My wife Kim once remarked that I looked like a "mad scientist" with my glowing astro gear in the middle of a field late at night."Scientist"?
Hardly.
"Mad"?
Very possibly.
It does seem a bit crazy at times to drive way out in the middle of nowhere, set up all this hi-tech gear in a dark field, and stay up all night until the sun comes up. But like the song says, "if doing astrophotography is wrong, I don't wanna be right". That was a song, right?
Anyway, this pic is me at around 3:00am in Atoka about a week ago (when I shot M101 and the Iris -- I'd be shooting the Iris at this point). No, my laptop is not electrocuting me -- this was a 60 sec. exposure, and those "electric arcs" are just my red flashlight.
It's kinda strange. Shooting this astro stuff really reminds me of the old days of shooting animation on the big Oxberry camera. It was a similar vibe -- shooting in the dark, late at night, constantly checking your settings, never really knowing what you have until the images are "processed" later.
Ah, the more things change the more they stay the same. Hmmm... maybe I was a "mad scientist" in a previous life.
4 comments:
Wow, I stumbled on your site, and I must say, amazing pics and stories! Definitely coming back for more interesting captures of space! Just amazing!
What you really need is some carved pumpkins and few pipe bombs. Ahhh, nostalgia, take me away. Keep playing in the dark, John, it's where the real creatures hide.
Hi Alena,
Thanks for stopping by! Most of my imaging takes place around the new moon (when the skies are nice and dark), so look for new images to appear around then : )
The rest of the entries usually involve other astro events and/or misadventures relating to this fine hobby. Hope to hear from you again!
Howdy Tom,
There have been nights where I wish I had a pipe bomb -- crazy wild animals yelling in the dark. I've heard sounds in Oklahoma I've never heard before. I'll probably have pics of Big Foot soon : 0
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