Advanced Imaging Conference October 22-24, 2010 Santa Clara ...

Martin PughAstrophotographerwww.martinpughastrophotography.id.auHigh Resolution ImagingMartin will discuss key procedural aspects in data acquisition such asthe mount, scope and camera. This will be followed by a discussion onthe checks and balances necessary at every stage of image preparation.The talk will also present a brief overview of tools, guiding and dithering,image alignment and image combining.Martin will also offer some solutions to common irritations experiencedby all astrophotographers at one time or another such as image artifacts,preparation of the master luminance channel, blending narrowband data with LRGB exposures, fixing light pollutionnasties, correcting for red star halos, using the Photoshop minimum filter and correcting the artifacts it creates andgiving images impact without introducing or exaggerating noise.At 16 years of age, Martin Pugh left his home town of Dudley in the West Midlands (UK) to join the Royal Navy as aJunior Radio Operator. While he spent many nights staring into pitch-black mid-ocean skies using a pair of binoculars,his Naval career simply did not allow for any further pursuit in astronomy. For 20 years, he moved between ships andestablishments and in the late 90 s, together with the overwhelming appearance of Comet Hale Bopp in 1997, he becameincreasingly interested in the idea of observing and imaging. Then in 1999, he spent his first evening lookingthrough a dusty old 3-inch refractor recovered from his brother-in-law's loft, and instantly became fixated with the idea ofowning his own telescope, with the possible addition of a CCD camera.In Dec 1999, he was appointedto a NATO position in centralBelgium where the consistentlypoor air quality frustrated him ashe attempted to take imageswith a modest 8-inch telescopeand small digital camera. In2002, he moved to light pollutedLisbon, upgraded his equipmentand concentrated on planetarylunarimaging for the next twoyears. A navel career leads to asemi-nomadic lifestyle, so by2005 Martin found himself inAustralia under dark skies thatenabled him to begin producingdeep astrophotographic imagesfrom his backyard observatory.Martin has racked up a prodigiousnumber of noteworthyachievements including tenAPOD's, the 2008 David MalinAward, a three stamp collectorsset from the Australian Post Officeand the Royal GreenwichObservatory's Astronomy Photographerof the Year for 2009.NGC 1365: Majestic Island Universe / APOD 2010 August 20 / Martin Pugh12.5" Ritchey Chretien by RC Optical Systems, Paramount ME, SBIG STL11000M CCD Camera with AO-LExposure: Luminosity 12 hours, RGB 210:210:210Advanced Imaging Conference October 22-24, 2010 Santa Clara, California http://www.aicccd.com Page 28