When I was going to school in Lennoxville QC, at Champlain College, I happened to have a couple of physics professors who were extremely influential in my studies, and encouraged me greatly. One in particular, saw to it that I could borrow an 8 inch Celestron telescope for the summer. This thing had all the bells and whistles, and that summer I carted it around in my dad's VW bug (was all we could do to stuff it in the back) and spent nights looking at the stars. I tried to capture stars and galaxies on film, pushing black and white TRI-X films to the extremes of ISO, and developing them myself. Even with the tracking motor on the telescope, it was tedious at best to try to capture good shots. I still recall the thrill of finding the celestial bodies - the amazement at the distinct rings of Saturn, or the storm of Jupiter. In some cases I did get some photos that were kinda cool. Recently I have discovered that digital cameras afford us an unprecedented view of the night skies. Something that you could never get with film "back in the day"...at least not without some pretty expensive film. Standing in the middle of a field in the dark, listening to the sounds of the night, and looking up... it gives you a very peaceful feeling inside and you realize how small we really are. I think I finally understand the term "heaven". Then to see it captured by your camera - stuff you can't even see with your eyes... a whole new perspective. There are a bunch of instructional sites on the internet for capturing the night skies. Have a look if you are interested. Coming up in September, if the weather permits, is probably the best time of year for doing this. Some how-to sites: http://www.lightstalking.com/how-to-photograph-star-trails/ http://www.brighthub.com http://greeksky.gr/nightskyphotography/night-sky-photography-star-trails/ And there is an amazing program available called Stellarium which can show you where and when to look in the night sky at any place and any time of year. Their website is: http://www.stellarium.org/en_CA/ This program is free, and I think there may also be an app for your tablet or phone that is available too. Have fun.
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John T."Photographs capture my viewpoint - based on my place on this planet, where I've been and who I am. If you 'get it' then you've been there too, either in mind, body, heart or soul." Also see the "EauPositivePhotography" pages for other stuff
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