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My first go at shooting the Orion Nebula from my backyard in Phoenix was a mess
I set up my old Celestron 6SE with a basic DSLR, thinking I'd get a clear shot. Instead, the light pollution from the city washed out everything but the core, turning the nebula into a bright white blob. I learned I need a narrowband filter to block the city glow and maybe drive an hour out to the desert next time. Anyone have luck with a specific filter model for urban astrophotography?
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elizabeth_gonzalez2mo ago
Wait, why spend money on a filter when you could just learn to work with the light pollution? I mean, some of the coolest astrophotos I've seen use the city glow as part of the shot, making the core look super bright and intense. Maybe it's just me, but driving an hour every time you want to take a picture sounds like a huge hassle. You could stack way more exposures from your backyard to pull out details instead. Filters can mess with your colors and add another thing to go wrong.
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rivera.nathan2mo ago
Get an Astronomik CLS filter, it's a good start for a DSLR on a budget. You'll still need dark skies for the faint outer parts, but it cuts the city's orange glow so the core isn't just a white blob. Honestly, driving out to the desert with that filter is the real game changer, the difference is huge.
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paigec142mo ago
Honestly @rivera.nathan has a point about the filter helping the core, but nobody's talking about how much time it saves. Tbh processing all those extra stacked exposures from a bright backyard takes forever, and the results can still look kinda muddy. A decent filter lets you get a cleaner shot with less work, which means more time actually taking pictures instead of fixing them later. Ngl I'd rather drive for an hour once a month than spend every editing session fighting orange gradients. It's not just about the final image, it's about enjoying the hobby without getting totally burned out on computer work.
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