Feedback
Feedback (brought forward from my original website)
1. Peter Otter August 2010
Carole,
I am a new member to UKAI forum and I would just like to say what an inspiration you have been to me.
Your website is excellent and I have really enjoyed looking at your images.
The thing that has encouraged me though is that you live in an ordinary house (I don't mean this unkindly!) in an ordinary garden in a suburb. This is very much like my house in Nottinghamshire. You have shown me what can be achieved given the location (including the trees - with which I have problems).
I have just recently taken early retirement and have more time to indulge in my hobby. I have had mixed success with a modified long exposure webcam (planetary/moon rather than deep-sky but hope to
persevere with that and my Nikon D50. Thanks to the forum, I have been back to some of my earlier images and have been reprocessing the images on photoshop.
Once again, thank you for providing such a good website.
2. Astronomy Forum:
Kyluckyman from Kentucky USA
October 2011
My wife and I are blown away by the stunning quality of your work.
We don't know much about telescopes as we only have a 10 inch Dob.
Our camera is an inexpensive digital and not suitable for AP.
Can you explain your gear and application so we have some idea of
how you create these great photos? If you sell prints, please PM me.
We have a spare room that some photos will fit in nicely.
3. Hi Carole,
I recently found your website and was most impressed and very much interested in the contents, additionally your photographic achievements with the Canon.
Like yourself I have a dome in which to keep my equipment safe and dry although
despite putting several layers of mastic around the base, the rain does sometimes
find a way inside!.
I was very interested to read of your success with the Canon EOS with 'Liveview'
and connections to a Laptop as I have a similar set up but seem to be struggling to
retain the 'Liveview' function operating for more than a few minutes after which the camera seems to shut down.
Have you had any similar problems with your set up. I would welcome hearing from you.
Clear skies.
Anthony
4. Astronomy Forum
tedrampart
London, Ontario
hmm I don't think you should post anymore shots... they're just too good and us low
down newbies are just getting too much inspiration out of them... ;)
on a serious note, incase you didn't pick up on my sarcasm, the images you've posted in the last while have been just stunning. Its both encouraging for me as a beginner to see these, and at the same time very humbling. I showed some co-workers and they couldn't believe they were taken within the atmosphere.
I hope to one day get even somewhere close to your level of artistic capture. thanks for posting so many great shots!!!!!! in comparison, I haven't even been able to locate M33 yet, despite my couple attempts, let alone capture with such detail.
5. Pete (Astronomy Shed)
December 2011
You have a great site, packed with tips, Carol.
I'm finding it a great help, well done and thanks a million
Pete
6. 22-1-2012 - CamelHat - Astronomy Forum member
Hi Carol
Your website is fantastic especially for the beginning – well, beginning professional - amateur.
Your DSLR tutorial especially takes a lot of the guesswork away. The astronomy forum has a lot of information too but it is spread out over too many pages so all we can do is “ask the experts” while really your material covers the basics and more quite well, I think everybody should read it. I have no plans yet of connecting a laptop, adding a tracking guider, etcetera, but in case I will in the future, your site can be a real money-saver for getting the right equipment and not having to upgrade later on. It shows how you can progress in a few years time to near-perfection if you keep the the nose to the grindstone and take care of things systematically.
Thanks again and good luck
Henk
7. 1st May 2012
Hello there. My name is Joe and I live in Southern California. Just wanted to tell you I visited your web page and had a great time looking thru your history and explanations. Also you evolution from that 114mm to what you've got thru time. I wanted to thank you for sharing such wonderful experiences and anecdotes. And like a lot you humbleness about everything you do and say. Will be visiting again to keep on seeing the many wonderful anecdote pictures and the evolution way of your progress. Thank you again for sharing your story with us!
Clear skies!
Plus the following reply when I asked if I could post the above comments
Yes you may! And feel free to share all your knowledge and experience always. I love the simplicity, yet thoroughness of all explanations and detail lay out. I can tell you, I'll become a huge fan of not only your pictures but also your ways. Keep up the good work.
8. June 2012
I just wanted to thank you for your tutorial on your website for beginning DSLR Astrophotography!!
I have used several of your tips in helping me learn this high learning curve hobby.
I do have a question for you .....................
Thanks once again for your website and help.
Jason Whitener AKA: whitenerj
9. June 2012
Your web site is super and your photographs wonderful. I enjoyed my visit there.
Joe Ashley AKA Sxinias Astronomy Forum
10. August 2012
Carole,
Great page! excellent reading for me as I'm in the process of setting
up a whole new astroimaging system............... Now that I'm retired,
I'm finally going to get to do it right I hope......
if you would please send me a copy of the pdf file, I'd be very grateful...
it will probably be my bible for a while...
Mitch Hill - Cape Cod, Massachusetts USA
Via Astronomy Forum
11. September 2012 -
Carole, as a relative beginner, I have spent some time at your wonderful astronomy website.
Thanks ever so much for the terrific detail and pictures!!!! I have learned a lot.
Warmest regards,
~Steve~
S. Norvich - Illinois, USA
12. May 2013
My name is Chris, and I have very recently joined “ukastroimigingforum” (UKAI) with the user-name ‘KumaBear’, which is how I came across your ‘How To’ page on the internet.
Can I please start out by saying how well written it is, and that it is easy to understand even for a complete novice such as myself!
Overall your page is written in a way that I can understand, and for that I thank you, so thank you!
Chris - St Helier on the island of Jersey in the British Channel islands
13. July 2013
Just a quick vote of deep thanks for sharing your thoughts, experiences and processes for DSLR imaging.
Your description of Darks, Flats and Biases are much appreciated and done in a way that is easily understood.
I'm currently refining my own DSLR capture procedures and can't wait to assemble the next "crop" of images, now that I have a better understanding of what the darks, flats and biases do (OK .. I sort of had an idea but whenever I attempted to do it in the past, it rarely proved useful. Now I'm charged up for a retry!). I recently moved to a smaller telescope (6" imaging Newtonian by Skywatcher with a coma corrector) and found it to be much more managable than my 8" Schmidt Newtonian which turned out to be more than my mount (and myself.. it's a heavy beast!) could comfortably manage. The 6" works great, however I did notice some of the typical artifacts (vignetting, gradients) which prompted me to go searching for answers, and allowed me to literaly stumble onto to your wonderful site.
As soon as I read your description of FLATS and understood why it is necessary to take them at the same focus and orientation as your LIGHTS .... I said "OF COURSE!" ...LOL. So that's one mystery resolved ... no point in taking flats the orienting your camera differently in the telescope.
All this to say that you are an inspiration, Carole ... thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
Rob Lavoie
Greely, Ontario, Canada
14. July 2013
You have a great site, and I enjoyed all of it.
I am a retired (I think) Pharmacist. After hurricane Katrina flooded my home in New Orleans and all of my "expensive toys" with 7 feet of salt water, I had a home built across the lake in Covington, La. where I now live. My interest in science in general has been with me since grammar school and is still there.
When I was young ............................
I started out wanting to ask you a couple of questions about your image of the Sun's surface. What telescope and filters did you use for this excellent image. I have a PST which works well for the solar prominences, but it is not double stacked. That would reduce the bandwidth and bring out the details on the disc. But not so good for prominences.
Thanks, Tony
Anthony Peperone
Covington, Louisiana USA
15. July 2013
Hi Carole,just had a look on your website and have to say your images are astoundingly beautiful.Also i noticed the DSLR guide you have done and it is
so easy to follow i feel more confidant in myself to start imaging.
Thanks again for your help and great guide you have put together.
Steve Walsh
Chippenham, Wiltshire
16. September 2013
Dear Carole, I've been bitten by the AP bug and just wanted to
say thanks for your website: it's very informative and your
images are inspirational. Regards,
Simon, Norfolk
17. November 2013
Dear Carole,
Thanks for your site. I kept on bumping into your posts and finally got to your website.I loved it.for the pictures, the information and tips,for your humility and awe in front of the Universe,
I, somehow, wish you would consider a trip to Israel where I live,and enjoy a much
darker and most often cloudless sky. The southern part of Israel is a desert (Negev)
and I wonder what you could achieve there.....and shoot south all the way to Omega centauri !!!!
We do not have a single woman in AP and very few women amateurs,we do have some very good photographers like Michael Tzukran, Harel Boren, Tal Feibish,
Take good care of yourself: we need a lot more of your kind.
Philippe Bonneau
18. April 2014
Hi Carole,
I have just been looking at your website and can only say ''bl**dy Hell''
Been reading up for the last hour. I used to work and do a bit of photography in fleet street, those pictures of yours are fantastic, especially the Green Crop pic, brilliant. Reading about your observatory, diy........you and your friend did a good job.
Just thought a bit of feedback would be ok!!
Terry - North London
19. June 2014
Your site helped me realise that I could start doing astrophotgraphy even if I live near Paris ;) Hopefully I will be able to find darker spots to get better at it.
So let me thank you for your tutorial and the passion that made you share your knowledge to someone who needed it ;)
Regards, and please continue posting theses wonderful pictures
Yannic Delisle
Paris
20. June 2014
Just to say hello, your site is one of the best simple and easy to understand websites around, so thanks for that, very useful.
Claire
Crawley
21. July 2014
Hello Carol,
Finding your blog very interesting and informative. You see I'm just starting this A/P lark, and as I live out in the bush I'm a long way from any clubs etc. So any information I can get from blogs and such is most welcome. I know that there are a lot out there in cyber space, but most of them tend to wander off into technicalities. Yours is very clear and concise.
Simon Peach
Woodleigh Aust
Also from Simon Peach later in July
Was looking in more depth at your web site. For a start love the way you have processed your pics you have kept the harsh colours out of them, beautiful and subtle, very very nice.
Read somewhere that us men love their colours to be bright and bold while women
like softer tones, that's why they pick white and pink roses, and us men like deep reds and yellows.
And the other thing that really impressed me was your
list of abbreviations astrophotography is full of them and if you ask anyone
what so and so means the letter you get back answers you as if your fool.
PHD I've been trying to find what it means and there it is on your site!
Thanks again for your site
Simon
22. July 2014
Carole, I really enjoyed your tutorial. You do have a nice way of putting the information out in a simple and understandable form.
Very interesting advice on guiding and PHD. I am sure it will be valuable when I eventually start guiding.
An Ioptron ZEQ25 is on the books for September. End of September is rainy season here in Thailand.
I hope to have an interesting and productive Fall.Winter season.
Thanks again for myself and all of us struggling beginners.
Jack Kalasinman - Thailand
23. December 2014
Enjoying your website:
I don't remember exactly how I found your website, but I am enjoying the descriptions of your astro-journey.
Over the past few years I have also been trying to uncover the nuisances of astro-photography.
Many Astro-photographers seem to forget what they learned along the way and don't always include descriptions of how they got to where they are.
Anyway, thanks for including some details about your efforts.
Your images are excellent and if I can get to that point some day I'll be pretty happy! :)
Regards Karl Kuehn
Greene, NY USA
24. January 2015
I am a newcomer to "The Astronomy Shed" and go by the name Gingus but real name Lee.
I'd just like to say I have taken some time to look at your website and your work and I am more than impressed.
I am returning to astronomy after some busy work life which is now thankfully running down and was quite interested in doing a little astrophotography along with stargazing until I read some of the books on the market.
A lot of those books could make fog seem complicated and my initial excitement soon disappeared. After reading your take on the subject and the way in which it is put across I think I will actually give it a go.
There is no need to master alchemy and is seems there is no witchcraft involved.
I currently have a Celestron C8 on a CG5 GT mount and a Canon 700D and it seems a shame to waste them. Now that I have a spring in my step again I'll give it a go.
What's the worst that can happen? Ermmmmmmm
Anyway thanks again, take care and I hope you have good clear weather.
Lee (Gingus) Warwickshire
25. 19th July 2015
Just started reading your website tutorial on DSLR imaging and it's been immensely helpful and easy to read.
.....I was experimenting with eyepiece projection and took it one step further by doing some solar imaging using my PST. After that I decided to give DSLR and long exposure imaging a try. Man, I didn't realize the road I took would be so rocky, there were more potholes than craters on the Moon!
..............I liked reading about your astro imaging camper van, something I have thought about in the past having the same thoughts regarding using a tent, packing, unpacking etc.
...............You mentioned that you live in a light polluted location and since you have done DSLR imaging as well as narrowband CCD, did you realize much better performance in those conditions with the CCD mono camera over the DSLR?
John S - California
26. October 2015
Thanks for an excellent website.
I've been reading your page on astroimaging with a DSLR
and have found it very helpful.
Andrew J
Newport Wales
27. January 2016
Please would you be kind enough to send me your Tutorial in pdf format
I have recently bought a canon 600D for astrophotography but really haven't got a clue....
Your website has really inspired me and I am really looking forward to taking some deep space images
After sending the Pdf
Thank you so much for your very quick reply, I'm absolutely delighted!!
Paul Cotton
Launceston, Cornwall
28. Thank you very much for sharing your image processing tips on your website. One simple tip has saved me a load of fiddly work. I use an ageing SBIG OSC CCd camera which has a lot of hot colour pixels all over the image. I used to remove them one by one using the clone stamp tool. Now your dust and scratches removal does it all in one hit!! Thanks a bunch, I enjoyed looking at your images. I can see the improvement you have made during your journey over the years. Well done.
Best wishes
Peter Edwards
29. January 2017
I've just found your imaging website. It looks a great read for an imaging newbie like me. I've never really got the hang of it - I've had a long tube Swift 831 77mm refractor since the 70's and bought an LX200 in 2007 but neither of these enabled me to get good images. So in September I deforked the LX200 and bought a GEM (AZEQ6GT) and a couple of days ago invested in a 102ed F7 triplet which should arrive next week. So what with the new kit and the wealth of info on your website I don't really have excuses any more!
Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to put all that down for other folk to learn from your experience.
Cheers
30. John Blackwood - Scotland
Then by co-incidence John Blackwood bought my Dead 450D and managed to get it working again.
Some further comments during E Mails from him:
I ended up buying an Altair 102EDT just after the New Year and together with the camera I'm already getting much improved results - but a long way to go before I approach your level of competence!
I've been sitting at the telescope with your excellent advice open in front of me on the laptop.
Once again thanks for your excellent website - it has saved me so much time!
John - Scotland
31. October 2017
Hello Carole,
First of all, what an inspiration - I've absorbed your astrophotography journey and wonderful images on a windy Saturday afternoon, fantastic results.
Paul Sheard - UK
32. November 2018
I noticed your web page at the bottom of a post you made on a forum.
I spent ages going through looking at your captures' which are out standing.
Your web site has lots of help with how to work photoshop, what I like
to ask you do you mind if i can Bookmark your page to help me along and there are loads more tips on your page to help me like with filters' etc. I have been into astronomy for around 45 years, with astrophotography a couple of years and still trying to learn more.
If you do mind me to Bookmark your web page that's OK.
Thanks Taff
33. July 2022
Your site- https://sites.google.com/view/astrophotography-carole-pope/how-to-image-with-a-dslr
Should be incorporated into the 'beginners imaging' sub topic. Tis a brilliant introduction to imaging... Sighs, trust a woman to make things plain and simple with explanations. Instead of the, '..what you need is a round grudnutz attached to a steam powered knob turner'... Concise and relatively easy to follow procedures.
Impressive observatory showing what one can achieve within a relatively small backyard within London!
Most impressed!!
Rob - South Bohemia
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