Aurora Timelapse
Well 2024 has been a year for the record books, we have had a number of aurora displays. The display on the 11th of May will not be easily forgotten. Thousands upon thousands of New Zealanders made the effort to go and see it, stood in awe, and got a chance to see a side of nature really shown at this latitude. Was this going to be another great display, and how would it look as a timelapse.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
I went out for a quick look last night and through the aid of some astro tools on my phone managed to find the comet :)
Aurora Australis - May 11-2024
There are times in your photographic life where the gear, the knowledge, don’t matter as much. Where the person with the cell phone next to you can get a similar shot. But then there are times when the research helps. Where technique matters and where local knowledge pays off. When combined, all of these together can make that once in a life time experience, even better.
The sword of Orion and M42 - The Great Nebula of Orion
After a good discussion with Les Rackham about balancing setups I tried a few new ideas last night, which didn't go as well as I would have liked. Still they pointed me to some refinements and further ideas which I will trial later.
I did capture some data though (50 x 5 second exposures at F8 1500 ISO on my Canon 80D with a 70-200 f2.8 L lens) which I merged in ASTAP and then processed in Adobe Photoshop. The shorter exposures was to try and avoid the clipping of the brighter stars in the centre.
There were issues including some teething issues with the mounting and a constant wind. But I am quite surprised at the final image. There are lots of things I can improve from here which is promising.
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex
We finally had a clear night when I had nothing on. Time for more testing
First Quarter Moon
Testing tracking with the Canon 100-400 at 400mm with a 2x extender on my Canon 6D
