Conversations with your family about astrophotography?

Me: “DSO”
Them: “I heard the planets were in a straight line. That must have been amazing to see!”
Me: “DSO!”
Them: “oooooh star trails?”
Me: “No! DSO”
Them: “Ooooh wide angle shot of Milky Way over a generic old farmyard……?”
Me: “HYDROGEN-ALPHAAAAA”
Them: “……….silhouette of person with a headlamp pointing up in the sky standing on a hill with stars overhead?”


(of course I love all those pics, but it’s odd that those are the first things that come to mind when you mention Astro to other people)

With all those funny stories in mind let's not forget that we are the geeks! 

Clear skies
Wolfgang

Me: “DSO”
Them: “I heard the planets were in a straight line. That must have been amazing to see!”
Me: “DSO!”
Them: “oooooh star trails?”
Me: “No! DSO”
Them: “Ooooh wide angle shot of Milky Way over a generic old farmyard……?”
Me: “HYDROGEN-ALPHAAAAA”
Them: “……….silhouette of person with a headlamp pointing up in the sky standing on a hill with stars overhead?”


(of course I love all those pics, but it’s odd that those are the first things that come to mind when you mention Astro to other people)

It's probably because it's what seems atteignable for amateurs. People don't expect us to be able to take 'Hubble like pictures' that make you feel like you're lost in space, but rather 'nightscape' kind of pictures that they think they could take with their phones

А "black joke"
Astrophotographer: dies suddenly
His widow: sells out his astronomy stuff for the prices he told her he bought them for

Ive been asked if I am going to take pictures of the "pink moon"   or if I can take a picture of "sagitarius".

Overall, outside of the "thats really cool", noone I know has taken an interest in how I take pics and it doesn't bother me. Everyone has their own interests and I am sure I show as much into theirs as they do into mine.

I don't really have the awkward conversations with the family or friends. They often have a genuine interest in what it all is, and about how it's done. - But most importantly, I'm able to explain and talk at a level that they can understand.. Just because you understand, doesn't mean they automatically can(or should).. Like Wolfgang says; "we are the geeks" -  And being able to explain and teach is an art in itself.


As an example:

Me: “HYDROGEN-ALPHAAAAA”

Yelling hydrogen alpha in someones face is not going to make them understand what it is.

Sometimes it means you have to "dumb things down" a bit (or a lot). Or/and having tools available to explain things. Especially because this hobby is basically invisible for most people. Being able to explain how the stacking works, how the long exposures work, having images of separate HA/Oiii/Sii subs on your phone to explain what the gasses are. Having example images of what a 1 minute exposure is vs a 1 hour stack. 

(of course I love all those pics, but it’s odd that those are the first things that come to mind when you mention Astro to other people)

No, I don't think it's odd at all. Most of what we shoot is invisible and it's a very niche hobby. Other than NASA, most images of space are the shots you mention, the milky way, the star trails, the headlamp. All the classic instagram shots. Because those are easily visible to everyone, and are the images that can be done without dedicated equipment. So it's probably the only interaction they ever had with space, those images and themselves looking up and seeing some stars. So that is where the mind goes.
The old saying: "when you hear hooves, think horse. Not zebra"

Very good points. When I share astro images via whatsapp with my friends and family I usually include small snippets of explanations in easy words for non-experts. E.g. things like that Andromeda is six times the size of the full moon in the sky or the fact that the objects in the sky get catalogued by astronomers and that even the ancient greeks did this already. H alpha I explained by pointing to the fact that the space between us and the stars is not empty but filled by all sorts of elements and even molecules. Hydrogen is the most frequent of them, already created soon after the beginning of our universe and radiation can make it glow, so that we can see it. 

Certainly too trivial of an explanation for an AP forum but easy to grasp for non-AP related people with an average education. There is a lot of nice trivia to tell about the objects we are haunting for and in general it's well received by my peers. I'm always positively surprised how much interest there is for space and the night sky among non-AP related persons. I consider it our responsibility to preserve or better nurture this interest. After all we all are experts in one field but completely ignorant in a lot of others. 

As the saying goes: "The fish has to like the worm, not the fisherman" (hope I translated this well "Der Wurm muss dem Fisch schmecken, nicht dem Angler") 

Still I don't want to hold back with my own funny story:
My grand-niece really dislikes the round stars in my images. As every kid knows from their books, stars have edges, usually five of them. More are ok, but a round star is a no-go. Looks like I have to buy a Newtonian, it seems I can get away with the spikes.
And please don't ask which idiot bought her the books with the 5-edged stars ...

Clear skies
Wolfgang

Most people are shocked that these objects exist, and they show great interest in learning about them.  Whenever someone wants to know the details, I have examples too show them of the steps in the process. 

I show them what one image looks like, and how it looks after collecting about one hour.  I use M81, M82 as it has 2 galaxies as well as some nebula.

I also explain the equipment and what each part is and how it contributes to the process.

I also have images to show what the different filters capture and show them the colors they represent.  I try to keep it simple and as I can.  However, most of the people in my circle are tech savy, and have a greater ability to understand.

The one thing I do hear each time…  What, you don't just take a picture?  You need lots of pictures.  This is why it is so important to be able to visually show them the difference.

Then again, if I see the eyes glazing over, I know I went too far, and I say pretty pictures.

Only been doing AP for a bit over a year but it's been "The Hobby" for that long, nothing else really.  I ask my kids (pre-teen) and wife for feedback on my images.  I get honest answers.  And they're usually right!  It's great to get an objective perspective and I get a better image in the process.  It also has sparked some fun conversations when I drop information about how far things are from us, what is going on in the image, and can really stretch young mind's.  My youngest has been asking me to print pictures to take to school as they study various things related to space.  Last week it was "all your moon pictures".  Love it!

If someone is genuinely interested it’s easy to discuss. But that’s rare. VERY rare. Like any hobby, there are many who are incredulous as to why you’d even do such a thing. And it becomes clear in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. When I was into flying gliders some decades ago a relative asked, “what good is that sort of flying?” Fun. It’s fun. Does it need to be anything more? Blank stare. Same thing with astrophotography. Most are curious only because they find it quirky. Why would you do such a thing? For those…I simply stay silent. Not worth engaging. Remember: the vast majority are willfully ignorant. Willful curiosity is the outlier. The old adage is still true: Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.

Talking about astrophotography around you can be frustrating. You might realize that even people with socalled "higher education" do not have a clue about fundamental things that  should belong to elementary knowledge. It is not about the techniques how to take a DSO photo of course. It is about our place in the universe. And I guess there is a quite close relationship between this failure of our education systems and the way we are demolishing our beautiful tiny unique planet.

Pick any science related topic.  Comments from the general public will be similar…