DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 

DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> A great shot on APOD today
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 23 of 23, (reverse)
AuthorThread
09/29/2008 06:15:40 AM · #1
Astronomy Picture of the Day

Maybe not perfect technically (noise) but stunning none the less.

Message edited by author 2008-09-29 18:52:59.
09/29/2008 06:35:05 AM · #2
"Also, mountain lions were a concern while waiting alone in the dark for just the right exposure." Sometimes we get those in the backstreets of Brooklyn ;-). Makes our planet feel exotic.
09/29/2008 06:48:43 AM · #3
WOW. I could spend some time there taking a few hundreds pics while in utter amazement.
09/29/2008 07:21:37 AM · #4
Originally posted by Jac:

WOW. I could spend some time there taking a few hundreds pics while in utter amazement.




It's a very special place.
While I've hear coyotes and seen may other animals on the way to False Kiva I think the reference to mountain lions was added for drama.

Message edited by author 2008-09-29 07:23:48.
09/29/2008 07:34:14 AM · #5
Your link is to the APOD home page, which will always show the current image. Here is a permalink to the image you referenced.
09/29/2008 06:54:22 PM · #6
Originally posted by strangeghost:

Your link is to the APOD home page, which will always show the current image. Here is a permalink to the image you referenced.


Thanks, I fixed the original link :)
09/29/2008 07:31:05 PM · #7
Do you think that photo is real? Really? It looks to me because of the roughness of horizon that it was a editors special.

I am pretty sure I could take Johns image, and a Hubble image and have the exact same look. You would probably not be able to tell the difference.

Message edited by author 2008-09-29 19:32:53.
09/29/2008 07:34:14 PM · #8
Awesome place. I was just a few miles from there when I visited Dead Horse Point State Park last month while running a cross-country motorcycle rally. I was heading through there at night, and the views were absolutely AMAZING. I stopped at an overlook on the way to the park, and just spent a while looking at the stars. Naked eye, I could make out the milky way, and the starfield was so dense, I could hardly make out constellations. Once my eyes had adjusted, I could actually walk around my bike and the overlook area by STARLIGHT ALONE. There was no moon in the sky, but the starlight was so bright, it was as if I was under a 1/4 or 1/2 moon. AMAZING. I wish I had more time to stay, but I was "on the clock" and had to keep moving... DEFINITELY a place to visit again!
09/29/2008 08:02:27 PM · #9
Originally posted by Jason_Cross:

Do you think that photo is real? Really? It looks to me because of the roughness of horizon that it was a editors special.

I am pretty sure I could take Johns image, and a Hubble image and have the exact same look. You would probably not be able to tell the difference.

I do think it's a real image, but one that used quite a lot of processing to bring out details in the foreground. Think huge HDR!
09/29/2008 08:22:03 PM · #10
It just seems like I have seen that exact NASA image somewhere. I am probably mistaken. If that in fact is a shot that you can get from that location there are a few photogs from this site I would love to see get their hands on it. What a location, what a view!
09/29/2008 09:46:12 PM · #11
All that effort and his horizon isn't level. 4.
09/29/2008 09:48:45 PM · #12
hahahahahahah lol
03/19/2009 03:02:13 PM · #13
I remembered this shot and was thinking about it. What kind of equipment do you think is needed to get a shot of the Milk Way like that if you are in a truly dark sky area? Do you think the shot is 30 seconds or less due to no trails? Or is it a bunch of shorter shots merged? I'd love to head to eastern Oregon this summer to attempt some stuff like this.
03/19/2009 03:09:55 PM · #14
The shot is most likely a composite of two images at least. The pictures of the stars most likely are using a tracking deceive and a long exposure. You can see the rough editing near the horizon.
03/19/2009 03:13:59 PM · #15
Yeha I actually really don't understand that shot... how do you get that level of detail in the foreground & and the night sky when you are shooting a 4-shot panoramic image while using a flashlight to illuminate the cave. He must have taken multiple exposures of each section of the panorama but then wouldn't the stars have moved a lot by the time you get to the last section? And also, it must be hard to make the flash light illumination consistent no?

Message edited by author 2009-03-19 15:16:17.
03/19/2009 03:31:22 PM · #16
It does say that it's a "digital mosiac".
03/19/2009 03:34:12 PM · #17
He used a 24mm lens, so he probably was limited to about 20 seconds or so to limit trailing, or he used a tracking mount and exposed separately for the foreground and sky. The fact that he did four separate frames means that at very least he had to compensate for some minor movement of the stars. The very apparent editing around the interface between landscape and sky is evidence to that effect.
Not too hard to control the light on the foreground if a low-power, wide beam light is used, and is turned on for a known time during exposure.
Overall, it is a decently composed image, but the challenges of capturing both the sky and the foreground have left it looking very processed. Making these sky/night landscape shots look natural is a helluva challenge, I can tell you that.
03/19/2009 03:45:48 PM · #18
Oh, they are out there alright. Very rare to see them. You can see tracks tho. However, if you are in a cave with you back to the wall AND a roof overhead, you're OK. It's when you have your back to a cliff that doesn't have a roof that you ought to pay attention. They like to sneak up on their prey. That said, most mountain lions keep their distance from people although they certainly will keep an eye on you. There is an increasing number of reports about bold ones in Southern AZ an NM however... I know of four separate attacks, three fairly recent.

and to stay on topic..... both images are very nice. The astronomy one and the daylight one.

Originally posted by jrtodd:

Originally posted by Jac:

WOW. I could spend some time there taking a few hundreds pics while in utter amazement.




It's a very special place.
While I've hear coyotes and seen may other animals on the way to False Kiva I think the reference to mountain lions was added for drama.

03/19/2009 04:57:37 PM · #19
So there are tracking mounts that can be used for just cameras without a telescope? or are they just the same thing and you don't put the telescope on?
03/19/2009 06:27:36 PM · #20
Originally posted by DrAchoo:

So there are tracking mounts that can be used for just cameras without a telescope? or are they just the same thing and you don't put the telescope on?


You can either use a commercial equatorial mount just as you would use for a telescope, and mount the camera instead, or you can strap (piggyback) your camera to a telescope already attached to such a mount. The mounts are pretty costly, though, and outside my budget.

I'm actually working on this type of mount right now: Scotch Mount project

Of course it's been in the almost-finished state for a while now! :-)
03/19/2009 06:51:29 PM · #21
I found this: Min-eq at Adorama. $54.95 which is really cheap. You need the motor too which is another $50.

One guy reviewed the setup here and said it worked fairly well although it sounds like there are some inconvenience factors you pay for having something so small and inexpensive.
03/19/2009 06:56:23 PM · #22
Equatorial mounts are heck to haul around... I'd sure hate to try to fly with one, even in a checked bag.
One alternative is the Astrotrac. Though it seems pricey, it is cheaper than even a halfway decent equatorial mount, and not to bulky to travel with.
03/22/2009 03:55:01 AM · #23
I wonder how they made the galaxy stand out so well..it's something i've been trying to do for a while now.
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 06:40:51 PM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 06:40:51 PM EDT.