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Saw some great shots on that sky gazing show with Dara and Brian last night.
You can get some amazing images using pretty basic kit by the look of it.
So the question is, can you really get "creative" with astro images, or are you simply being a "recordist"?
Suggest you look at klewis p/f, better still look at his website Photos By Kev. Absolutely stunning images there to be seen and some are really creative.....
Ade
I think it is mainly being recordist on the part of the photographer but I also think some of the images are amazing creations that are inherently beauitful to look at. So I guess the creative content comes from the images themselves not particularly from what the photographer does.
However, not having done any astro-photography I may be persuaded otherwise by practicioners of it.
JP
Star trails are more than just record shots, but I agree unless you happen to have access to the Hubble there isn't a lot you can do.
@ Ade If you mean "relevance" 
it's relevant to a recent thread you've made umpteen posts to over the last few weeks where you claim kit has zero influence on images. I'm amazed then to see you mention kit in relation to how good the images are. 
It's not a hobby that I'd get into. I've seen how addictive it can be and how people get second mortgages and start building mini-observatories in their gardens. One expensive hobby is enough!
Quote: I think it is mainly being recordist on the part of the photographer but I also think some of the images are amazing creations that are inherently beauitful to look at. So I guess the creative content comes from the images themselves not particularly from what the photographer does.
However, not having done any astro-photography I may be persuaded otherwise by practicioners of it.
JP
I can't see that there's any less creative input in astrophotography, at least the deep-sky variety, than there is in, say, landscape work. From a technical perspective it's certainly a lot more challenging. At least with landscapes you can see what you are capturing. I've photographed emission nebulae that I've never seen, and that's common in deep-sky work. The post procesing is challenging, too, with even greater problems of dynamic range to overcome when trying to reveal fine detail of structure. This is without even considering how to treat the subject from a colour perspective. A nebula in hydrogen alpha can look totally different in oxygen III, for example.
Take a look at the work of David Malin if you want to see some outstanding deep sky images.
My mate Steve's just taken it up and I've heard a lot about it - he was on about taking hundreds of reference images which get stacked - some with the telescope closed, for noise reduction etc.
I see his stuff on facebook quite a bit and it's impressive, also the stuff last night was great.
It does seem more of a technical exercise than a creative one - as in, you're more concerned with weighting the tripod, polar alignment and lots of other similar considerations, than thinking creatively... but he's pretty new to it and I'm sure he'll come up with something more creative with experience... if its possible.
I think the night sky is amazingly beautiful and nothing we can do here (other than move around the planet to get different views and less pollution) can really "add" anything to it.
Its just a case of how technically good can you get a shot....? And that will be addictive, you'll be craving more and more time, longer nights in your shed etc.
different thread chris - move on mate
I'll argue that it's 100% camera here if you like
I'll leave it alone (outside that thread where I have one final thing to say later)Actually... the kit is king with astro stuff really.... sad to say
What real input does the human have ? There are decisions to be made up front, but all the tracking, exposures etc. are done by robotic motors and things
Even the way a "recordist" image is cropped may demonstrate an element of creativity on the part of the photographer. Recognising beauty and recording it may involve creative appreciation. Selecting the right filter to capture the most "creative" nanometre band for a particular shot is a creative choice.
On the equipment question, many hugely impressive astro photographs are taken with kit costing less than some of us spend on a holiday travel lens. I mean that sincerely, folks; a friend of mine takes superb shots of planets, moons and stars using a fairly old dSLR with the sensor doctored to capture the optimum light frequencies (something to do with agitation states of electrons in hydrogen atoms if I understand his explanations) and a fairly inexpensive telescope. His complete kit cost less than I have just today spent on a Nikon 28-300mm lens for my holidays.
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