Just about 1 year ago, the North American Nebula was the first deep sky object I tried to capture. I was very disappointed with the results and never posted them. Everything was wrong with them and I had a lot to learn. It was a dark object for my first time, I probably should have started with Orion or Andromeda since they are brighter and have clear edges. My ISO was too low. I didn't have enough exposure time. I couldn't figure out how to fix the vignetting in post. There was too much light pollution where we were. I didn't have a perfect focus and didn't understand calibration frames. The list goes on and on.
Since I've had some practice over the last year, I figured it was time to have another go at this target. I'm using all the same equipment as the first time and while it was still a bit low on the ISO, I was able to produce a much better image. I'm still not happy with the final image and there's a couple things I'll do different next time.
We had an amazing night out at X-Bar Ranch where I could see the Orion Nebula and Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye. Getting away from the light pollution in the city makes a huge difference. My sister Amy joined me for the night and I guided her through taking the photos. So, the processing was all me, but she took all the pictures. I must say, my cheap lens is a pain to focus, but she managed to take the sharpest star photos I've taken yet.
Nicely done Amy!
We met some professionals who were very friendly and gave us a ton of advice. Some of which fundamentally changed my understanding of stacking. I have a lot of homework and reading to do
I wish I knew who they were to find them on here and thank them. We didn't catch them the next morning before leaving.
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