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OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

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  • OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

    Comet NEOWISE was discovered back in March of this year. It was not expected to make a spectacle of itself, but after two others failed to produce anything visible without a telescope, NEOWISE delivered the goods.

    To find it, find a place where you have a clear view of the eastern horizon, and look due east starting at 0410. It will be gone in the sunlight by about 0445.
    My first shot of the morning, with my 16-28 F2.8.

    With the 200-500mm at F5.6. A little bit long of an exposure, I should push the ISO up to about 2500-3000 and reduce the exposure to about 3 seconds.

    With the 24-70 F2.8

    With the 20+ year old Nikon 35-70 F2.8D (I really love this lens.)





    Will

  • #2
    Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

    Wow. Nice work!
    You'll get your chance, smart guy!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

      Originally posted by RAD2LTR View Post
      Comet NEOWISE was discovered back in March of this year. It was not expected to make a spectacle of itself, but after two others failed to produce anything visible without a telescope, NEOWISE delivered the goods.

      To find it, find a place where you have a clear view of the eastern horizon, and look due east starting at 0410. It will be gone in the sunlight by about 0445.
      My first shot of the morning, with my 16-28 F2.8.

      With the 200-500mm at F5.6. A little bit long of an exposure, I should push the ISO up to about 2500-3000 and reduce the exposure to about 3 seconds.

      With the 24-70 F2.8

      With the 20+ year old Nikon 35-70 F2.8D (I really love this lens.)





      Will
      Nicely done, Will. Just getting into night sky photography and it's a blast.

      Though it does require a lot of patience...and coffee!

      Thanks for sharing those!
      Owen Ashurst
      Performer Air Boss - Reno Air Races
      http://airbossone.com/

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

        Here is another. Tokina 24-70 F2.8 ISO 1600 F8, 16 seconds 70mm Nikon D850


        Comment


        • #5
          Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

          Originally posted by RAD2LTR View Post
          Here is another. Tokina 24-70 F2.8 ISO 1600 F8, 16 seconds 70mm Nikon D850


          Will,
          Are you using the "500 Rule" from time to time as well? Remote firing shutter?
          Owen Ashurst
          Performer Air Boss - Reno Air Races
          http://airbossone.com/

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

            Originally posted by Air Boss View Post
            Will,
            Are you using the "500 Rule" from time to time as well? Remote firing shutter?
            500 rule? What is that? Hahaha. I'm using a remote shutter in full manual mode and bulb setting. Its tricky to balance the ISO to the shutter speed. Higher ISO gives you a shorter exposure, but more noise, obviously lower ISO is a longer exposure, but then you start getting star streaks.

            I'm going to try again from a different location tomorrow morning, hopefully there won't be any fog.

            Will

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

              Nice shots Will.

              Definitely rewarding when you come home and download and view your shots.

              Lots of patience required there.

              Thanks for sharing your work here young man.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                Originally posted by RAD2LTR View Post
                500 rule? What is that? Hahaha. I'm using a remote shutter in full manual mode and bulb setting. Its tricky to balance the ISO to the shutter speed. Higher ISO gives you a shorter exposure, but more noise, obviously lower ISO is a longer exposure, but then you start getting star streaks.

                I'm going to try again from a different location tomorrow morning, hopefully there won't be any fog.

                Will
                Ha! Looks likes you’re there anyway and if you’re like me…you stumbled on it like a blind squirrel!

                How did it go last night?

                The 500 rule is designed to reduce star tracking in your images and basically states that you shoot night sky at 3200 or 6400 ISO (use in-camera noise reduction system to help reduce hot pixel noise). Now, if you're shooting with your 24-70mm Tokina, open to 24 f2.8. Take “500”(some use 400 which gets a bit closer for me) and divide it by your focal length (24) to get your shutter speed. 500/24 = 20.8 sec (400/24 = 16). This method isn't perfect and requires some tweaking (experiment with the speed, drop to 1600 ISO as you were shooting, etc.) I’ve found 20 can be a bit too long so I back off a bit to where you’re at, around 16 +/-. Again, looks like you’re already there, jsut wondering if that's how you got there. I’ve never tried to shoot a comet so this could be fun! Very nice work my friend!

                Just sharing the following that worked for me and others so maybe it will help others who are getting into night sky photography. I certainly no expert and trial and error are the best teachers:
                Manual mode
                Shoot in RAW
                White balance to daylight or auto
                Manual focus (zoom in on star, focus until it is the smallest dot possible, then tape the focal ring down), zoom back out to 24mm
                Shutter lock up w/wireless remote or 10 second delay
                Wide open f-stop

                Post-production software programs are everywhere. Some are free (check out GIMP software…I just started using it, pretty nice for the price!) and others less expensive (I use Affinity Photo...one time charge/free upgrades). That said, I prefer to spend more time behind the camera than in front of the monitor. Aint' in this for the money (kinda like air racing!).

                Thanks again for sharing your work and your methods, Will. I hope to head out a few times over the next week to see if I can capture it myself. Likely won’t be around for its next pass thru our galactic home system…in 8786!
                Attached Files
                Owen Ashurst
                Performer Air Boss - Reno Air Races
                http://airbossone.com/

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                  Originally posted by Air Boss View Post
                  Ha! Looks likes you’re there anyway and if you’re like me…you stumbled on it like a blind squirrel!

                  How did it go last night?

                  The 500 rule is designed to reduce star tracking in your images and basically states that you shoot night sky at 3200 or 6400 ISO (use in-camera noise reduction system to help reduce hot pixel noise). Now, if you're shooting with your 24-70mm Tokina, open to 24 f2.8. Take “500”(some use 400 which gets a bit closer for me) and divide it by your focal length (24) to get your shutter speed. 500/24 = 20.8 sec (400/24 = 16). This method isn't perfect and requires some tweaking (experiment with the speed, drop to 1600 ISO as you were shooting, etc.) I’ve found 20 can be a bit too long so I back off a bit to where you’re at, around 16 +/-. Again, looks like you’re already there, jsut wondering if that's how you got there. I’ve never tried to shoot a comet so this could be fun! Very nice work my friend!

                  Just sharing the following that worked for me and others so maybe it will help others who are getting into night sky photography. I certainly no expert and trial and error are the best teachers:
                  Manual mode
                  Shoot in RAW
                  White balance to daylight or auto
                  Manual focus (zoom in on star, focus until it is the smallest dot possible, then tape the focal ring down), zoom back out to 24mm
                  Shutter lock up w/wireless remote or 10 second delay
                  Wide open f-stop

                  Post-production software programs are everywhere. Some are free (check out GIMP software…I just started using it, pretty nice for the price!) and others less expensive (I use Affinity Photo...one time charge/free upgrades). That said, I prefer to spend more time behind the camera than in front of the monitor. Aint' in this for the money (kinda like air racing!).

                  Thanks again for sharing your work and your methods, Will. I hope to head out a few times over the next week to see if I can capture it myself. Likely won’t be around for its next pass thru our galactic home system…in 8786!
                  I just kinda feel the shot out, always shoot in RAW, usually in auto white balance (unless the light is really odd.) Auto focus on a bright object in the distance (the moon works well) and I tend to stop down to a sharper area of the lens, F5.6-F8 (Not always) and use a remote shutter release. I do my post production stuff in Lightroom, DXO, with some help from NIK collection Color Effects.

                  I think I want to try and get the comet over the Pt Reyes lighthouse (Might be a very hard shot, if not impossible as I don't know where the comet actually is in the sky at night, and if I can get it in a frame with the light house since the light house sits well below the edge of the cliff. The fog may also make it a no go.) I also want to head over toward Rio Vista into the Windmill farm and try to shoot it over some of the spinning windmills out there. )

                  Here is a shot from this morning, taken from my work. Nikon D850, 35-70 F2.8D, ISO 3200, 8.2 seconds



                  Will

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                    Originally posted by RAD2LTR View Post
                    I just kinda feel the shot out, always shoot in RAW, usually in auto white balance (unless the light is really odd.) Auto focus on a bright object in the distance (the moon works well) and I tend to stop down to a sharper area of the lens, F5.6-F8 (Not always) and use a remote shutter release. I do my post production stuff in Lightroom, DXO, with some help from NIK collection Color Effects.

                    I think I want to try and get the comet over the Pt Reyes lighthouse (Might be a very hard shot, if not impossible as I don't know where the comet actually is in the sky at night, and if I can get it in a frame with the light house since the light house sits well below the edge of the cliff. The fog may also make it a no go.) I also want to head over toward Rio Vista into the Windmill farm and try to shoot it over some of the spinning windmills out there. )

                    Here is a shot from this morning, taken from my work. Nikon D850, 35-70 F2.8D, ISO 3200, 8.2 seconds



                    Will
                    Great shot, Will. I especially like the "over water" images of comets as there's strong science to suggest comets may have provided the initial source of H2O for this planet. At 8.2 seconds that's good. And I see you cranked to 3200.

                    BTW, that's from your work? Are you guys hiring?!

                    How do you like the 850? It's a beast of a camera from the specs. I'm twin Canon 5D Mk III's with all Sigma Art lenses from 18mm 1.8 to 500mm.

                    Going to try to catch it at Oceanside Pier later this week (I'm in Carlsbad). As you point out with the lighthouse, the orientation may not be quite what I hope but I understand the comet will be shifting to the NW sky and be best visible shortly after sunset. The hope is to grab something like this sunset at the pier with NEOWISE hanging up there...we'll see. Won't get the refelction you got, however.

                    Thanks for sharing your methods and images. Look forward to more and hope Pt Reyes & Rio Vista works out for ya'.

                    Keep 'em coming, Will. Cheers.
                    Attached Files
                    Owen Ashurst
                    Performer Air Boss - Reno Air Races
                    http://airbossone.com/

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                      The shot over the pool didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to. In hindsight, I think I should have tried to focus on the reflection rather than on the comet. A lower ISO might have been a better choice as this shot does have a ton of digital noise to it. I really hate cranking the ISO up because of the noise factor. I'd rather shoot a longer exposure at a lower ISO usually. I even had the high ISO noise reduction turn on, on the camera. I guess I also could have opened the F-stop up a bit for more light, but I really wanted the deep depth of field since I was trying to make everything sharp in the frame. Believe it or not, that is a 43.7mb jpg image (I don't want to know what it is as a RAW file.)

                      I really like the D850 for what I've been able to use it for since I bought it late last year. I really want to use it at an airshow, but we know how that is going this year. My D810 needs to go back to Nikon as it doesn't like most of my lenses, the 200-500 and my old 24-85 I can calibrate, everything else has a backfocus issue that I can't adjust out. (At -20 the target is just barely in focus, but the background is sharp.) I'd really like to see how the 810 does compared to the 850 with high ISO noise levels. The 810 should be better, but I'm not sure. Perhaps I'll take it out and shoot something anyway since the background will be dark when shooting at night anyway.

                      As for my work, you only want to work here if you like being underpaid for the job.


                      Will

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                        Owen,
                        Your milky way shot and the pier shot are both great. I'd really like to go someplace dark enough to get an awesome shot of the Milky Way. After growing up 3 hrs north of Reno where the night sky was truly dark, I really miss being about to go outside and see it.

                        This is the best milky way shot I've managed to get. Shot this from the south end of Big Sur.



                        That was with my slow 24-85, I'm looking forward to giving it another shot with either the 16-28, 24-70, and/or the 35-70 since they are al 2.8 lenses with far better optics.

                        I've done some other astrophotography, here is the Orion Nebula taken from my lawn. I couldn't actually see the nebula, I just pointed my 200-500 in the general direction and hoped I got it. Its not nearly as sharp as I'd like it to be.



                        Will

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                          Will,
                          I see you've been killing pixels at a healthy rate. Good man...

                          Night sky is a challenge and one I like. Just getting into it. Been concentrating on landscapes and...go figure...racing.

                          Big Sur...flashback. Basic training in Fort Ord, CA. Two weeks in we're sent to fight a fire in Big Sur. WT..?! I don't know $hit from Shinola about fighting a forest fire! I survived...only to be sent to Korean DMZ. Better than Nam...got lucky there.

                          I've found Borrego Springs to be a good spot but Joshua Tree is better. You're likely aware of the sculptures out in the desert at Borrego. A shot with Milky Way, Jupiter, Saturn and the resident dragon painted with a red lense flashlight. Love experimenting with light.

                          Hope you get a chance to grab some cool stuff in the coming few days and keep sharing...much appreciated!
                          Attached Files
                          Owen Ashurst
                          Performer Air Boss - Reno Air Races
                          http://airbossone.com/

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                            I just had a go at finding the comet tonight. Its fairly easy, likely very easy if you live in a dark place and clear sky. Find the big dipper, take the two stars that make up the bottom portion of the ladle, and follow them down toward the horizon. Its sitting low on the horizon about 10:20pm. It also looks like the tail has grown since Sunday.

                            Here is a quick and dirty shot from my backyard. (I even managed to get a meteor in the shot toward the top.)



                            Will

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: OT: Comet NEOWISE the first visible to the naked eye comet since 1996

                              Originally posted by RAD2LTR View Post
                              I just had a go at finding the comet tonight. Its fairly easy, likely very easy if you live in a dark place and clear sky. Find the big dipper, take the two stars that make up the bottom portion of the ladle, and follow them down toward the horizon. Its sitting low on the horizon about 10:20pm. It also looks like the tail has grown since Sunday.

                              Here is a quick and dirty shot from my backyard. (I even managed to get a meteor in the shot toward the top.)



                              Will
                              Nice Twofer there, Will. Good catch!
                              Owen Ashurst
                              Performer Air Boss - Reno Air Races
                              http://airbossone.com/

                              Comment

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