More eclipse madness

One week ago I had an emotional high that I thought would never go away. I was right I'm still pumped about the eclipse and excited about 2024. Going through a thousand photos from 4 different rigs I had setup. The amount of contrast and dynamic range with some high thin clouds passing keeps me glued to my screen. Here's to the next and the last eclipse in North America in my life time. Gear up 6 1/2 years will be over before you know it. Think of all the tech and camera systems in this time frame, like I said "I'M PUMPED!!!!!

Waxing Crescent Moon night on the lake

Shooting last night on Carters Lake in Murray county Ga was a awesome experience. The sky was alive with clouds moving at a swift pace. The Milky way and a Waxing Crescent Moon lit up the sky. With little boat traffic, long exposures were easy with out lights streaking through. Managed to witness 3 meteors between sunset and 11:00 p.m. All 3 came from the constellation of  Cassiopeia in the eastern sky.

Gear and settings
 SonyA7R with a ISO of 6400 and a exposure of 30 seconds.

Canon 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS Macro USM at F4

Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount with this adapter auto focus will not work on some lenses as was the case with the 28-135. Manual focus is all I use in astrophotography anyway.

Fancier studio tripod, this has been discontinued and the are heavy and built like a tank.

Neewer DSLR Camera Shutter Release this is a must unless your camera has a self timer in drive mode.

Eclipse 2017 post write up

The 7 year journey has ended for me and another one begins. This was an awesome experience to witness the greatest show on the planet.

We arrived at our location around 10am with no one around. The location had a nice open parking area which we sat up in. After a couple hours testing shots and angles, I finally decided on a composition.

Around 1:00 pm I started shooting to capture the start of the eclipse or what is known as C1 or first contact. I had set an interval of 10 minutes to capture the phases up to the end of C2. I removed the filter from my lens at the start of the maximum phase and shot continuously till the start of C4. The 1 minute and 44 seconds of totality was a life changing thing. After the start of C4 I switched back to a interval of 10 mins.

Now the quest for the 2024 eclipse starts. This was the first for me and now I have a solid game plan it's time to make it happen.

Equipment used.

Sony A7R mark2
Sony A7r
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Metabones EF-E mount adapter

Vanguard ALTA PRO 263AB TRIPOD
Gitzo G1118 MK2 Sport Series 1 with a Manfrotto 701HDV Heavy Duty Video Head
Intervalometer was handled in camera

One of the most humbling experiences in my life was witnessing totality. The 2017 eclipse was a 7 year trip that led me to this moment. After planning and planning some more this is the high light of my life.

No risk,➸ no reward.

Sitting on top of a mountain listening to the sounds of bears as they circle around me.

Moon Rise

Cohutta overlook

New VR

I am starting a new program of implementing 360 VR photos of the areas I photograph. Im doing this so everyone can get a feel of sky and weather conditions.

Weather in the South East US and Astrophotography Part 2

  In the first part of my Astrophotography "How to" I mainly disguised observing during the warmer months of the year. This time I will talk about  the cold months of the year. With the right cold weather gear Astrophotography can be done through out the year.

A good warn coat is the number one peace of gear you will need. Spend hours in the cold dark is uncomfortable and in some cases deadly. Hand warmers or a good set of gloves. Fingers will be the first to be affected by the cold air and frostbite can set in quick. A head cover, I use a knitted toboggan with ear covers along with a face mask. Other cold gear that may be needed, insulated coveralls or snowmobile suite. Dress in layers,I start off with a base layer, long sleeve shirt then long underwear. then shirt and pants then my jacket. Water proof boots and warm socks. If the temp gets to lower I also ware insulated coveralls.

What can we see?

 The winter months have some of the clearest skies in the southeast and a sky full of wonder. The photo above was shot February 2014, notice the constellation of Orion. Orion is one of the most photographed constellations in the winter sky.

Also a number of Meteor showers can be seen,. The Geminid shower in December is the largest meteor shower of the year. In early January the Quadrantid shower is a good start to the New Year.

The Andromeda Galaxy(M31) can also be photographed with relatively easy in the winter.  Andromeda can be found near the constellation of Cassiopeia and in the eastern sky in early winter. The photo above was taken with a 75-300mm kit lens

Other sites in the sky are Pleiades constellation(Seven sisters). This photo was taken as Comet Lovejoy passed by in January 2015

Another anomaly in the clear night sky are Iridium flares. An Iridium flares is a  type of satellite flare  made when the solar panels of an Iridium communication satellite reflect sunlight directly onto the surface of the Earth. This tends to happen just a couple hours after sunset or just before sun rise.

Even if their isn't a major astrological event happening a nightscape can be of just the foreground and the sky.

Star trails are more easily captured in the winter months due to the clear nights with very little to no cloud cover. I will start my start trails with finding the North start(Polaris) and compose to where it is either in the center or to the top left and right corners. This is only a personal preference. Sometimes pointing the lens strait up trough a leafless tree is a dramatic approach. After I have my shot composed and my exposure is set I will use a intravolometer to shoot the number of frames I need. Then I will sit in my truck till its done.

Gear


 Gear for the winter months is the same as I covered in part 1. With the exception of hand warmers. Hand warmers can be strapped to the lens of your camera to keep it warm and prevent frost on any of its elements.  A remote is handy due to wearing thick glove that make pressing the shutter button difficult. Batteries need to be kept in a warm place, the cold will drain batteries quickly even if they are not installed in the camera. A battery grip for my Sony A7R so that I can shoot longer with fewer battery
change overs.

Sunsets in the cold months offer a vibrant filled sky. even if your outing is short a good sunset is a bad thing to waste.

In closing, get out and experience the night sky year round. If the Milky way season has passed their are still a lot of things in the sky to see. From planets in or solar system to meteors that were formed millions of years ago, get out and explore the night sky. 

If you need any help on Nightscapes or chat about it, leave me a comment. 

Perseid Meteor Shower 2017

 Where to View

 The Perseid Meteor Shower Is coming up on the nights of August 12/13 and I want to help people to get out and enjoy. One of the first things we need to know is a good location to view from.

 The photo above was taken at last years Creek View High school's star party located at the Eagles Beaks Park in Ball Ground Ga. This area is in a high light pollution as seen below.

 Even this close to a major city the stars can be seen relatively easy. this is just one site to keep in mind. Photo curtsy of Dark Site Finder check out there interactive map to find a viewing area that is good for you.  The areas in the yellow to darker green should be great as long as you stay away from well lit streets or neighborhoods. With that being said you will not see the 100 hourly rate as projected these areas will be in the 20-25 rate, which isn't a bad night. Below is another example of how dark skies can be in a metropolitan area.

Sky Radiant 

 The sky radiant is the constellation or area of the sky a certain shower or group of meteors enter the Earths atmosphere. The Perseid show is one of the easiest to view due to its radiant being above the horizon for much of the night. Below is a sky map of the northern sky curtsy of www.space.com.

 The Persied shower is one of the widest showers of the year. What is "wide"? Wide is the term to describe the comet trail of dust and debris. Comet Swift-Tuttle passed trough the area of space 133 years ago leaving a dense dusty trail. The trail is 1000's of mile wide  and when the Earth orbits the sun every year it passes through this area of space. The shower actually starts in the month of July and ends in August.

Photographing 

 First you will need a sturdy tripod, a camera of course, extra camera battery plus a large memory card 4gb is too small but will work for a short outing  and a head lamp or flashlight with a red LED light. Do not shine bright light it will reduce yor night vision and the average person needs 45 mins of darkness to recover their night vision

. I will set my camera in manual mode and with a wide fast lens and adjust my ISO to 1600 manually focus on the brightest star or a bright light miles away. I will aim the camera to the area of sky  the radiant is positioned. When that's all set and dialed in its time to work on the exposure. To do this I will adjust my lenses aperture to the widest it will go such as F2.8 / F3.5 or F4 if your lens cant go below F4 then catching faint meteors will be impossible. Once I have adjusted my Fstop/aperture and made sure my focus is dead on I will set my exposure, this I will adjust as the night goes on. I tend to start out at 15 seconds and work my way up to 30 seconds as the night gets darker. Having a wired or wireless intervalometer will greatly aid you in taking sharper images, but if that's not a option adjust the drive mode to 2 second timer or with some cameras like Canon and Sony they have a drive mode for a 5 second timer and will shoot 5 to 10 images with only on press of the button. The drive mode work around has its drawbacks mainly the 5 second timer. If you are new to shooting a meteor shower you will greatly realize  meteors will fall in between the click of the shutter so if possible use a intervalometer.

 Capturing a meteor in a image can be greatly increased with a camera that can be set to bulb mode and with the use of a intervalometer one can have an exposure of 1,2,3 even 4 mins. Setting the intervalometer I will set it to do an interval of 1 second. I want as many images as my card can handle. With a 1 second it reduces the lag between the user and the camera, the camera will takes the image, then it will process, then snap another image. This will maximize your picture to time ratio which is key. If  I had a 5 second span between photos that 5 seconds a meteor will pass by. Intervalometers are cheep and most camera can be used with one and some have them built in.

Enjoy 
  Get outside and enjoy the sky. Take a blanket lay down and watch as these visitors from outer space  light up the night sky. Take friends, and family show them the Night Sky

 Photos where taken during past Perseid showers by Scott Padgett (North Georgia Rambler)
Maps and star charts credit goes to the people at Space.com and Dark Site Finder.

Last nights shoot was an awesome night, weather was great. Lots of meteors, nice moon and a bright Milky Way.
Sony A7R, ISO 4000 exposure 20 seconds Opteka 6.5mm Fish-eye lens f3.5