FenlandPaul

Really beautifully done. I absolutely love the Rho Ophiuchi region; getting the opportunity from further south to capture it is always a pleasure. These are awesome images. 👍

3 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

Thank you Paul. What a lovely astro journal this one was, I really enjoyed it. The startrails shot with the church in the foreground is special. How long was the startrails shot over do you know. If like to create something like this somewhere around the village here. 

 

Clear skies 

Lee 

Thanks Lee - really appreciated. The trails were over 1h45’ but it was meant to be longer (I forgot to empty the SD card before starting - just one of the schoolboy errors on this night 🤦‍♂️). Usually I aim for 3 hours plus, but it goes to show that you can get good results with shorter periods.

7 hours ago, clarkpm4242 said:

Those trees are visible on google maps, a way down the beach.  Definitely worth a revisit.   That Milky Way is beautiful.  Waiting on Noctilucent Clouds...

Yes it’s definitely one to go back to. The high tide made us a little nervous venturing too much further along the beach - wish I’d scouted it in the daylight, but not always possible and another lesson learned the hard way!!

Love these. Very “what the eye would see” through a modest scope. 👍

✨Arches✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens

🔧 294x 20s exposures at ISO 800 and f/4 (+ light-painted foreground)

🎞️ Stacked in StarStax and edited and assembled in PhotoShop

✨Rho Arches✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D (astro-modified) with Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens and SkyWatcher StarAdventurer tracker

🔧 Sky:  8x120s exposures at ISO800 and f/2.8. Foreground: 1x 15s exposure at ISO3200 f/3.2

🎞️ Stacked and edited in Sequator, Starnet++ and PhotoShop

At the end of April, after what had felt like an eternity of cloudy skies, I headed out to the Suffolk coast, to Covehithe, a place where the coastline is unfortunately crumbling into the sea at a rate faster than anywhere else in the UK.  A couple of hundred yards back from the cliffs lies the skeletal structure of the (mostly) abandoned St Andrew's Church, a striking landmark on this wild part of the East Coast.  Down on the beach are the gnarly, bleached remains of trees that have tumbled off the cliffs above as they've been eroded by the north sea storms.  It was the church and the gnarly trees that I hoped would make attractive foregrounds for some nightscape shots, and especially with the Milky Way core rising in the early hours to the south east.

Unfortunately the reality of the night was very different to the expectations I had.  For some reason I just struggled to get into the groove.  Maybe it was because I was trying to do too much (cameras, vlogging, and I was also there with some friends who I constantly felt like I was neglecting!), or maybe it was because we arrived a bit late and couldn't actually locate the gnarly trees.  Or maybe that's just how life is sometimes!!

Anyway, despite all that, it was an enjoyable evening, as it always is when you're under a clear and dark night sky.  And when I got the images back on the computer at home, they weren't quite as terrible as I'd feared and I managed to salvage a handful that I'm happy with.

As usual, I made a video of the adventure over on my Nightscape Journals YouTube channel, which I've linked at the bottom.  Hope you enjoy, and as ever I always appreciate comments and thoughts.

Paul 😊

 ✨Arches✨

📷 Canon 6D with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens

🔧 294x 20s exposures at ISO 800 and f/4 (+ light-painted foreground)

🎞️ Stacked in StarStax and edited and assembled in PhotoShop

✨Windswept✨

📷 Canon 6D (astro-modified) with Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4 lens and Skywatcher StarAdventurer

🔧 Sky: 8x 120s tracked exposures at ISO800 and f/2.8. Foreground: 1x 15s exposure at ISO3200 f/3.2 (light painted)

🎞️ Stacked and edited in Sequator, Starnet++ and PhotoShop

✨Rho Arches✨

📷 Canon 6D (astro-modified) with Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens and SkyWatcher StarAdventurer tracker

🔧 Sky:  8x120s exposures at ISO800 and f/2.8. Foreground: 1x 15s exposure at ISO3200 f/3.2

🎞️ Stacked and edited in Sequator, Starnet++ and PhotoShop

✨Watching the moonrise✨

📷 Canon 6D (astro-modified) with Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4 lens

🔧 1x 15s exposure at ISO 3200 and f/3.2
🎞️ Edited in PhotoShop

✨Aurora at the Array✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens

🔧 1x 2s exposure at ISO3200 f/2.8

🎞️ Edited in Lightroom

✨SCALE✨
(Full story here)

📷 Canon 6D with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens

🔧 Peno of 10x 2s exposures at ISO3200 and f/2.8

🎞️ Stitched and edited in Photoshop

✨BEAMING✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens

🔧 1x 2s exposure at ISO3200 f/2.8

🎞️ Edited in Lightroom

✨Trails at the Black Beacon✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D with Samyang 35mm f/1.4 lens

🔧 384x 10 second exposures at ISO3200 and f/2.8
🎞️ Edited in StarStax and PhotoShop

✨Last Resting Place✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D (astro-modified) with Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4 lens and Skywatcher StarAdventurer tracker

🔧 Sky: 11x 120s exposures at ISO800 and f/4. Foreground: 2x 30s exposures at ISO1600

🎞️ Sky stacked in Sequator.  Edited and blended in PhotoShop and Starnet++

✨Cut Down✨

📷 Canon 6D with Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4 lens
🔧 1x 10s exposure at f/2 and ISO2000
🎞️ Edited in Photoshop

✨Scorpius Aquae✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D with Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4 lens 
🔧 Sky: 24x 15s exposure at f/2.8 and ISO2000. 
🎞️ Stacked in Sequator. Edited in Photoshop 

✨Teasel Core✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D (astro-modified) with Samyang 35mm f/1.4 lens with SkyWatcher StarAdventurer tracker
🔧 Sky: 41x 30s exposure at f/2.8 and ISO800 (+ dark frames). Foreground: 1x10s at f/4 and ISO1250
🎞️ Stacked in Sequator. Edited and assembled in Photoshop and Starnet++

✨MERLIN AND ORION✨

(full story here)

📷 Canon 6D (astro-modified) with Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4 lens and Skywatcher StarAdventurer for tracking the sky

🔧 Sky (tracked): 6x60s exposures at f/2.8 ISO 800.  Foreground: 1x10s exposure at f/4 ISO 2000 (LENR on)

🎞️ Sky stacked in DSS.  Edited and assembled in PhotoShop.

5 hours ago, scotty1 said:

Was all the filming done on the same night as the Aurora ? Or did you plan ahead and take some driving shots days before?  

At 5.15 minutes in your video the Aurora is already starting to show. 

It was all done on the same night. I arrived on location at about 8.30. It makes for a crazy busy night but I enjoy it. Occasionally for my videos I do some b-roll shot at other times but it’s not usually necessary if I get somewhere before it’s dark.

1 hour ago, scotty1 said:

Excellent 

The opening shot- did you launch the drone, then drive a bit stop, and then land the drone? 🤔

Thanks so much - appreciated.

So welcome to the glorious faff of making these videos. I parked, set up the normal video camera, launched the drone, set up the shot, drove out of shot, turned round, drove back, recovered the drone.
 

Sounds a bit ridiculous when I say it all! 

3 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

l

Clear skies and onto maybe more Aurora and hopefully this year Noctilucents.

Clear skies 

 

Lee

Thanks for your kind comments, Lee. Glad it brought back memories of that epic night. I’m so glad you managed to catch it as well - and superb to be able to hear others in the distance marvelling at it all. Usually I like being alone but that night I was very happy to share the experience with others - I think that’s called personal growth!! 🤣🤣

Thank you, Ian.

21 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

I presume flying a drone around the dishes doesn't cause any interference or other issues?

Ian

To my knowledge, no, as they operate at entirely different frequencies. There’s no CAA restricted airspace, but you’ll note that I stop short of actually flying over the top of them (I cut just before an abrupt volte-face). The One Mile  is decommissioned so no problems there.

14 minutes ago, clarkpm4242 said:

 

...fantastic.  Reward for the hours put in.  Cheers, Paul,

Yep!!

Really appreciate that, Paul - this event has spoiled us a bit though, eh? 
 

47 minutes ago, Ludd said:

Amazing video Paul!  Thanks for all the work you put into these.  Your excitement when you realised the whole sky was purple was brilliant, exactly my reaction when it dawned on me that I was not looking at hazy cloud. 

Thanks so much - a lot of work but very enjoyable and I get to relive those precious moments over and over!!

I came across this excellent short video from a channel that often crops up on my YT feed. Claire does solo wild camping, and was out on a hillside without mobile reception on the night of the 10th when it all started to kick off in the sky around her.

With such easy access to good solar data and the communities like SGL or those on FB and Twitter, it’s easy for us to forget what it must be like for someone witnessing a big auroral event unfolding without any prior knowledge. Being alone and out in the wild must have made the experience even more intense. Her reaction is quite moving.

Worth a watch if you have a spare 10 minutes!!

I'm still in a state of mild shock after this incredible display, and finally got to look at all the incredible images here on SGL this afternoon - so awesome to see such a wonderful event seen by so many.

I was out shooting and filming and doing some drone hyperlapse from dusk until dawn - calves cramping up and worth every bit of discomfort.  I began to run out of superlatives by the middle of the night.  I know my story won't be unique!

Anyway, without wittering on, here's my film of the night - one to maybe sit and enjoy with your favourite tipple or morning coffee.  I really hope you enjoy it.  And a small collection of my favourite images beneath.  

Anyone else still fall asleep blissfully while dreaming about that night??

That's fantastic, Lee.  What a location! I do love all the crazy ancient stoney things in Cornwall!

Crikey, that's nice.  Love the compositiion - thanks for risking life and limb so I can recline on our sofa and admire it!!

Love it, Geraint. Well done for having the presence of mind to do a panning timelapse!  I took my slider but completely failed to retrieve it from the car.  Next time!