A friend told me my star photos looked like white dots on black paper

He said, 'You're just taking pictures of the sky, not the stars.' I was stacking 30 second shots from my backyard in Phoenix. So I started using a cheap tracking mount I got for $150 and taking 2 minute shots instead. Now you can actually see color and dust in my shots of Orion. Has anyone else had a friend give you that kind of blunt advice about your photos?

3 comments

3 Comments

abby_henderson3mo ago

Honestly, I get what your friend was trying to say, but that's just how it starts. My early tracked shots were still pretty faint. The real game-changer for me was taking way more subs, like a couple hundred, and driving out to a dark site. Even with a cheap tracker, that made the dust and color pop.

jesse7733mo ago

Phoenix has way too much light pollution for real astro work. A cheap tracker and a backyard just can't beat a true dark sky site, no matter how many shots you stack. The friend's blunt take was actually the most helpful thing you could hear.

ryan_nelson2mo ago

Drive an hour from Phoenix and it's like a different planet, same as how leaving town changes everything from the noise to the air. People spend a ton of money on gear to fix what a simple drive can solve, but nobody wants to hear that at first. Your friend saved you time and cash by skipping the denial phase most of us go through.