The Process

A night of astrophotography begins before the Sun has even set. I begin in Stellarium, a free, open-source virtual planetarium, selecting an astronomical target and determining how it will fit within the specific field of view of my equipment.

My primary imaging system uses a William Optics 108mm Ultra-Cat paired with a ZWO ASI2600MM Pro monochrome camera and a seven-position filter wheel containing Red, Green, Blue, Luminance, Hydrogen-alpha (Hα), Sulfur II (S II), and Oxygen III (O III) filters. The entire system is mounted on a computerized tracking platform designed to precisely follow the apparent motion of the stars.

Capturing the Data

An image can take many nights to create. For some works, more than 100 hours of exposure time may be dedicated to a single subject, collecting photons through multiple filters and under varying conditions.

Each filter isolates a different portion of the incoming light. Broadband RGB records the visible-light foundation of the image, while narrowband filters isolate specific emission lines associated with ionized elements and their surrounding structures.

The individual datasets are calibrated separately, accounting for the characteristics of the camera, optics, and conditions under which each exposure was captured. They are then registered and stacked to produce cleaner, higher signal-to-noise datasets from many individual exposures.

Translating Light Into Color

Once the individual datasets have been integrated, they are combined into a color image.

The broadband channels form the foundation:

Red: Red broadband
Green: Green broadband
Blue: Blue broadband
Luminance: broadband luminance information used to establish brightness and detail

Narrowband data is then incorporated according to the wavelengths it actually represents:

Hα: assigned primarily to red
SII: assigned primarily to red
OIII: assigned to both green and blue

Hα and S II occupy the red portion of the visible spectrum, while O III lies in the blue-green portion of the spectrum. Assigning O III across both green and blue therefore reflects its position within the visible spectrum while allowing the additional emission structure to integrate naturally with the broadband color foundation.

This approach allows me to retain a natural-color foundation while incorporating information that cannot be adequately represented by broadband RGB alone.

Importantly, I do not use narrowband data simply to create arbitrary colors. The spectral origin of each dataset informs where it is introduced into the final image.

From Measurement to Interpretation

At this stage, the image becomes both a scientific record and an artistic interpretation.

The astronomical data constrains what can be represented, while artistic decisions determine how that information is presented: composition, tonal hierarchy, color relationships, scale, contrast, and the visual emphasis of structures across immense distances.

My objective is not to reproduce exactly what the human eye would see. Much of the light recorded by these instruments is too faint, too diffuse, or outside ordinary human visual perception. Instead, I use the available data to create a visual translation of structures that exist beyond ordinary human vision while remaining grounded in the physical light collected from them.

I do not apply a database-referenced spectrophotometric color calibration such as PixInsight’s SPCC as the basis for the final palette. Instead, I preserve the measured relationships within the captured datasets and use their spectral passbands as the foundation for the color mapping. This allows the final image to remain physically informed while leaving room for artistic interpretation in its presentation.

The result is intended to occupy the space between astronomical measurement and visual art: scientifically grounded, but not confined to the limitations of ordinary human vision.

Refinement & Quality Control

The final image undergoes extensive post-processing and quality control.

Multi-night and multi-temperature datasets must be carefully calibrated and integrated into a coherent whole. Throughout processing I continually inspect stars, fine structures, gradients, artifacts, and areas of faint signal. Contrast, tonal hierarchy, color relationships, and detail are refined while maintaining the underlying astronomical structures within the data.

Resolution is also verified at the intended final size so that the image can transition from a digital file into a physical work without sacrificing the detail captured during acquisition.

From Digital Image to Physical Artwork

The final stage is translating the finished image into a physical object.

Print materials are selected according to the characteristics of the individual image, the intended presentation, and, when applicable, the requirements of a commission.

Each physical print is currently produced through a professional external print laboratory and shipped directly to the collector. This allows the physical production process to remain consistent while I focus my own work on astronomical acquisition, image construction, and artistic interpretation.

Each purchase is accompanied by digital documentation and certification, providing the collector with information about the work and its origins.

The finished artwork is therefore the culmination of observation, measurement, integration, interpretation, refinement, and physical production—a record of light collected across space and time, translated into a form that can be experienced here on Earth.