Astrophotography Equipment & Imaging Methodology
Camera System:
Canon Rebel T3i (Full-Spectrum Astro-Modified)
This camera has been professionally modified to remove the factory infrared filter, dramatically increasing sensitivity to hydrogen-alpha light. This allows faint emission nebulae and subtle galactic structures to be captured with far greater depth and color fidelity than a stock DSLR.
Optics:
Rokinon 135mm f/2 Prime Lens
-Renowned in the astrophotography community for its exceptional sharpness and minimal chromatic aberration, this fast prime lens enables wide-field views of nebula complexes and galaxies while maintaining pinpoint stars across the frame. The fast aperture allows deep integrations even under light-polluted skies.
Filters:
Astronomik L-3 UV/IR Clip-In Filter
-Used to suppress unwanted ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, improving star color accuracy and reducing optical artifacts while preserving the natural appearance of broadband targets.
Mount & Tracking:
ZWO AM3 Harmonic Drive Mount
-A high-precision, computer-controlled tracking mount that compensates for Earth’s rotation during long exposures. This system enables razor-sharp stars across multi-minute exposures and supports the accumulation of hours of total integration time.
ASIAIR Plus Control System
A dedicated astrophotography controller used for polar alignment, automated image sequencing, guiding, and dithering. This allows each imaging session to run with sub-arcsecond accuracy and consistent repeatability.
Autoguiding System
30 mm Guide Scope with ZWO Guide Camera
-A secondary optical system continuously monitors a reference star and makes real-time tracking corrections. This ensures precise alignment throughout long imaging runs and across multiple nights.
Image Calibration & Processing
PixInsight
-Professional-grade astrophotography software used for calibration, stacking, background modeling, color calibration, noise reduction, and fine-detail enhancement. Advanced processes such as star deconvolution and nonlinear stretching are used to preserve faint structures while maintaining natural star profiles.
Siril & StarNet++
Additional tools used for preprocessing, stacking, and selective star separation to allow independent enhancement of nebulae and star fields.
Imaging Conditions
Bortle 4–7 Skies (medium to high light pollution)
-Images are captured under a range of dark-sky and suburban conditions using long total exposure times and careful calibration to mitigate light pollution while preserving fine detail.
Multi-Night Integrations
Many images represent several hours — and sometimes multiple nights — of exposure time, combining hundreds to thousands of individual frames.
Final Output
Each image is carefully processed for print fidelity and archival quality. Prints are produced on premium photo paper, metal, acrylic, or canvas in multiple sizes, ensuring sharp detail, accurate color, and long-term durability.
Philosophy
Astrophotography is equal parts science and art. Every image on this site is created using data-driven capture techniques and meticulous processing, with the goal of revealing the structure, scale, and beauty of the universe as accurately — and beautifully — as possible.
