started out because I love photography but I want to see aswell......best solution I could come up with that was cost effective for me was to dob my 12" Newt and get an astrotrac for my cameras.

The beauty of a photograph though is that that image is your moment, no one elses. You planned it and you brought it into the world. It belongs to you. You can share it with whoever you want but they will never get that feeling of excitement when you know its coming and the satisfaction of a job well done when you see it for the first time. I treasure every moment I have ever captured because they make up a part of my history.

[ollypenrice]

Funnily enough I tend not to dwell on past pictures. My obsession is with the ones I'm working on in the present. It's the 'doing' that I love the most.

Olly