Making Every Photon Count

by Steve Richards

Aimed at the beginner to Deep Sky astro-photography, new concepts are explained in plain terms ensuring that the reader develops an understanding of the equipment and its use. Advice is based on tried and tested methods aimed at producing acceptable results early on by drawing on both the author's own experiences as a beginner and those whom he has assisted in the past.

The logical progression of an imaging session and subsequent post processing of the images is explored in depth in an easy to read and understandable style with numerous illustrations and examples to lead the beginner through to more advanced topics.

Genres: Astronomy, Nonfiction

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Michael]

Enjoyable and informative read and a direct purchase from Steve comes with online resources as well. This book touches on a lot of material and is divided up very well, however to really maximize this book's potential to facilitate your learning curve I would encourage the reader to read each section making note of any concept they feel they don't fully understand or have any questions about and research further. For example, when comparing pros and cons of DSLRs to mono-chromatic CCDs, there is a high level takeaway (among others) of greater sensitivity for the CCD. Further research will yield comparatively why certain DSLRs are better than others, what a Bayer matrix is and WHY it is relevant to this comparison, what narrowband filters are for, etc. In other words, this book will be a great introduction for you but it will also be a good way for you to generate some questions that will help you learn the science behind the hobby which will allow you to identify worthwhile online astrophotography resources and communities, formulate your own opinions and facilitate your buying process for your own equipment.

[Florian Josef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. However, the author has an awesome observatory which can be seen in the book, while I need someone to help me carry my telescope.

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[Kim Cowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential guide for those thinking of taking up the hobby of Astrophotography, which nowadays can produce results that surpass what was achievable by professional astronomers in decades past. The author is an expert in his field and explains the basics, what equipment is needed and how the results can be processed for the best results. The book concludes with a description of the author's eqipment and home observatory.
Astrophotography is a potentially expensive hobby and an investment in this book could save you from wasting significant sums of money.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly useful and informative book for anyone even remotely interested in Deep Sky astrophotography (the book does not cover planetary imaging). Divided into easily digestible sections, the book walks you through everything you need to know to start taking images of the heavens - from simple DSLR-based setups right through to multi-filtered CCD imaging. Processing is also covered in a wonderfully simple step-by-step, as well as telescope collimation and even a small section on building a permanent back-garden observatory.

If you've ever wanted to start capturing images of the amazing beauty that lies out there in the depths of space, but just have no idea where to even start, then I can't recommend this book highly enough. Read it before spending even a single penny on equipment and it will almost certainly save you a small fortune on costly mistakes.