Hi Tyler, I agree that the meeting format does not allow for a detailed talk. But I like your idea of covering the basics and then offering a workshop at a later date. patrick On 30 Oct 2013, at 22:40, Tyler Allred wrote:
Hello SLAS,
I thought I would start a thread to "test the waters" regarding topics for my presentation at the November 20th SLAS General Meeting. I am looking for input, so please let me know what you would like to see presented.
I have given talks before that offer a very basic summary of the ways to break into astrophotography and the techniques that one can use, from the moderately cheap to the very expensive. I have also given talks where I present images I have made of various objects and discuss the interesting aspects of each. Either of these approaches could work and my previous talks could be used as a backbone and updated with the latest and greatest information. However, I am considering trying out a different approach this time.
Is there any interest in a less formal and less constrained format where I bring a complete dataset and simply show how I process an image or two from start to finish? People could ask questions and we could keep it very loose and informal. It may not be of interest to everyone, but then again, maybe no topic is of interest to everyone. In the past, there have been many requests to hold a mini image processing workshop where people could to bring a laptop and try some processing steps on their own. I am open to this idea but I am unsure about such a session working out on a weeknight with serious time constraints. A workshop seems like a better activity for a weekend with a 4-hour time window (or more). I think the time allowed would be better spent if I just processed an image or two, and allowed others to watch and ask questions as they occur. I think people learn more with such an approach rather than holding questions until the end. Please let me know your thoughts on the matter.
Perhaps I could begin with a brief slide show on the design and build of my backyard observatory and/or my homemade astrograph... if anyone is interested. The scope is no 1.8 meter monster, but does produce nice images, and building an astrograph has its challenges. Thoughts?
I appreciate whatever feedback you can provide to help me focus on something useful and interesting to the group members. I want to hear from all the usual folks, but also from the lurkers, so please chime in one and all.
Thanks,
Tyler