The Nuts and Bolts of Astrophotography

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Join us this May 11th 2018 at 7:30pm – Admission is free and everyone is welcome!

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 I 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

I have been serious about visual amateur astronomy for the past 15 years. After five years of ‘going it alone’, I became a member of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers. I still enjoy visual observing but after six years in the club I became interested in the photographic side of the hobby. This seemed like a natural progression as I have also been a photographer for most of the last forty years. Last summer, I upgraded from a very basic photo editor to specialized astro image processing software. With four years of experience in astrophotography, I am now at the point where I am able to pass on to others what I have 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.

Place and time

We’ll be meeting at The Hamilton Spectator Building located at 44 Frid St, near the junction of Highway 403 and Main St West in Hamilton. Starting time is at 7:30pm.

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!