The other day I talked about how sometimes it’s best to start anew rather than keep beating the old hoping for a different result. I did just that when I took two telescopes and my computerized mount up to Forest Lakes, AZ, and the results were pretty good, all things considered. Yet from my images of M42 – the Orion Nebula – one thing stood out by its absence; extended detail. I had expected much more nebulosity given the clear air and lack of urban sky glow, and I began to think that perhaps my Panasonic just really wasn’t up to the task.
When I returned home I decided to try my wife’s old Nikon D40, the one that couldn’t be used as a regular camera since hitting the ground, literally, in San Diego last year. Unfortunately, the results were only slightly better than what my Panasonic GH1 delivered, muddying the waters. Then, while researching cameras and looking for tips on taking better pictures in urban conditions, I came upon a simple technique for removing background glow and, well, you can see how it turned out. It’s probably the best result I’ve achieved, and I could have done what inspirationalists suggest and accepted it as good enough, but it’s a long way from being the best result I know I can get.
Harry Anderson once said, “Every fool knows you can’t touch the stars, but that doesn’t stop the wise man from trying.” Hammer, nail, head!
