My title is a little misleading. Apparently I have been a member for over a year but I don’t recall joining. Maybe it’s a retired guy thing. I posted my first photos just a few days ago after upgrading my membership. I have been doing photos of the night sky for nearly 20 years but only sporadically. My first photos were with an old C11, the first black model, with a sand cast fork and wedge. The mount was very sturdy but only had a clock drive which worked for visual but not so well with photos. My photos back them weren’t what I would call beautiful but I still had fun trying. I have been draining my bank account over the years, getting better mounts, telescopes, and cameras. I have browsed AstroBin for a long time but never felt comfortable enough with my images to participate. Astrophotography is a complicated hobby. These days I have to admire anyone who is willing to give it a shot. Recently I have abandoned my light polluted back yard and started taking trips out of the city to get away from all the lights in Salt Lake City. Fortunately my dark site is only 50 minutes away to my sister’s back yard.
Most of there photos I have seen in AstroBin are phenomenal. You don’t have to go back many years to see how much astrophotography has changed. Back in the bad old days images weren’t anywhere near what they are recently. Even photos from huge research telescopes seemed pretty primitive compared to amateur images these days. This hobby is just getting more enjoyable. I just hope we can see through all of the satellites that are going up in the next few years.
Most of there photos I have seen in AstroBin are phenomenal. You don’t have to go back many years to see how much astrophotography has changed. Back in the bad old days images weren’t anywhere near what they are recently. Even photos from huge research telescopes seemed pretty primitive compared to amateur images these days. This hobby is just getting more enjoyable. I just hope we can see through all of the satellites that are going up in the next few years.
You can now take color pictures with a telelens that would have been possible only with a lvery large telescope. A great time for astrophotography … until we're surrounded by starlink and consorts.