About Me & My Astrophotography Journey
Welcome to my website!
My name is Zach and I am an amateur astrophotographer based out of Reno, Nevada. I’ve always had a passion for the night sky and astronomy. As a kid I was so interested in watching those Science Channel space shows that it eventually stemmed into me taking a multitude of university courses surrounding physics, astrophysics, astronomy, and mathematics. I was always (and still am) awe-struck by the amazing photos the Hubble Space Telescope - and now James Webb - release and couldn’t believe the amount of detail captured in those images. I always thought that photos like those were exclusive to professionals in the field. I was wrong!
Humble Beginnings
I was lucky to have a mother-in-law and father-in-law who gifted me a telescope in July of 2022 - a Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ. I had similar telescopes in the past and somewhat knew what to expect. I was able to get some amazing views of the moon, and begin looking at planets like Jupiter and Saturn. Later in the Fall, I decided to try and view my first DSO (deep-space-object) - The Orion Nebula. It was just a tiny gray smudge in the eye-piece of my telescope. Honestly, I wasn’t very excited when looking at this alleged bright and colorful nebula . Until I decided to put my phone up to the eye piece and snap a 9 second exposure.
My First Photo
This was my first ever photograph taken of a DSO though a telescope. I was able to see color and structure - not at all that faint gray blob I saw when looking through the eyepiece!
This photo is what started it all for me. After, I started researching astrophotography and was absolutely amazed by what people could capture from their light polluted backyard. I knew what I needed next - and that was a tracking mount.
After a lot of time spent researching what to buy next I decided on getting the Celestron Nexstar 130SLT Computerized Telescope along with a Canon Rebel T7 DSLR Camera.
9 second exposure of the Orion Nebula taken with a Samsung Galaxy Fold 4
New Telescope and Camera
With my 130SLT and Canon DSLR I was able to start taking tracked images of the sky! But with this type of mount I was limited to a maximum of 30s exposures. Even with the limitation, I was taken away by each photo.
With this new telescope and camera, I could make out so much more detail and color on the Orion Nebula and even see the Trapezium star cluster in its core! At this point, I did not know how to process images properly yet. I was still only taking single photo exposures. What came next was learning how to properly stack and process images to really show all the data I was collecting.
Learning How To Process Images
Using a program called Siril I was able to take multiple exposures and “stack” them into one single photo. The more individual exposures, the more detail I could separate from the camera noise. Once the program finished compiling all of my images words could not describe the feeling I had when looking at the end result. All I could think to myself was, “I took that image?”.
I simply couldn’t believe that I took this from my backyard in Reno, NV. This was truly the moment that I knew I was going to go all-in on this hobby.
I kept at it and continuously got better and better. Both taking the images and processing them. Eventually, I was able to get a photo I was truly happy with of the Orion Nebula using my DSLR and 130SLT telescope.
It was here I realized I was “capped out” with the hardware that I currently had.
40 x 30s images stacked (20 minutes total integration)
130 x 15s images stacked (32.5 minutes total integration)
New Equipment
My Uncle generously gifted me some of his old equipment which allowed me to practice using a proper equatorial mount before spending money on a new one. The tracking mount I was given was a Vixen GPD2 EQ. Single motor RA mount which tracked the sky along the right ascension as the Earth rotated throughout the night. I could now take longer than 30 second exposures (if my polar alignment was good enough).
Shortly after I learned how to use this mount, I decided to buy an all new telescope and camera. After many hours spent researching what would be the best for me to get starting off I decided on a William Optics Redcat51 telescope and a ZWO ASI 533MC Pro dedicated astronomy camera.
I was in deep at this point. All new telescope plus the accessories (filters, polar alignment camera, bahtinov masks). My equipment far surpassed my skill level at this point, but I was eager to learn and keep getting better and better.
Practice makes perfect though. Each opportunity I had I took everything outside and braved the sub-freezing temperatures of winter. Each session I was getting better and better setting up the equipment and learning how everything served a purpose in getting the best exposures possible.
The Great Orion Nebula
Finally, all the time, effort, money, and hard work that went into learning this hobby was starting to pay off. This was the first image I signed my name to, and it is the image I now proudly showcase across all of my profile pictures as the “RenoAstroGuy”. This is by far not my best image, but I will always keep this photo as my main profile image as it serves as a constant reminder of where I started out and when I first thought of myself as becoming a true astrophotographer.
I could not have been more proud during my journey than I was when I was in the final phases of stacking and editing this image of the Orion Nebula. The colors, the dust lanes, and crisp detail of this image - I couldn’t believe I took this from my backyard with amateur equipment.
Every time I image this target, I will always think back to that November night where I decided to put my phone up to the eyepiece of that gifted telescope. That single night would go on to define a hobby that will hopefully last me a lifetime. A hobby that shows the vastness, and beauty of the universe around us. A universe which we are lucky enough to live in a perfect time and place to observe it in all it’s glory.
