I Printed My Astrophotography on Metal!

Рет қаралды 2,431

Күн бұрын

I got my recent astrophotography printed on metal and it looks great! I spend hours upon hours with my telescope imaging galaxies and nebulae, not to mention compiling and processing the data, and what do I have to show for it? Metal Prints! This is a great way to have a permanent record of some of your best astro work, and metal printing is a great way to do it!
Picture Wall Art Store: amzn.to/356RESl (non-affiliate)
00:00 Intro
00:20 Thank You
01:20 Why Print?
01:52 Size and Subject
03:41 Online Store
04:23 Why Metal?
08:00 How Do Your Print Your Astrophotos?
My Equipment:
Telescope: Celestron RASA 8
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM Pro
Mount: iOptron CEM40
Filters: 2" Baader RGB and f/2 3.5/4nm Narrowband SHO
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini
Guide Scope: Orion 60mm Guide Scope with Helical Focuser
ZWO ASIAir Plus
ZWO EAF (Electronic Automatic Focuser)
Twitter: / nickjlake
Insta: / nickjlake
Astrobin: www.astrobin.com/users/bortle9/
Video shot on Pixel 4 XL
Rode Wireless Go microphone system
Photographs of the universe, with galaxies, stars, nebulae, supernovas, comets, planets, Moon, Sun. Inspiring wonder about the night sky, even from the light pollution of Chicago.

Пікірлер: 47

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching everyone! Have you ever gotten prints of your astrophotography?

@ARMadillo18 2 жыл бұрын

I haven’t had a photo good enough to warrant that

@slauzel 2 жыл бұрын

I've used Picture Wall Art too, went with the metal print and I was pretty happy with the result. I originally ran in a small hitch, the subject was a composite of a lunar eclipse phases over the San Francisco skyline, and the stars didn't come out very well (easily visible on screen but not on print). I contacted their support and they happily worked with me to produce a brighter print where the star background looked much better. Free of charge. So yeah, I like that service, it worked out for me too. One word of caution: a few month after installing the picture on the wall, I came home and found it had move and was all crooked. What happened is the MDF cleat at the back is glue on using normal hot glue and it soften as the room got hot in the summer afternoon. Luckily, it didn't soften to the point where it detached, but it was close. So if that's a risk, I would strengthen the bond with some super glue or any other glue that won't be affected as much by heat (that's what I did). Thanks for the videos man. Great stuff.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

@@slauzel oh good to know about the glue and the customer support. Thanks!

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

@@ARMadillo18 maybe soon! 😀

@TheJoshuaCarter 2 жыл бұрын

I live in Japan, and FujiColor Matte Print Paper is usually what professional photographers prefer. The quality isn't demenished and you get dark blacks and rich colors. I'm currently in the process of getting my California Nebula printed on it.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Oooh yeah that sounds amazing. Definitely at some point I will get some prints done on really high-quality paper!

@astrophoto_andy3335 2 жыл бұрын

I've printed a couple off Amazon as well. Happy with them. Thanks for sharing and congrats on 1K!

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Nice! Thanks very much!

@DavesAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Congratulations on your first 1k, many more to come. Awesome prints as well!

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

@JonnyBravo0311 2 жыл бұрын

I've yet to print any of my work. Mostly I think it's because I'm never really satisfied enough with what I've done to say, "Yup, that's going on the wall". Congrats on hitting your first 1000 subs! I don't know what you do outside of KZfaq, but you're clearly confident and comfortable in front of the camera - and it shows in your videos. Looking forward to more of your work in 2022, Nick!

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Yes I hear you on never being quite satisfied 😊

@miguelmorales9667 4 ай бұрын

Hey Jonny. I would recommend that you print something even if it's not "up to snuff". Like AP, it takes a little bit of work and experience to get the prints looking just right, so... it's never too late to start printing and showing off your images. Good luck. 👍

@CosmicSandcastles 2 жыл бұрын

Nice prints always a pleasure watching your videos! Congratulations BTW

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much!

@williamgorham7339 2 жыл бұрын

I just received my horse head and flame nebula shot on a metal print and it turned out great! I’m glad to see you got some as well. Your work is an inspiration for my future Astrophotography works! 😀

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

So great to hear! Glad it turned out well!

@HeavenlyBackyardAstronomy 2 жыл бұрын

Wow Nick ... Those prints look great. I am going to take a look at your link and try a couple of prints out. Thanks for the info and congratulations on your first of many 1,000 subscribers.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Patrick! Yes let me know how you like the prints 😀

@LogansAstro 2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on the 1k subs. I must get some prints done and will look into the option of Amazon since you were so pleased with the results.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yes definitely worth a shot!

@Westlake 2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on your 1K subscribers! Your prints look great and was surprised they were done through Amazon. The finish on the prints look great! Nice to have something between glossy and matte.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much! Agreed, that balance between the two is the key

@astralbody 2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on 1k subs! Beautiful images and perfect prints! Really enjoying your Pixinsight tutorials. I'm a total newb to it and you have helped me a bunch! Especially on my 16 panel mosaic of IC405 The Flaming Star Nebula region. Cheers!

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Fantastic, thanks, that is great to hear! Wow, 16-panel sounds awesome!

@astralbody 2 жыл бұрын

@@WindyCityAstrophotography It is a really big endeavor! Starting to process it today. wish me luck! :)

@ARMadillo18 2 жыл бұрын

Those look vary cool

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

I agree! Really glad they turned out well 😎

@indymustang1969 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Nick! Timely video as I just today received 2 of my metal prints. I went with two previous places that could not get the brightness of my lunar eclipse photos. The oranges turned out like a brown. The experts I talked to at the second place said they couldn’t get the bright colors and (only maybe) there are a couple places that might. So I tried mpix and they did it perfectly. The difference is the option where they print on, I think it is, a white background. That keeps the bright colors bright and they don’t get color corrected. Also I chose glossy instead of matte because other comparisons I’ve seen in real life have the details or colors a little more muted and blended with matte. I’m really happy with the glossy I got. After a good coupon code I paid about $135 for two of them with the mounts attached to the back. I chose 12x18. I’ll have to try this Amazon store and see if they can get the same quality as it seems they might be cheaper (?).

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Nice! Yes I have used mpix with good results for other prints in the past. These Amazon metal ones are of great quality, but I also haven't tried all of their options so it could very well be variable and mpix more consistent

@mlethbridge76 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting idea, I wish Amazon Canada had a service like this.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Darn! Let me know if you want to export something to you 😁

@DSOImager 2 жыл бұрын

I've used picture wall art a couple of times. I guess they came out good enough because my wife took them to her office, lol. I do like the glossy look, but you are right on the reflections. Recently I've ordered some paper prints from Amazons print server. The Narrowband images come out great but the RGB ones not so much. Seem like the dynamic range is too much for the printers/paper.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Ha! Yeah that is a good indication if she did that 😂 Good to know on the NB vs RGB for the paper prints

@astrophotonchaser 2 жыл бұрын

Looks awesome! Have you used Amazon for other astrophotography printing?

@chitownxring1444 2 жыл бұрын

Nick, I also have read on many forums to turn up the brightness and even saturation before sending your images in otherwise they tend to come out dark and dull. Did you do that with these? Also great tip on possibly not getting the super gloss finish due to reflections from lights and or even sunlight coming into the house. Congrats on 1k, clear skies and keep them coming. -=Efrain=-

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yes I have heard similar! My buddy Greg said they came out great without adjustment and I found the same too. I think a lot depends on the print medium

@michaelasbury5473 2 жыл бұрын

The problem I’ve had with metal prints is I’ve had to boost the brightness quite a bit, otherwise the picture comes out too dark. That’s true for nebulae especially.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

That is a good point. I have had that issue with photo prints but these ones came out ok! But there is a definite difference in perception on how things look from a lit screen to a piece of metal.

@artofjkelly 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing this and I'm really impressed by the results you got in your prints! I've tried to print a couple times (never on metal yet) with no luck. Everytime I've tried I loose a lot of detail in the dark areas and even loose a lot of the stars. Are you brightening your image for print or is there some setting or something I'm missing that allows for such good quality in the print? My images look great on screen but are always bad in print. I have a calibrated monitor as well and they still don't come out right. Any suggestions from anyone would be appreciated.

@WindyCityAstrophotography 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I have had issues with dark areas in the past with other media. My understanding based on looking at some of the reviews for these prints is that the blank metal is actually white (maybe it is pre-coated?) and then the print goes on top of that. I will say it does make white areas in the image on metal very shiny, but it handles the darks really well. I'm sure there's something else going on with how this shop does the printing (and maybe they're adjusting after upload), but I didn't do any brightening or other adjustments. Turned out great!

@artofjkelly 2 жыл бұрын

@@WindyCityAstrophotography Amazing, great to hear! Thank you so much for such a quick response. I'll be giving them a try for sure!