Legacy Astrophotography: IC1396 in Cepheus

Legacy Astrophotography: IC1396 in Cepheus, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

The Legacy Project continues: A rework of an old image taken in September 2008. E200 was employed to capture the faint details of Cepheus. With the nebula overhead, there was little between it and the camera as far as atmosphere is concerned.

A 40 minute exposure using the 300mm Takumar @ f/5.6

The Prancing Horse

The Prancing Horse, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

This region in southern Ophiuchus is perhaps the most celebrated area of dark nebulae in the sky. Revealed as E.E. Barnard would have done it, with black and white film.  High cirrus clouds bloated bright stars.

This is the first time trying Fuji Acros for this particular region of the Milky Way.  Conditions were not the best, but I am generally pleased.  The film lacks a response to Ha emissions, but that does not hinder its performance in starfields such as these that have no emission nebulae.

Pentax 67 200mm f/4 SMC Takumar @ f/4 40 minutes exposure on Fuji Acros 100 film.

Our Milky Way Galaxy's Central Bulge

Our Milky Way Galaxy's Central Bulge, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

I just spent several days of the last dark run photographing this area with different films and lenses. I concentrated on the Scorpius / Ophiuchus regions as the summer may prevent further attempts due to weather conditions. Those will be back and posted here within a few weeks. Until then, here is a reprocessed image from April 2008 I've been playing with.

How Edward Emerson Barnard would have loved to have seen this region in color.

Southwest Sagittarius, Southern Ophiuchus, and northwestern Scorpius. Perhaps the most exciting area within the visible Milky Way. Full of bright and dark nebulae amongst the starclouds of our galaxy's central bulge.


Early morning, April 11, 2008. Pentax 67 with 105mm f/2.4 @ f/4 and 30 minutes exposure on Kodak E200 film push processed +2 stops. Film scanned on an Epson V600 and processed in Adobe PS and PixInsight.

Flanders Pond Observatory

Welcome to a tour of my humble facility.  Located under the dark skies of eastern Maine, it is a paradise for astrophotography.  I continue to use my vintage equipment to capture the beauty of the Milky Way and other interesting objects in the sky. These methods include correcting tracking errors manually using an illuminated reticle eyepiece, just like E.E. Barnard did over a hundred years ago!

Built in 2003 with leftover materials from our house contruction. It resides in my front yard where anytime use is a major conveinience.  It would be impossible for me to persue traditional imaging as a hobby otherwise.

Click on the images above for more details.

Film Test: Fujicolor Superia 200

Film Test: Fujicolor Superia 200, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

Here comes another film test. Fujicolor Superia 200. Together with Kodak's Gold 100 and 200, Fujifilm's Superia line prove to be useful for astrophotography.

Two photographs of the Milky Way taken sequentially. The first (left) is a 5 minute exposure at f/2, the second (right) is a 15 minute exposure at f/2.8 using a 50mm lens. Both frames are shown here as one continuous scan to show actual changes resulting from exposure. Sky glow was reached in 15 minutes @ f/2.8

This film has potential. It falls within the range of many modern ISO 100 and 200 films which have good reciprocity characteristics and color stability in long exposures.

Conditions were good, but Scorpius had not reached the meridian at the time of exposure. I had to work the next morning and needed to get the test done with!

SQM: 21.56, Temp: 44 degrees F.

Kodak Gold 100 Test: Star Trails



Startrail image started in twilight, looking west-nw.  The center of the frame show the stars of northern Orion.  Tripod mounted Pentax Spotmatic II with 50mm f/1.4 SMC Takumar stopped down to f/4.8 60 minutes exposure on Kodak Gold 100 film.



In April I decided to test Kodak Gold 100 for astrophotography. With no opportunity for guided wide-field imaging, I decided to do a few star trails.  I was pleased with the outcome.  Gold 100 recorded some pretty faint star trails.  Color balance during the exposure was very good as well.  The film was processed at a local drug store and did a poor job on the prints.  These are scans of the original negatives, processed in C-41.


Kodak Gold 100 is not available at the corner drug store, but can be found as an imported film at major photography outlets.  It is not expensive.  I paid less than three dollars for a 24 exposure roll.




Startrails under dark skies.  Looking East.  Tripod mounted Pentax Spotmatic II with 35mm f/3.5 SMC Takumar @ f/5.6 60 minutes exposure on Kodak Gold 100 film.



The Denizens of Orion on Kodak Gold 200

The Denizens of Orion on Kodak Gold 200, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

A follow up image to my original test of Kodak Gold 200 last year. This two panel mosaic includes the heart of Orion, the majestic Messier 42, The Great Orion Nebula. The color response of Kodak Gold 200 over the required 30 minute exposure is about as good as any other print film when exposing brighter astronomical objects.


Via Flickr:
This image was taken in early January 2011 near the beginning of a roll of Kodak Gold 200. Such as film photography is, the roll was recently completed and processed.

Two frames (vertically oriented) were exposed and combined in Autostitch. Flat fielding was done with PixInsight using DBE (Dynamic Background Extraction). Curves and levels were adjusted in Photoshop.

Pentax Spotmatic II 300mm f/4 SMC Takumar @ f/4 30 minutes exposure.

High clouds bloated the bright stars.


Highest resolution here: dl.dropbox.com/u/14557288/Orion_Mosaic.jpg