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FrozenGate by Avery

First Quater Moon Photo

Here's my shot of the Crescent moon with my C8 telescope using eye piece projection. (old school with film)

Crescent Moon.jpg


Eye piece projection is a method in which you use an eye piece to project the image onto the film. This magnifies the object incredibly. Because if such high magnification, the image will instantly 'blur', even with the vibration from the camera shutter.

In order to capture the image sharp and in focus, you must:

* Have your telescope mount, aligned with the earth's polar axis, and have your tracking motor on, so that it will stay in the field of view.
* Get as good a focus as possible with the eye piece projection set up by pointing at a bright star and focusing through your camera view finder.
* Then once you frame the object, you must have a cable attachment for your camera shutter ready.
* Finally, you hold a piece of card board in front of your telescope (without touching it) to block the light from entering, then you open the shutter with the cable and wait about 4 or 5 seconds for all vibration to stop. You then move the 'cardboard shutter' out of the way (without touching the telescope), and count your exposure time. Move the cardboard back in front, and let the cable release close the camera shutter. The cardboard becomes your 'vibration free' shutter. ;)

That is one exposure. Then wind your film and go for different exposure times. That way you will get a good exposure. (hopefully)
Jay
 
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Although above looks bloody awesome it seams rather complicated tracking it and using long exposures... Especially when I only used 1/8 second exposure for mine.
 
Yeah... there is a lot to it. It is it's own hobby. That exposure was not long. Only about 1 1/2 seconds.

When your going for deep space images, you want dark skies and no Moon.

Here's an exposure that took 1 hour:

(M27 - The Dumbbell Nebula)
M-27.jpg


Doing it 'old school' with film, you have to have two motors. Your right ascension and declination...

As the object rises in the sky, the angle of light 'bends' differently as it comes through the earth’s atmosphere. So you have to make tiny adjustments in both right ascension, as well as declination.

This is done using a 'guiding eye piece'. You have a separate eye piece with double illuminated cross hairs focused on a star. You see the star move before the camera records a line instead of a pin point, because you are looking at a much more magnified field through the guiding eye piece. You make slight adjustments with a remote, that you can control your motors with.

Very tedious getting an hour exposure, guiding the whole time...



Here's one that was only 13 minutes:

(M20 - The Trifid Nebula)
Trifid.jpg

Jay
 
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Pretty amazing shots there I admit.

I ditched all film cameras for digital ones and spent quite a bit on my new camera so I won't be turning back to film any time soon. I can't get anything as amazing as what you have there but 15 second exposures with the lowest aperture settings I can get some pretty good star shots (depending on the moon as you say).

Either my tripod is broken or stars move quicker than I expected as 8/10 star pictures I get using 15 second exposures have streaky stars when I am pretty sure the camera did not move.
 
The Earth is turning faster than we realize! Here is a picture I took of the Milky way with a 50mm Nikkor lens. It is a 40 second exposure with tracking motor:

MilkyWay.jpg






Now, here's a 20 minute exposure with the same lens just on a tripod with no tracking motor:

Star trails.jpg


Those star trails are longer than you would think in only 20 minutes!
Jay
 
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Jayrob, those are amazing! What are those photos of? Those colors are beautiful! Are those false-color photos, highly edited, or are they for real?

However you do it, those are completely unbelievably beautiful.

-Mark
 
Trying to scan them into the computer requires a little editing, just to try to get the background dark, but the colors are real...

The actual pictures look much better than the scanned images that end up on the computer screen.

The colorful pictures above are examples of what are called bright diffuse nebula. Which are basically giant gas clouds which are illuminated by near-by stars...
Jay
 
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Oh my Chuck, Jay, I never knew you were the one who took those pictures, that's an amazing job...aaaaand you're giving me new ideas for my own photography!
 
long exposure ftw, that picture of the cratars on the moon is truly spectacular
 
WOW, I'm really amazed about the moon craters photo lol, i never realized your avatar photos where made by YOU!
 
:thanks:

The Moon photo is one of my favorites!

I have a 20" X 30" poster picture of it in a glass frame...
Jay
 
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