For the reduction of the SMette echelette spectra, I couldn't find appropriate software so I wrote my own software in Python (since I'm professionally doing similar things, I feel fit enough to do so on a scientifically sound level). See under Software (under construction).

For data visualisation and simple reduction tasks (e.g. making master darks, dark correction etc.) I also use this software. Most available programs for spectral data reduction are not apt for visualisation (looking in detail at the data and making quality assessments including simple statistics, column/row tracings etc.). I prefer to use this software for master darks and dark corrections because available programs don't tell me how they handle cosmics and other outliers in master darks, they don't give info on transient and systematic outliers, and (for dark correction) also have no provisions for doing temperature corrections if necessary.

Since my own program is not very user-friendly (it's not a single program, but rather a toolbox of routines) and its versatility leads to (on the downside) many, many possible configuration parameters (I always need to time to get used to it again after some abstinence), I'm also using ISIS from Christian Buil for spectral extraction and further processing.

(~2016) Just started my first measurements with Johnson-V, Cousins-I photometry on pAGB stars.

Still learning. Some day I'll do things right and calibrate my filter/detector combination to the standard system.

Unfortunately, most of my program stars have no AAVSO comparison stars, even less so in the I-band.

So I'll have to calibrate some of my comparison stars as well (sigh).

(2018) obtained a better camera, ATIK 414.

(2019) in the mean time several stars are now systematically monitored by asas-sn. For my spectroscopy project I'm now more interested in the C-rich Miras and SRs.

(2020) pausing the photometry, concentrating my limited time on spectroscopic observations