| Charlie Hein |
| (Postmaster) |
| 09/12/08 12:31 PM |
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Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Welcome to the August 2008 Cloudy Nights Imaging/Sketching Contest poll!
Each month the best images selected from the individual Cloudy Nights Imaging and Sketching forums will be presented for the userbase to vote on. The monthly winner receives the coveted Cloudy Nights t-shirt! At the conclusion of the poll, the entry with the highest total will be the winner of the contest..
Please choose your favorite out of all the images. This poll will remain open through September 15th at midnight EDT.
Here are the entries for August!
Beginning Imaging's Finalist - Jerry3672:
This is M8 taken with a Canon XSi 450D unmod. single 2min sub. LXD 75 SN8 Unguided.
Film Astrophotography's Finalist - Nightfly:
Here is an image I took in May of this year atop Schoodic Head, Acadia National Park, Maine. The lights in the lower left are from the city of Machias and Cutler, approximately 60 kilometers away.
Details as follow:
May 2/3, 2008
Pentax 67 with 105mm f/2.4 lens at f/5.6
1 hour exposure on E200 film pushed +2 stops
Basic levels and color correction adjusted in Photoshop.
DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing's Finalist - Kentari:
The Corona with a Diamond from Siberia
Equipment and settings:
Canon EOS 40D with EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM and EF 1.4x Extender at 280mm f/5.6 on a photo tripod
ISO 400
24 exposures from 1/1600s up to 1/5s at 1/3rd stop interval with some frames missing due to movement. The last and longest exposure was made when the Diamond Ring was already on its way.
Combined in Photoshop CS2 using the Pellett Method
CCD Imaging & Processing's Finalist - bill w:
FS 102 @ f/6; CS 10nm Ha, H9, SX guider @ .5 sec thru 80mm f/5 guide scope
usual bortle white skies, fair seeing (~3 arc sec hfd) better for the Ha data
30x5 min Ha
7/28,8/1/08, los alamitos, CA
calibrated, combined, light DDP, .6 gama stretch, 1% contrast enhanced, HP filter in maxim, then to PS for light DSN reduction, cropped, reduced to 60%.
Solar System Imaging's Finalist - Bart Declercq:
My submission is the area from Rupes Recta to Werner on the moon.
The image is a mosaic of images taken using a Celestron C9.25 at F/16 (FL 3800mm), using an Imaging Source DMK31 camera, operating at 30fps through an Astronomik Red filter.
The image consists of about 6 separate AVI's, each originally 2000 frames long, multi-aligned in Registax selecting the best 256 frames per alignment point, with about 20-25 alignment points per AVI.
The image was taken from Haaltert, Belgium (N 50.885°, E 4.015°) on 2008-07-24 at approximately 3h50UT. The moon was about 45° high in the sky and the seeing was decent, though not very good (hence the use of a Red filter and the relatively short FL)
Sketching Forum's Finalist - WadeVC:
...here is my submission of the King of the Planets, Jupiter
Good Luck to all our finalists!
| astrodude |
| (member) |
| 09/12/08 01:08 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Great entries this time, well I guess that is said every time......
| InkDark |
| (Carpal Tunnel) |
| 09/12/08 01:42 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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This makes it hard to choose...
I like a lot the image of the Moon. It is so crisp and clear, nice shot! I'll go with the colored picture of M8. Beginning imaging...that looks like a pro shot!
| KimB |
| (super member) |
| 09/12/08 02:10 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Very tough choice. Excellent photos.
| Davidgojr |
| (sage) |
| 09/12/08 02:11 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Spectacular images this time! It's always hard to pick a winner out of so many fantastic options...
| Dick Lipke |
| (sage) |
| 09/12/08 02:16 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Why afer all this time dose a photo of the moon still seem as if you are looking at the first image ever sent back of another solar system?
| Andrew Welsh |
| (Carpal Tunnel) |
| 09/12/08 03:08 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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It was a tossup between Kentari and Bart Declercq for me. Spectacular images. I also dug through the history, and both have won the site contest at least once in the last year
| Jim Cook |
| (member) |
| 09/12/08 03:37 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Quote:
It was a tossup between Kentari and Bart Declercq for me. Spectacular images. ...
I agree. It was definately a tie between these two for me, too.
| Rob B |
| (newbie) |
| 09/12/08 03:44 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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OK, time to come out of the closet, as it were: I have always found lunar images a bit boring, maybe because I have a head full of dark matter, energy, blah blah blah .... but .... just voted for your image, Bart. Breathtaking.
| Illinois |
| (professor emeritus) |
| 09/12/08 04:49 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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ALL GREAT AND HARD TO PICK JUST ONE!
M8 is real good....not easy to take photo of clusters in M8!
Jupiter , 4 moons and stars look real.... sketching? Wow!
Years ago....easy to vote for the best........today is not easy! All super!
| nathanwhitsett |
| (newbie) |
| 09/12/08 04:57 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Hard to believe that the moon could look so 3-D ...all with a Celestron C9.25 ...this image is sharper than many 250 Mewlon lunar pics I've seen. But the solar image is just too pristine, and gets my vote.
| DoctorNoodle |
| (scholastic sledgehammer) |
| 09/12/08 05:26 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Whoah, tough choices! The eclipse shot looks like an oil painting. The Moon close-up looks like it was taken from orbit! I'm still having difficulty believing that the image of Jupiter is a drawing, it looks like a photo!
Great stuff, all. Kudos to all the finalists!
| steveeb |
| (sage) |
| 09/12/08 06:06 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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They are all great, but one stood out from all the rest. For me, it was easy to choose, but maybe it's because I'm from the old school of photography (hint
) and I took photo like that when I was but a young man with my Minolta X700 (hint, hint).
Ok maybe I gave away too much info about my vote, but I'm not sayin' who I'm votin' for for prez... (*cough* Ob *cough* ama *cough)
| StarsAbove |
| (sage) |
| 09/12/08 06:12 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Grrr...you people are ALL so good. Every month it's virtually impossible to make a choice!
You are all winners!
| robinsondd |
| (sage) |
| 09/12/08 06:55 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Excellent submissions all. So tough to chose but Bill W's ha image rocks for me.
| sunnynights |
| (member) |
| 09/12/08 06:58 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Another wonderful set of images. Jerry's had a 3-D quality to it, Nightfly's artistry and sense of contrast was wonderful, Kentaris' was just plain awesome, Bill's showed the advantages of black and white, Bart's was among the best lunar photos I've seen here, and Wade demonstrated the advantages of sketching over other media. Everyone should get a t-shirt this month!
| mill1599 |
| (newbie) |
| 09/12/08 07:25 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Very hard to make a choice. They are all winners. Congratulations to you all!
| Keplero |
| (newbie) |
| 09/12/08 08:11 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Congratulations to you all!
But... wahhh, soooo crispy, near & beautiful moon :-O
| Roy |
| (newbie) |
| 09/12/08 09:26 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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How can you choose from these wonderful photographs...not easy..all teriffic
| asinasina |
| (newbie) |
| 09/13/08 12:54 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing's Finalist - Kentari:
vote for this one~
| BrianFitz |
| (Carpal Tunnel) |
| 09/13/08 01:22 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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I certainly agree with everyone that they are all great pictures and it's amazing that as many as I've seen, I still enjoy and appreciate the beauty of Space. They are all winners.
I haven't seen many shots like that of the Sun and corona. It is just spectacular and is differnent enough to be my pick.
| PureHeaven |
| (member) |
| 09/13/08 01:29 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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I really look forward to this contest every month- thanks to all the imagists for such a pleasant experience.
| boogie |
| (member) |
| 09/13/08 03:18 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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All are great.
Two are spectacular: The Eclipse shot and the Lunar shot.
The Eclipse shot is beautiful and unique. I've never seen anything like it in the contest, however, my vote goes to the Lunar shot. It's by far the best amateur Lunar shot I have EVER seen. So sharp and crisp ... looks like it's been taken by a satellite in orbit ... WOW!!!
| linear_shift |
| (member) |
| 09/13/08 04:13 AM |
Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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They're all good but thats a sweet capture of the Trifid, and I have a soft spot in my heart for newbies (especially with a shot like that!)
Keep up the good work Jerry3672!
| HalbertMusik |
| (newbie) |
| 09/13/08 04:51 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Once again, a difficult choice to make - especially between the beginner's shot and the moon. I took the Moon as it is so crisp and well executed. Very well done to all of the entries!!!
| carlcat |
| (sage) |
| 09/13/08 11:50 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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The moon shot is amazing but the Kenatari corona shot gets my vote for such a unique image.
| bc1954 |
| (member) |
| 09/13/08 12:16 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Sub-survey:
Which is tougher:
a) Creating these works of art? or:
b) Voting for just one of them?
(B.D.'s Moon shot got my vote.)
Clear Skies,
-Bruce
| Jerry3672 |
| (Vendor - Quantum Astronomy Products) |
| 09/13/08 12:32 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Thanks for all of the kind words.
It's an honor just to be next to these great images. I want to that all of the people in the beginners forum and all over CN for the help. My first deep sky shot from just a few months ago was... well, let's say not that good. This M8 was my first attempt at deep sky with a DSLR. Without all of the help from others I wouldn't have been able to get this Image. 
| ngc2289 |
| (Carpal Tunnel) |
| 09/13/08 05:42 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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DARN!! I hate having to choose just one!! All the pictures are just so good!!
| Starman1 |
| (Vendor - Scope City) |
| 09/13/08 09:29 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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I couldn't choose, so my wife picked for me.
The black & white Lagoon is stupendous.
But that image of the Moon is crisp, crisp, crisp!
and the eclipse shot? Stunning.
And the drawing. Drawing? You're kidding, right?
Which did she pick?
Well Sagittarius is her sign.........
| Cow Jazz |
| (professor emeritus) |
| 09/14/08 11:38 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Hey, folks, this is just getting rediculous! How come every
image lately has been this good? Some real talent out there, eh? :-) Had to go with the Moon on this bunch, though; terrific image.
| WadeVC |
| (Carpal Tunnel) |
| 09/14/08 04:39 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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I too would like to thank everyone for their kind words and I am honored to be in the running this month. With the exceptional skill, time and equipment that is required for Astrophotography, it is a real thrill to be considered among what I consider the "Big Boys" with my digital rendering/sketch.
Thank you all again and best of luck to everyone!
| boyd |
| (sage) |
| 09/15/08 11:14 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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good lord that sketch makes my attempts look like crayons on tissue paper
Good luck to all, they are all fantastic.
| Bart Declercq |
| (sage) |
| 09/16/08 06:28 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Congratulations, Kentari! The moment I saw your entry, I knew that I was batting for second place this time...
At any rate, the original (both larger in scale and area covered) of my moon shot can be viewed here.
--
Bart Declercq
| Kentari |
| (scholastic sledgehammer) |
| 09/16/08 10:56 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Thanks Bart! And of course everyone who voted for my picture!
I did get a bit nervous when I saw your moon shot... Just awesome. And you did compete for that first place! The other entries were also very good.
Clear skies,
Koen
| Yossi Hury |
| (member) |
| 09/16/08 06:56 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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I would like to choose the moon picture although the solar eclipse is also fantastic.
Yossi Hury
| WadeVC |
| (Carpal Tunnel) |
| 09/16/08 09:32 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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Congratulations Kentari!
Once again, thank you to everyone who voted and your kind words!
| bill w |
| (Postmaster) |
| 09/18/08 12:07 PM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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doh
missed the vote
thanks for all the kind words
congrats kentari
spectacular image of a great event
| backyard lurker |
| (member) |
| 09/26/08 01:13 AM |
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Re: Aug08 CN Imaging/Sketching Contest Poll!
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im pretty late getting to this thread but I have to say these photos are all great. What an amazing set. That corona picture is beautiful, one of my favorite pictures Ive seen.