Operating Philosophy and Principals

I think it might be good to formally state the key Philosophies and Principals that drive the site:

• This is not, and never will be, about money

  • I'm not selling anything. This is a passion project, and that's all it is. At some point, I will likely do something to cover my hosting costs, but never to generate revenue

• Don’t pretend to be an expert.

  • I am learning just like everybody else!

  • Just share what I do and how I do it

  • Share what seems to work for me

  • Be transparent.

• Share both the Good and the Bad

  • Unlike many websites, I share all of my results - good and bad. The good results are fun to share, but the bad ones also need to be there. Not all projects come out perfectly. Everybody runs into issues and problems. Sharing these also provides a good opportunity for learning something and also reassures others who are just beginning that it is OK - even normal to have things go wrong at times.

• Tell the story behind each project

  • Too many sites just show the images. I want to share more.

    • What are you looking at?

    • What is its history?

    • Where can it be found in the sky?

    • What else is in the same neighborhood?

    • Why did I choose this particular target?

    • Where can you find out more about this target?

    • How did I go about data collection?

    • What gear was used?

    • What subs and cal frames were captured?

    • How did I process the image?

    • What do I think of the results?

    • What problems did I rub into?

    • How did I deal with them?

• Share the processing done in each project - in detail!

  • Share not just in vague terms, but step-by-step and show interim images, tool panel parameters setups, masks used, etc.

I think this philosophy is a comfortable one for me - and it has served me well.

Not everyone will agree with my approach, processing decisions, or even the final look for the image I ended up with. And that's OK. In fact - that’s to be expected!

One of the very cool things about Astrophotography is that 10 Astrophotographers can start with the same data set and end up with 10 very different final images that all look great in their unique way!

Some of these differences are in how the image was processed. Some are due to the inner eye that each astrophotographer develops as they grow - it drives their interpretation of the data and how they like their images to look.

But even if you do not agree with how I did a project, I hope by sharing the details of my effort, I might stimulate your thinking on how you might do something different in the future.

Or - if you are just beginning - perhaps my examples will help you to make progress on your journey.