Topic: Beginners in Astrophotography - Markus Bauer

Hello fellow stargazers! Today I'd like to introduce you to Markus Bauer. Although it might not seem like it, Markus is a beginner. I know him from the Astrophotography for Beginners group, where he introduced himself in 2018. Here he shows us the Trifid Nebula: the raw image and the processed version.

Hello Markus, how did you get into astrophotography?

Hello everyone!

I've been actively pursuing this hobby since August 2018, but I already had a Newtonian telescope back in 2011, which I only used for visual observation. That wasn't for me, so I gave it up after a few months and sold everything.

Actually, it was only the lunar eclipse on July 27, 2018, that really captivated me, because I absolutely wanted to photograph it, and that's how I got back into the hobby.

After much deliberation, I finally ordered my equipment in August 2018 and started with planets. After endless reading, studying, and countless headaches, I finally took my first proper deep-sky images in October 2018; you can see one of them below.

I started with an EOS 1000D, had it modified relatively quickly, and then upgraded to an EOS 700D fairly soon after. I work exclusively with DSLR cameras because I drive 30 minutes to my location every clear night, and a DSLR simply offers more mobility. Besides, my intention is to get as much as possible out of a DSLR before I consider a monochrome camera.

Image editing wasn't unfamiliar to me; I enjoy editing photos privately, but not astrophotography. These are, of course, quite different to handle, but it helps to have some basic knowledge. Initially, there's a lot of information to absorb, and many things can go wrong. But once you understand the fundamentals, everything else is straightforward. I edit my images exclusively in Photoshop. I handle the initial calibration and stacking of the raw data with Astro Pixel Processor.

My current equipment consists of an EOS 700Da, 6Da, a 150/750 PDS Newtonian telescope, an 80/400 Esprit Apo refractor from Skywatcher, and the EQ6R-Pro mount (I replaced my HEQ-5 relatively quickly), as well as the Astro Duo Narrowband filter for narrowband imaging. I also recently acquired an Omegon Minitrack from Karl to begin experimenting with wide-field astrophotography and to be able to point at two targets per night.

What's possible in amateur astronomy is fascinating, but above all, it's astonishing what's swirling around up there and how we can photograph it with our equipment.

Personally, I'm very proud of the two Astronomy Pictures of the Day awards I received in 2019 for two of my images. It's incredibly motivating when you finally have the finished image in front of you – it makes the freezing winter nights out in the fields worthwhile!

You need patience and a good dose of perseverance, but then it's one of the most wonderful hobbies in the world.

You can find his photos here:

https://www.astrobin.com/users/Detoxx/…

Horsehead Nebula, one of the first images from November:

https://www.astrobin.com/377030/?nc=user

Trifid Nebula:

https://www.astrobin.com/413279/E/?nc=user

Iris Nebula:

https://www.astrobin.com/168lch/?nc=user

Exposure times, etc., are all listed on Astrobin.