Awesome Astrophotography Album and Music Offers

At first glance, the challenge of astrophotography may appear daunting But not only are spectacular results possible, they are easy to learn with the step-by-step instructions provided in Stephan Seip's Digital Astrophotography: A Guide to Capturing the Cosmos. Today, amateurs can produce images that only twenty years ago a large professional observatory would have been proud of; and this book shows you how.

Learn how to:

Set up your camera for optimum results

Focus your camera for razor-sharp images

Take beautiful night shots with a simple compact digital camera, a tripod, and a telescope

Use a DSLR camera to shoot the Sun, Moon, stars, star clusters, and nebulae through your telescope

Get brilliant images of planets with a Webcam

Capture remote galaxies with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera just like a pro

Also included are lessons on the processing that is done in the "studio" after your shoot, including how to:

Shoot RAW format images and improve them with calibration frames

Take short exposures of faint deep-sky objects and combine them into a longer exposure

Perform brightness, contrast, and color correction

Make corrections to correct for vignetting and uneven field illumination

Process your images for stunning results

Equipment requirements for astrophotography range from nothing but a simple camera and tripod to a multi-thousand dollar computer controlled telescope equipped with a CCD auto-guider and separate guide-scope. Researching the best equipment for your needs is a task in itself. Seip helps you to sort out which cameras are best for the various celestial objects, what to look for when buying a camera, and what accessories you really need.

The rewards of this fascinating hobby, as the author says, "Grants you unforgettable hours under the night sky; it allows you to produce aesthetically rewarding and lasting results. Astrophotography is a love-match between physics, photography, art, and digital image processing. It is exciting!".
Price: $17.78 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the last few years, digital SLR cameras have taken the astrophotography world by storm. It is now easier to photograph the stars than ever before! They are compact and portable, flexible to adapt with different lenses and for telescope use, and above all DSLR cameras are easy and enjoyable to use. In this concise guide, experienced astrophotography expert Michael Covington outlines the simple, enduring basics that will enable you to get started, and help you get the most from your equipment. He covers a wide selection of equipment, simple and advanced projects, technical considerations and image processing techniques. Unlike other astrophotography books, this one focuses specifically on DSLR cameras, not astronomical CCDs, non-DSLR digital cameras, or film. This guide is ideal for astrophotographers who wish to develop their skills using DSLR cameras and as a friendly introduction to amateur astronomers or photographers curious about photographing the night sky..
Price: $36.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

With this extraordinary handbook, you, too, can frame the stars and have them hanging on your livingroom walls. Astrophotography for the Amateur provides a complete guide to taking pictures of stars, galaxies, the Moon, the Sun, comets, meteors and eclipses, using equipment and materials readily available to the hobbyist. Based on suggestions from readers of the first edition, the new edition has been completely updated and expanded to include new chapters on computer image processing and CCD imaging; expanded advice on choosing cameras and telescopes; completely updated information about films; a much larger bibliography; and hundreds of new photographs (in color and black and white) demonstrating the latest equipment and techniques. Astrophotography for the Amateur has become the standard handbook for all amateur astronomers. This new edition provides an ideal introduction for beginners and a complete handbook for advanced amateurs. It will also appeal to photography enthusiasts who will discover how to take spectacular images with only modest equipment. Michael A. Covington received his Ph.D. at Yale University. He is the author of several books, including Syntactic Theory in the High Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1984). He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and is the Associate Director of the Artificial Intelligence Center at the University of Georgia..
Price: $9.91 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book on CD-ROM is a practical guide to astrophotography with digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras It explains how digital cameras work and everything you need to know about how to take astrophotos with them. It also tells you how to process the images after you have shot them, with step-by-step directions that will produce beautiful results. With this book you will discover how easy it is to shoot the Sun, Moon, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and other celestial objects. Use your DSLR camera to shoot through your telescope. Determine the correct exposure and ISO to use for your astrophotos. Focus your camera for razor-sharp images. Take short exposures of deep-sky objects and combine them into a longer exposure. Shoot raw format images and improve them with support frames for calibration. Perform brightness, contrast and color correction. Correct uneven illumination and vignetting. More than 100 Minutes of video tutorials with step-by-step instructions for complete image procesing and enhancement of both JPEG and Raw images are included on the CD-ROM. The original image files used in the tutorials are also included for you to practice with. Low-noise DSLR cameras have opened up an exciting new world of digital astrophotography. These cameras are capable of taking remarkably beautiful images of celestial objects. With this book you can become a master at astrophotography with a DSLR camera!.
Price: $39.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Not all amateur astronomers who live in a suburban location realize just how very effective a ‘chilled-chip’ astronomical CCD-camera and software can be at cutting through seemingly impenetrable light-pollution. CCD Astrophotography from the Suburbs details one man’s approach to the problem of getting high-quality astronomical images under light-polluted conditions. Adam Stuart has written this reference book for all amateur astronomers who are interested in CCD imaging, especially those who have to work under suburban conditions. The book outlines the materials and (commercially-available) equipment used for high-quality imaging. The many wonderful images Dr. Stuart has produced allow the reader to see the product of – initially – a fellow beginner’s efforts. The glorious images found in numerous books, and especially those seen in Sky and Telescope magazine – might seem out of reach. But this is not really the case. Respectable images are attainable with modest equipment. This book outlines a complete and thoroughly tested working program for every beginner to achieve high-quality digital imaging.

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Price: $21.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

How do I go about choosing a digital camera (or exploiting the strengths of the one I have now)?. Among the topics covered are:. What digital cameras can do (and what they can't).. How much resolution is enough?. Web cams - spectacular immediate gratification on the cheap!.
Price: $34.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Astronomy buffs often wish they could photograph what they see through their telescopes. Camera buffs often wish they knew the techniques for capturing majestic yet elusive heavenly bodies. Astrophotography brings these two hobbies together in one complete resource.

This big, fully-illustrated book offers:

• Practical guidance and authoritative advice
• Equipment resources and contacts
• Brand-new star charts and illustrations
• Techniques for conventional and digital photography

Step-by-step instructions are given for choosing and using the right camera, shooting with a telescope, getting the best out of black and white and color film, and developing pictures at home or while traveling.

Specific instructions are given for photographing:

• The Sun, the Moon and the planets
• Meteors and comets
• Stars and satellites
• Rainbows, halos, and other phenomena in the night sky

This new edition also includes the latest information for shooting digital and dedicated astro CCDs (charge-coupled device) for capturing faint nebulae and distant galaxies. Generously illustrated with 100 color and black and white photographs, Astrophotography is an attractive and easy-to-use reference.

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Price: $1.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book is based around the author’s beautiful and sometimes awe-inspiring color images and mosaics of deep-sky objects.

The images were used as the basis of a public exhibition held at the University of Southampton (Summer 2006), attended by the press, local radio and TV interviewers as well as the public. The book describes how similar images can be created by amateur astronomers, using commercially available telescopes and CCD cameras. Subsequent processing and image enhancement in the “electronic darkroom” is covered in detail as well.

Not everybody can afford the biggest and best telescopes and CCD cameras, so a range of telescopes and equipment is considered, from the author’s 11-inch with Hyperstar camera, down to more affordable instruments.

Appendices provide links to free software – not available from a single source – and are themselves an invaluable resource.

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Price: $21.23 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Deep-Sky Video Astronomy is a concise guide to using modern integrating video cameras for deep-sky viewing and imaging with the kinds of modest telescopes available commercially to amateur astronomers. It includes an introduction and a brief history of the technology, camera types, etc. The authors then examine the pros and cons of this unrefrigerated yet highly efficient technology, which is already beginning to compete with expensive astronomical cooled-chip CCD cameras in quality and ease of use.

There is a thorough examination of accessories used to achieve particular results. Examples are focal reducers, Barlow lenses, and optical filters. However, the focus is mostly on the practical side of creating beautiful and detailed astronomical portraits using image-stacking software, enhancement tools like PhotoShop, and creating color images with a black-and-white camera.

Practical step-by-step examples supported by tried and trusted tips show how to achieve the best possible deep-sky video portrait!

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Price: $23.07 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Detailing the photographic equipment and astronomical instruments needed to capture celestial images, this guide shows how astrophotography can be accessible to all photographers. Included is a detailed introduction to basic astronomy with information on mapping the sky, locating celestial bodies, and planning an expedition to photograph astronomical phenomena. Photographers learn how to determine the color sensitivity of various films and achieve the best possible exposure, how to ensure a captivating composition, and how commercially processed prints can support their artistic vision. Whether photographers wish to capture deep sky or solar system subjects, the dual focus on photography and astronomy and the helpful sidebars and charts will ensure great images, enhanced creativity, and a greater appreciation of the night sky..
Price: $7.59 [Notify me when price goes down.]