Castor's Foot: Messier 35 Area

Castor's Foot: Messier 35 Area, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

The constellation Gemini features a treasure trove of deep sky objects. Most popular is the rich open cluster Messier 35. M-35 can be seen with the unided eye on a cold winter's night, binoculars and small telescopes give a most pleasing view. Scattered throughout the field are numerous nebulae, some of which can be seen here, including NGC-2174, The Monkey Head Nebulae which straddles the Gemini / Orion border.


Pentax 67 300mm f/4 SMC Takumar @ f/5.6 45 minute exposure on Kodak E200 film pushed +2 stops Cropped slightly from original transparency. Scanned on Epson V600, processed in Photoshop.

Superia X-TRA 400

Superia X-TRA 400, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

The "new" Superia X-TRA 400 120 format color negative film is available in Japan and the UK. It is also imported to the USA through a handful of dealers. I purchaes a couple pro-packs to run through its viability as an astrophotography film. The data sheet looks good as its spectral sensitivity in both the desired red (Hydrogen-alpha) and blue. The spectral and reciprocity charts looks identical to the well regarded Superia 100.

A planned sequence of exposures begins tonight using the well known targets of Orion, Monoceros, and Gemini. If the film records as well as its 100 speed cousin, exposures of 30-60 minutes at f/4 should provide a good negative to scan with a wealth of detail and faint nebulosity. At less than $4.00 a roll it may also prove to be the cheapest astro-film out there.

A new roll is seen here from the backside of the Pentax 67.

Rho-Oph: Dreaming of Summer

Rho-Oph: Dreaming of Summer, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

While we are in the midst of winter one cannot help but drift ahead of time to a warmer clime. It is true that Scorpius is emerging from its date with Sol and soon will be filling the early morning southern sky. Dreams of Rho-Oph will soon be fullfilled.

Taken last June during a rare window of opportunity of good weather, but during the work week, so little sleep was afforded. It was worth it of course.

The film, Fuji Acros 100 is a stellar performer for capturing the faint blue reflection nebulae in this region, especially IC4592! On top of that the contrasting dark nebulae (Thank you Mr. Barnard ! ) leap from the frame. The lack of thick star clouds in the upper right is because this is where the central hub of our galaxy tapers off.

I hope to be haunted again this summer by the spirit of E.E. Barnard, shooting this region again as he had done over a hundred years ago, with film and a portrait lens.

Night Trax Aurora Photography

Dennis Anderson is an Alaskan photographer specializing in aurora photography.  I stumbled upon his site and was taken back by his incredible image "Angel Fire" which took top prize in Nordley's 2005 Photo of The Year.  See for yourself!

Angel Fire  Copyright Dennis C. Anderson

Dennis spent years perfecting his craft but took it a step further, producing custom made cameras with lenses suited for the pursuit of perfection and to cope with the frigid Alaska night!  These cameras use medium and large format film, one of which was used with Kodak E100G to capture the award winning photograph.  Kudos to Dennis and his amazing work. 

6x9 Medium Format                  4x5 Large Format

Dennis offers prints in various sizes for sale at his Night Trax web site.

Special thanks to Dennis for use of his images here, all copyright Dennis C. Anderson.

Legacy Astrophotography: The Taurus Dark Cloud

Legacy Astrophotography: The Taurus Dark Cloud, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

Classic black and white astrophotography using modern orthopanchromatic b&w emulsion.

The image was obtained by using an equatorial mount for tracking during the 60 minute exposure utilizing a Pentax 67 and 105mm f/2.4 lens stopped down to f/4.

Under a dark sky these dark regions in Taurus and Auriga can be glimpsed by the keen observer. Long exposure photographs show an entanglement of dark nebulae rivaling anywhere else in the northern Milky Way. Edward Emerson Bernard was among the first to photograph this region and was delighted by what he recorded.

Barnard photographed this region (Plate 5) on January 9, 1907 revealing more than what can be seen here.

www.library.gatech.edu/Barnard_Project_W/PDF/plate5.pdf

Film Test: E100G & Taurus

Film Test: E100G & Taurus, a photo by Nightfly Photography on Flickr.

Kodak E100G is Kodak's last professional transparency film available. Having used the best transparency film for astrophotography, E200 for years now, I decided it was time to try Kodak's last remaining Ektachrome.

Here is a two frame mosaic, each a 20 minute exposure at f/3.4 using my Pentax Spotmatic II and 50mm f/1.4 SMC Takumar.

E100G lacks the red and blue response E200 holds in spades, but is more sensitive to greens. That is typically a bad formula for an astro film, as skyglow and manmade light pollution would record predominantly.

Reciprocity looks good and with a one stop push this film would be a great alternative to E200 if shooting the brightest regions of our Milky Way, such as those in Sagittarius and Ophiuchus. Star colors are well rendered.

As seen here, the film did record the California nebula and a very pale blue Pleiades. More interesting however is that it handily shows the Taurus Dark Cloud and what appears to be the Zodiacal Band running through Taurus.

Schoodic Point Nov 5, 2011

Schoodic Point Nov 5, 2011, a set on Flickr.

A series of images shot betwen 6 and 11 PM November 5, 2011.

These were to try out Kodak E100G for moonlit landscape work. Ektachrome E100G is the last professional transparency film available from Kodak and to shoot film in todays age is to continue the legacy of film.

Look at the images and remember that this will perhaps not be possible sometime soon. Digital better? I'll let you form your own opinion.