Sergey S. @sergey@social.ssbx.dev

What would you shoot with your camera on Christmas Eve ... right, Christmas Tree ... start cluster. I even got a proof of Santa Clause for my kiddos, as he flew by our house with Rudolph Red Nose leading the pack(this shot was removed from final stack, though). But bottom line I should have done my research and understand that it was not a good target for my setup. So here you go that smudge in the middle is a Christmas Tree cluster. Shot with Canon T3i, 135mm, F3.5, ISO 800, 89min #astropic

Shot accidental target last night, I was going after Christmas Tree and missed it, however Rosette Nebula was in the frame at the very bottom, but still, so I cropped it. So it's only 1/5 of the whole frame that I salvaged from about of 2 hours of integration.Rosette Nebula, shot with Canon EOS T3i, 135mm lens F2.8, ISO 800. #astropic

Finally added some necessary equipment. This is my first try using SWSA 2i star tracker. Spent quite a while learning Polar alignment process. But imagine session was a breeze with automation that tracker brings. This is retake of M45 aka Pleiades with new equipment, just 52 min of total integration and a bit of processing. Equipment: Canon EOS T3i, Samyang 135mm lens at F2.8 and ISO 800. 124 X 25 second sub-exposures. #astropic

Back to my backyard which is Bortle 7/8 class, however with bit improved skills I've decided to do retake for Andromeda Galaxy. This is M31 at the forefront with M110 bottom and M32 was "lost in translation" #astropic Specs: Canon EOS T3i, 50mm lens at F2.8 and ISO 1600. 20 min of total integration time.

Had a chance to shoot out of Bortle 4 sky, so I shot my favorite constellation Orion, here is the result. #astropic

I had a chance to take some almost "accidental" shots of M45 aka Pleiades. It looked like a smudge on the night sky, as I stepped outside for a second. So I went back inside and unpacked my gear and started shooting. This is just 12 min of integration of 4 second exposures, but I am genuinely happy with the image. I think I am making progress in this hobby. Post processing is just curves and nothing else. #astropic

Getting ready to spend an hour and some change at state park taking photos at bottle 4 sky.

Totals of that session: Broken tripod, just few light of first target, no shots of moon or other 2 targets I had in mind. Even though it might look as a failure it wasn't, first of all I've never expected to come out with some usable shots there, it's a full moon after all it's so bright you can see outside, so I got my experimentation done and I am happy with it. Also I've discovered astrophotography mode on a Pixel smartphone, can't resist I took self portrait. #astropic 2/2

Went to see the Scorpions yesterday. Awesome experience, the only regret is the venue, American Airlines Center in Dallas does not have proper acoustic.

Results of last night: Andromeda Galaxy and Pelican Nebula. Shot with camera, tripod and 50mm lens in light pollution class 6. #astropic

My attempt to take flats had failed miserably, so here is my attempt to take Milky Way core with a kit lens and no flats. Picture is imperfect, but I am learning. #astropic

Here is another attempt from backyard, which is class 6 light pollution. #astropic

Second attempt, trying to capture Milky Way core, unfortunately it's visible towards South and so is Dallas, thus light pollution getting in a way, I think I am on the right track. #astropic

My very first attempt at #astrophotography with what I had home, just DSLR with default lens

Время обкатать новую игрушку.

Я проснулся от грохота сковородок, первая мысль ну что там ещё, спустился вниз и обнаружил оладушки, которые дети приготовили, самостоятельно без родителей. Класс! Завтрак перед работой и его не надо было готовить. Горжусь этими малышами. I woke up from the loud sounds in the kitchen, I walked downstairs and found kids who made pancakes for breakfast, this is just awesome proud of my little ones.

Дети поздравили с днём отца.

What can be better that some one calls you "Best dad ever!" just because it's one of those weekends when you decide to make some waffles. Though I had little helpers delivering it.

Amazing, Dallas in solidarity with Ukraine. Proud!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comments/t0tme0/dallas_skyline_showing_support_for_ukraine/

Main Christmas Tree is up, ready for X-Mas! This year looks quite challenging to find lights or trees. A lot of empty shelves in many departments.