What Personal Progress Looks like: 2 Witches!

[Mike Lewis]

So it is easy in this hobby to get caught up in comparing your results to the results of others. Some of that is of course human nature, but getting obsessed with it can really be demotivating, as there is almost always going to be someone else with more experience, darker skies, more time to image, and better gear that is able to achieve results you might like more than your own efforts. The way to make that equation work for you though is to compare to your OWN efforts on the same target from the past. In that case it is almost always your current self who now has all those advantages over your past self, virtually guaranteeing the impressive comparison you seek.

My most recent example of this comes with a re-imaging of the Witch Head Nebula (IC2118). I originally shot this target way back in November 2015, on a dark sky astro trip with friends to New Mexico. So while the skies were dark, I did not have the same gear advantages (primarily the camera) and certainly not the same experience as I have now. I was shooting with a modified Canon T2i (550D) DSLR, and I ended up binning 2 x 2 to get some extra sensitivity out of things. That gave me a black and white image. With my OTA at the time (SVQ100 at 580mm) it was also not possible to fit the entire witch onto the sensor. But as my first image of this object I was still pretty happy with it. That image is shown here:

I have always wanted to re-image this target in color and try to get it framed up a little better. So fast forward 10 years, and I was finally able to get a new version of this iconic region. It favorably compares with my first effort for all the reasons listed above

• darker skies (Starfront in rural Texas vs Abiquiu Reservoir in NM, pretty close but a win for TX)
• More time to image (10 hrs 40 mins vs 1hr 18 mins)
• better gear (dedicated cooled mono astro camera with individual filters vs Hα modified OSC DSLR with no cooling)
• More experience (all the learning that comes with 10 more years of astrophotography pursuits)

So here is my new result. Still surpassed by many other efforts out there no doubt, but a clear upgrade from my 2015 effort I think. I DID get pretty agressive with the framing, as the witch is REALLY cramped at the bottom, in order to get as much of the top in as possible. This was imaged in RGB with Hα added in.

So, if you are still with me after all the blather...

Clicking through will show you a larger zoomed-in version is here. Lots of small galaxies showing I did not expect...The Black and white version is also on my AB site if you go looking at older posts.
https://app.astrobin.com/u/mlewis?i=oa0hfj#gallery

As always, thanks for looking and any comments, critiques, or questions are most welcome. Gear and collection details follow:

Equipment:
Poseidon-M Camera @ -5C and
Gain:125 Offset:25
Astro-Physics Mach2 Mount
Williams Optics Cat 91 Refractor, 448mm @ f/4.9
Antlia Pro Filters (3nm narrowband plus RGB)
Askar FMA180 Guide scope with ASI290MM

Software:
Pixinsight Commercial Version 1.9
Lightroom CC
Photoshop CC
N.I.N.A. Control Software
BlurXTerminator (Russell Croman)
StarXTerminator (Russell Croman)
NoiseXTerminator (Russell Croman)
Astro-Physics APCC and APPM

Light Frames:
Gain 125 / Offset 25
Red:28 x 300 secs (2 hrs 50 mins)
Green: 26 x 300 secs (2 hrs 20 mins)
Blue: 28 x 300 secs (2 hrs 10 mins)
Hα: 23 x 600 secs (2 hrs 20 mins)

10 hrs 40 mins total

Dark Frames:
10 x 300 secs (50 mins)
10 x 600 secs (1 hr 40 mins)

 

[AlanLichty]

Definitely a LOT more detail in the new version as one might expect. Neat to double check your progress through the years as you accumulate better equipment and knowledge.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

No comparison between the two versions. The second one has so much going on. Nice work with this.

Agree completely about monitoring one’s own progress rather than against others.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Thanks guys. Yes, so easy to get derailed by looking at what others are doing, seemingly especially with astrophotography, as in that case everyone is essentially shooting the same subjects. Appreciate the feedback!

ML

 

[JimFox]

What a difference Mike! It's great to look back at our growth, and your growth has been through the sky!

 

[Comet Hunter]

Outstanding, I need to look at some of my old data

 

[Andy Elliott]

What a great comparison. I totally get what you mean about comparing our images with those created by other astrophotographers. Its great to compare to give some idea as to what can be achieved, but there are so many variables to consider that its often fruitless (and possibly demoralising) to compare like with like. Great work as usual Mike.