August 11-13, 2006
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Speakers |
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Conference Schedule |
Friday, August 11
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Saturday, August 12
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Sunday, August 13
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Topic Descriptions |
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Image Processing 101 Workshop (NOTE: Separate Fee, $50) |
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For those attendees who do not yet have much experience in
the basics of image processing (and those who would like a
little refresher), there will be an Image Processing 101
Workshop before the start of the main conference. This
four-hour workshop will take place on Friday afternoon, and
will be conducted by one of the acknowledged masters of
image processing, Adam Block. This feature-packed workshop
will cover the basics of image processing, including image
calibration with Dark and Flat Frames, color combining of
RGB frames, adding Luminance to form an LRGB image, applying
Levels and Curves to achieve proper image density and contrast,
and various image cleanup and enhancement techniques, such as
Gaussian Blur, Unsharp Masking, and using Layer Masks and Color
Range Tool features to selectively apply image enhancements.
This optional pre-conference workshop is being offered separately
for anyone who believes they would benefit from it, but there is
a separate fee of $50 to cover the costs of conducting the workshop.
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| Image Acquisition Best Practices |
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Richard Bennion will provide us with an in-depth look into how to obtain
the best raw data from your imaging system. This presentation will explore
how to use stellar profiles to measure, diagnose and improve imaging
performance. Topics include collimation, polar alignment, flexure, periodic
error management, advanced auto guiding techniques, focusing, dithering and
automation.
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| AIP4Win (Astronomical Image Processing for Windows) |
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Like the dual particle-wave theory of matter, the Handbook of Astronomical
Image Processing and the companion software program AIP4Win might leave one
uncertain about whether it's an comprehensive image processing book
accompanied by a software program, or an incredibly powerful image processing
software package accompanied by a book. In either case, the combination
is rapidly becoming a fixture in the processing kit of many serious
astronomical imagers. Jim Burnell (coauthor of HAIP and AIP4Win with
Richard Berry) will be reviewing and demonstrating some of the many
features of this program.
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| An Inroduction to PixInsight |
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Like the dim glow of an approaching sunrise, this image processing
software program is slowly creeping into our collective consciousness.
While significant development is still ongoing by the Pleiades Astrophoto
Team (PTeam), a highly useful set of image processing functions is
already available in a free "Light Edition" version. The user interface
to this program is a bit different from that of Photoshop, but we'll have
one of the core PTeam members Carlos Milovic
lead us through a demonstration of its capabilities, as well as give us a
bit of background on the project and its future development plans.
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| Deconvolution and Wavelets - Theory and Practice |
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Many serious imagers use some version of deconvolution and noise-reduction
techniques in their image processing routines. While these tools can
provide amazing improvements, they can also be too-easily misused and
cause unwanted artifacts and artificial-looking images. Understanding
the ideas behind the techniques can help us hone our skills in using
them, and Richard Berry (coauthor of Handbook of Astronomical Processing
with Jim Burnell) will be presenting both some of the theory behind these
techniques, as well as some practical tips on utilizing them.
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| Image Processing Zoology |
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Need a little help dealing with all the strange "critters" that can plague
astronomical images? For instance, how do you get a satellite trail that
is green and runs directly through the center of your nebula to vanish?
What is the easiest way to clean an image of colorful cosmic ray events?
What is the best way to round oblong or truncated stars? Renowned astroimager
Adam Block will address these and many other
common manipulations using Photoshop to "clean" CCD images.
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| What's Wrong with this Picture (Panel/Game Show) |
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To provide a little relief from a long day of presentations, we'll
be having a bit of fun late on Saturday afternoon with this topic.
Our plans are to select participants from our audience, then let
them compete for a prize by correctly identifying the cause or
nature of flaws in images we'll be showing on-screen. Bonus points
may be awarded to participants who can identify the proper way to
correct the image problems. A distinguished panel of expert imagers
will judge the participants' responses, and provide brief discussions
to more fully explain the problem sources and corrective actions needed.
The winning participant won't get rich, thin, fired, or voted off the
island, but we're sure that everyone will enjoy the show.
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| Advanced Photoshop Workshop and Lab Session |
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After dinner on Saturday evening, we will have some of our
expert imagers present some of their favorite advanced image
processing techniques for enhancing images and subduing image
flaws. Following the brief presentations, attendees will be invited
to try out these techniques on their own laptops, and we'll have
a cadre of roving Photoshop experts to assist individuals in
their efforts and answer questions. Attendees who wish to
participate in the lab sessions will have to bring their own
laptops already with Photoshop installed. We will be providing
the sample image data to work with on cd-rom.
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| Registax and High-Resolution Lunar/Planetary Imaging |
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Registax is an incredibly powerful software program for processing
high-resolution Lunar and Planetary images. The cost of entering
this realm of imaging is quite modest - the software is free,
excellent webcams are in the $150 range, and the images that can
be produced with even modest telescope equipment are simply stunning.
Assistant Sky and Telescope Editor Sean Walker has spent some quality
time with this program, and will be running it through its paces at
the conference. Software features to be demonstrated include automatic
registration of hundreds of webcam frames, automatic selection of the
highest resolution frames to include in the image stack, and a wide
range of operator control over the image-enhancement and noise-reduction
features in the program.
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| Introduction to Astrophotography with a DSLR Camera |
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This presentation will cover the new low-noise Digital Single Lens Reflex
cameras that are revolutionizing amateur astrophotography - how they
work, how to pick the best one, and how to use them to take dramatic
astrophotos. Jerry Lodriguss, author of "Photoshop for Astrophotographers"
and the upcoming "A Guide to Astrophotography with Digital SLR Cameras"
will cover the basics such as which camera settings to use, how to
focus, and how to pick the correct exposure based on the image histogram.
Advanced topics for long-exposure deep-sky imaging such as signals
and noise, and in-camera noise reduction vs. separate dark frames
will also be discussed. Simple fixed-tripod astrophotos as well as
complex multiple-exposure composites and everything in between will
be covered.
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| Puckett Observatory Supernova Search Program |
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With over 100 Supernova finds, the Puckett Observatory Supernova
Search program is a highly successful collaboration of many
amateur astronomers conducting real science. Tim Puckett,
leader of the program, will be discussing the background,
techniques, and successes of the program, as well as giving
us tips on how to quickly scan our own galaxy images while
processing them, and how to report any discoveries we make.
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| Current Solar Imaging Techniques |
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While many of us are obsessed with imaging the night sky, there are a number of
folks who are equally passionate with imaging our closest star, the Sun.
Greg Piepol is an accomplished solar imager who has experience using CCD's,
WebCams, and Digital Cameras to produce stunning solar images. Greg will
review the specialized equipment requirements for this field, as well as some
important acquisition and processing techniques.
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| What Publications are Looking For |
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Since everyone who attends this conference either is, or will soon
be an expert at producing incredible images, it seems appropriate to
offer some advice on getting those same incredible images published.
Imelda Joson (former Photo Editor of Sky & Telescope
Magazine) and Robert Nemiroff (Coeditor of
Astronomy Photo of the Day site) will be discussing what they look for
when selecting images to publish.
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Don't forget to register for the Friday Image Processing Workshop separately (add to your "cart")!