Starship Asterisk*

geckzilla wrote:

starsurfer wrote:

geckzilla wrote:I don't think you are sorry to inform or condescend me about anything, Rob. I very much appreciate the work of all who have come before me, in case there is any doubt about that. I am beginning to appreciate you less, though, as you seem to think I am a nobody who needs to keep in her low, low place of knowing nothing and offering nothing of value to add to astro imaging because I have been doing this for a few years instead of a few decades.

I don't know if you'll care but I appreciate what you do, especially increasing the profile of less known deep sky objects in your gallery, a mission I consider very important. Have you ever thought of doing a talk or presentation about processing professional data?

Something I've been working a little on http://photographingspace.com/download-hubble-data/
I have maybe 2/3 of the second one written. I don't think I am experienced enough with public speaking to do that sort of thing.

starsurfer wrote:

geckzilla wrote:I don't think you are sorry to inform or condescend me about anything, Rob. I very much appreciate the work of all who have come before me, in case there is any doubt about that. I am beginning to appreciate you less, though, as you seem to think I am a nobody who needs to keep in her low, low place of knowing nothing and offering nothing of value to add to astro imaging because I have been doing this for a few years instead of a few decades.

I don't know if you'll care but I appreciate what you do, especially increasing the profile of less known deep sky objects in your gallery, a mission I consider very important. Have you ever thought of doing a talk or presentation about processing professional data?

geckzilla wrote:I don't think you are sorry to inform or condescend me about anything, Rob. I very much appreciate the work of all who have come before me, in case there is any doubt about that. I am beginning to appreciate you less, though, as you seem to think I am a nobody who needs to keep in her low, low place of knowing nothing and offering nothing of value to add to astro imaging because I have been doing this for a few years instead of a few decades.

robgendler wrote:

geckzilla wrote:Rob certainly did a good job pulling a lot of detail out of the shadows. One thing I do like about ESO's version is the warm red strip on the left, and the way it and the bright core of Orion stand out as focal points.

I find my college education in design often conflicts with the aesthetic aspirations I've discovered within the astrophotography community. It's probably the thing that causes me to butt heads with astro people over these things. One of the things drilled into me was that if everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized. Because of this, I sometimes tend to allow details to fade gently into the background and don't mind if not everyone catches them. A lot of astro people might call this bad work. Of course, ESO's image doesn't quite do this, but rather some of the details have been obliterated entirely.

Sorry to inform you but more than a few other astrophotographers (probably well before you ever began processing) have emphasized a "less is more" processing philosophy. I also have a chapter on aesthetics in my book on processing that discusses in length the importance of focal point and visual flow in rendering astronomical images. Sorry to break your bubble however there are many skilled astronomical image processors that precede you. BTW it is possible to strike a balance between elevating shadow detail and preserving a focal point.

geckzilla wrote:Rob certainly did a good job pulling a lot of detail out of the shadows. One thing I do like about ESO's version is the warm red strip on the left, and the way it and the bright core of Orion stand out as focal points.

I find my college education in design often conflicts with the aesthetic aspirations I've discovered within the astrophotography community. It's probably the thing that causes me to butt heads with astro people over these things. One of the things drilled into me was that if everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized. Because of this, I sometimes tend to allow details to fade gently into the background and don't mind if not everyone catches them. A lot of astro people might call this bad work. Of course, ESO's image doesn't quite do this, but rather some of the details have been obliterated entirely.

starsurfer wrote:That definitely counts! Also wow you went Harvard, cool! Were you part of any secret societies? Out of curiosity, what pizza was it, homemade or takeaway? I really like food!

owlice wrote::: falls over laughing! ::

geckzilla wrote:

starsurfer wrote:

geckzilla wrote:
Depends on how you define famous. I have exchanged various tiny interactions via email between a handful of astronomers, some of which you may know the names of. Emily Lakdawalla and Phil Plait interact with me sometimes on Twitter.

Well I meant physically meeting them. I like Emily Lakdawalla, there is something so earnest and sincere about what she does, I would love to meet her! Phil Plait is a cool guy, I used to follow his blog a few years ago, his sense of humour is amusing!

I went to Harvard and ate pizza once with owlice??

starsurfer wrote:

geckzilla wrote:

starsurfer wrote:Also with your interesting life, have you ever met anyone famous?

Depends on how you define famous. I have exchanged various tiny interactions via email between a handful of astronomers, some of which you may know the names of. Emily Lakdawalla and Phil Plait interact with me sometimes on Twitter.

Well I meant physically meeting them. I like Emily Lakdawalla, there is something so earnest and sincere about what she does, I would love to meet her! Phil Plait is a cool guy, I used to follow his blog a few years ago, his sense of humour is amusing!

geckzilla wrote:

starsurfer wrote:Also with your interesting life, have you ever met anyone famous?

Depends on how you define famous. I have exchanged various tiny interactions via email between a handful of astronomers, some of which you may know the names of. Emily Lakdawalla and Phil Plait interact with me sometimes on Twitter.

Ann wrote:Do you know what it is, and why it is so different from everything else here, Geck? Are we just seeing some very deeply embedded protostars?

starsurfer wrote:Also with your interesting life, have you ever met anyone famous?

geckzilla wrote:Rob certainly did a good job pulling a lot of detail out of the shadows. One thing I do like about ESO's version is the warm red strip on the left, and the way it and the bright core of Orion stand out as focal points.

I find my college education in design often conflicts with the aesthetic aspirations I've discovered within the astrophotography community. It's probably the thing that causes me to butt heads with astro people over these things. One of the things drilled into me was that if everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized. Because of this, I sometimes tend to allow details to fade gently into the background and don't mind if not everyone catches them. A lot of astro people might call this bad work. Of course, ESO's image doesn't quite do this, but rather some of the details have been obliterated entirely.

Geck wrote:
One thing I do like about ESO's version is the warm red strip on the left, and the way it and the bright core of Orion stand out as focal points.