Getting Started: Long Exposure Astrophotography

by Allan Hall

This astrophotography book is a primer and a fully-formed, practical guide for entering the world of long exposure astrophotography. Allan Hall's Getting Long Exposure astrophotography brings the rewarding pursuit of stellar imaging to your bedside table. With academic flare and his signature approachability, Hall utilizes a suite of formats to provide readers with everything they need to begin - and develop, all while avoiding as much of the technical jargon and math as possible. From charts, images, purchasing guides, walkthroughs, and detailed descriptions, this Getting Started title is an in-depth resource for today's astrophotographer at any level of their discipline.Leading up to an incredibly useful list of the first twenty-five objects an astrophotographer might image with long exposures, this Getting Started title also offers a range of equipment advice and grounded descriptions of why certain phenomena occur - as well as what they will mean for you and your shoots.Though founded in the clarity and precision of science and photography, astrophotography can nonetheless be one of the most artistic and even sensual crafts, as well as one of the most daunting. A road map is essential when pursuing a rich experience of imaging and cataloging the night sky. Getting Long Exposure Astrophotography, with over 200 illustrations, images, charts, and graphs bolstering its clear and instructive text, takes readers from practical equipment purchases, savvy preparations, and understanding of heavenly bodies, with the proper - and smart - ways to capture their breathtaking beauty.From purchasing your first astrophotography telescope, hooking up your camera, taking long-exposure images, and finally, processing that finished image, this book is rich with provisions and tips. Hall expertly balances his own procedures with general and inclusive guides from set-up to software recommendations.In this book you will The difference between long and short exposure astrophotographyWhat equipment you may needHow different equipment comparesHow to set up your equipmentMaking your equipment work togetherWhat software you might needDifferent types of exposures (pictures)What might affect your exposuresTaking exposuresProcessing exposuresPutting it all togetherAnd much more!So, if you have ever wanted to take photographs of glowing nebulae, spiral galaxies, and shimmering star clusters, this is the reference you want on your desk as well as with you out under the sky.A journey begins, with Hall exploring in-depth details of field rotation and focusing methods, as well as explaining not just the what and how, but the ever-important why. So you won't just follow instructions for multiple image stacking, you'll understand the effect and craft of it.For today's astrophotographers, access is key. Encouragingly, there is more than ever in many ways. From the quality of the equipment that you can purchase to the ready availability of software and meteorological information, it's a photographer's dream in many ways. Let this unprecedented scenario work for you, whether you're looking to take your first photos or enhance your development as a long-exposure cosmic curator.From start to finish, Allan Hall's Getting Long Exposure Astrophotography book is your comprehensive resource, taking you from entrance, to expertise in the rewarding field of astrophotography - with a focus on the long exposure element that makes for such memorable, li

Genres: Astronomy, Photography, Space, Science

346 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2013

About the author

http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/...
Reporter for UK Daily Mail and tabloids on crime, paranormal, history, and the unexplained.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/searc...
Freelancer: Daily Mail, Daily Star, Daily Express, Observer, Daily Mirror, Daily Record, The Scotsman, The Age, Melbourne, Sunday Times, The Times, Daily and Sunday Telegraph, Mail on Sunday, Sunday People, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express, Evening Standard, London, Daily Sport.
http://journalisted.com/allan-hall
When based in Berlin worked for: Daily Mail - London, the Age - Melbourne,
Australia, the Scotsman - Edinburgh, New York Post NY. Formerly bureau chief for Britain’s biggest-selling papers – the Sun, then the Daily Mirror – NY.
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk...
NOT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_H... 1929-2001 wine
http://www.allanhall.com/bio.html musician Selah

Reviews

[Alexis Barrera oranday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy divertido, conciso, sencillo, amigable.
Todas las dudas que tenía de astrofotografía se resolvieron ahí.
También me hizo darme cuenta que en verdad no es lo mío y que no me gustaría invertir tanto dinero y tiempo en este hobby.
Sin duda, si alguna vez me animo, volvería a leer este libro.

[Kassidy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm no stranger to photography as it's part of my family's business. That said, I picked this book up at a used book store because I was interested in combining my passion for astronomy and my understanding of photography. My goal was to refresh my understanding of long exposures and get ideas for suitable targets so I could be out in the field ASAP.

This did not read like a Getting Started book. While it's suitable as a reference, most "Getting Started" formats tend to introduce technical concepts in stages. This book dives straight in to the nitty-gritty within the first chapter. The first chapter alone is obsessed with explaining extraneous details about equatorial mounts and clock drives without building up to why such-and-such equipment is useful in the first place. A lot of this equipment is definitely not necessary for "getting started" on simple long exposure astrophotography as plenty of impressive imagery can be made with just a DSLR, a tripod and some software to stack images.

[Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for beginners and semi experienced a like

Thoroughly enjoyed and learnt quite a bit only relatively new to Astrophotography and amateur astronomy but enjoy technical hobbies ,as I live in Sydney Australia not all is relevant like setting circle settings and some targets but the basics are the same just started putting the Azeq6 in EQ mode so lots to learn about equatorial mode and polar alignment.

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Detailed, Easy to Understand

It doesn't matter if you've been around astrophotography for a while or you are just starting out. This book can help any person at any stage learn and progress. Good read!