Hamilton Amateur Astronomers: The Nuts and Bolts of Astrophotography
This talk is for people who are just getting into astrophotography. It will cover various equipment setups, camera sensors and settings and the purpose of lights, darks and flats. The talk will also cover how to choose targets that match your capabilities and your equipment. This is not a talk about image processing however it will touch briefly on image stacking. Please note that although astrophotography can be accomplished with video, Digital SLR or CMOS/CCD specialized cameras, this talk will only cover the use of a Digital SLR camera.
Astrophotography is a hobby within hobbies. To succeed, you need to have at least some experience with cameras and lenses, telescopes and mounts, image processing and a reasonable amount of knowledge regarding the night sky. Even if you can satisfy all of these prerequisites, your learning curve will still be very steep. Hopefully, this talk will help you get started on the path to becoming an Astrophotographer.
Our speaker this evening will be Matthew Mannering
He has been serious about visual amateur astronomy for the past 15 years. After five years of ‘going it alone,’ he became a member of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers. He still enjoys visual observing but after six years in the club he became interested in the photographic side of the hobby. This seemed like a natural progression as he has also been a photographer for most of the last forty years. Last summer, he upgraded from a very basic photo editor to specialized astro image processing software. With four years of experience in astrophotography, he is now at the point where he is able to pass on to others what he has learned so far.
Non-members are welcome
Non-members are welcome to join us at our general meeting events to see what we’re all about. You’ll find a club full of enthusiastic amateur astronomers passionate about this fascinating science and hobby. We’re confident you’ll want to become a member of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers and join us in exploring this fascinating hobby.
Door Prizes
There will be a draw for door prizes at the meeting and a free door prize ticket to all who arrive before the 7:30 start time!
Food Share Donations
Donations of non-perishable food for the Hamilton Food Share program will be collected at this meeting. Please drop off any items at the drop-box located near the entrance of the auditorium. All donations gratefully accepted and thanks to your generosity we’ve collected thousands of pounds of food since we began. Let’s keep up the great work as the need continues.
Become a member
Becoming a member of the HAA opens up new opportunities to take your love of astronomy further! Members have access to our star nights at the Binbrook Conservation Area, our telescope loaner program, social events such as our Cosmology Discussion Group, and more!
Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Reservations: Not required
Organized by: Hamilton Amateur Astronomers
Location: The Hamilton Spectator, 44 Frid Street, Hamilton, ON L8N 3G3 (near the junction of Highway 403 and Main St. West)
https://www.amateurastronomy.org/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-astrophotography/