FenlandPaul

Hi all, my sister-in-law works for Visit Cairngorms. They are looking to run night sky-themed events in recognition of the dark sky statuses of Glenlivet and Tomintoul (and the generally incredible skies in that part of the world). They are looking for a knowledgeable enthusiast to help run story-telling and stargazing events - something you would be paid for. If you’re based in that part of the world, or know someone who’d be interested, would you DM me and I can put you in touch? @Ships and Stars I know you’ve been involved in the past but I can’t recall whether you’re in the wider Highlands or specifically in the Cairngorms national park? Thanks!

I bumped into another photographer while I was there (I think I scared the life out of the poor chap). Had a nice chat and he showed me some stunning images he'd taken from the Dorset coast. I took this single-frame, light-painted portrait of him as well, which was a bit of fun.

Just outside Cambridge is the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory. I realised the potential of the location earlier this year when I tried to capture some noctilucent clouds behind one of the dishes (3 nights on the trot - failed each time). I'd managed to establish that there's a footpath that passes near one of the dishes of the One Mile Telescope array that had the potential to give a good angle for the Milky Way in early Autumn. It's not the best location on the light pollution map, but mercifully the composition points away from Cambridge so there's something to work with. So I headed there last night and captured this. 📷 Canon 6D with Samyang 24mm lens at f/2 🔧31x 10s exposures at ISO3200 🎞 Sequator and Lightroom Hope you enjoy! 😊

Great colours in there - great work. 👍

Love the selfie!

That’s absolutely stunning, and reading the description on Astrobin it sounds like an exceptionally memorable night!

Love that, Rik - you can keep that kind of spam coming! Are you using a fog / starglow filter? The star colours in the brighter stars are sublime and the constellation patterns are beautifully defined.

That’s a very special image, Rik. Beautiful. Amazing nebulosity in that - is the camera modded? Really stunning image. 👍

Thank you Dave - really appreciated.

Thanks Pete - very kind. There are some lovely images out there. This composition was really forced upon me by the tides and moonlight; I had another planned that j had to abandon because the moonlight was washing everything out.

Thanks Paul. It’s more of a faff than a serious drawback. For deep sky, taking darks deals with it nicely. I would love an R6 in the future!!!!

That’s lovely, Paul. Sounds like a great evening! Quick follow up on my mk2 question the other day, do you get a lot of hot pixels that you have to clone out? It might be the warmer months but I’m finding I frequently have to spend a while scrutinising my images with the mk1 to remove red and blue (and sometimes green) spots, really in anything above about 10 seconds. Just wonder if that’s something that was improved with the mk2. Thanks!

That’s absolutely lovely. 👍

Great stuff. 👍 Everyone’s first MW image is special and that’s no exception! You wouldn’t regret a Star Adventurer!

Love that, Paul - as always!! I like the light painting from inside the windows - very nice touch. How do you find the mk2? The articulated screen sounds like a big plus, but how do you find the performance generally?

I'd had this shot in mind for some time, conscious that it's a bit of a cliche in Cornish nightscape circles! We were in Cornwall in quite a challenging period astronomically, with the first week marred by cloud and the second week hindered by the moon. So I ended up having to shoot this quite early on the evening before true darkness had begun and while the full moon was still in the murk on the horizon. It also needed favourable tides - so a lot to come together. I'll definitely be revisiting it again on future visits, but reasonably happy for a first attempt.. Enjoy! Comments and suggestions welcome as ever. ✨📷 Shot with a Canon 6D and Samyang 24mm lens.

Absolute belter!! 👌

My final entry to this. A more detailed shot of the Milky Way from Aquila to Cepheus on the night of the maximum, with a single Perseid narrowly missing the Elephants Trunk nebula region. This was shot with a modified Canon EOS 450D and a 16mm Samyang F/2 lens from Cambridgeshire, UK.

Fantastic shots. What an enjoyable first light! I’m guessing you’re happy with it?

Hey there, I’m by no means an expert but I do use the same lens a lot and I love it. It looks to me like your focus is sound (certainly the stars don’t seem overly large), but it seems you might have some coma towards the edges - nothing horrendous but certainly detectable. I don’t know why the focus mark is so off - mine is bang on infinity. Is there a reason you shot at f/4? It should, of course, sharpen things up a bit. I’d be interested to see what the same image looks like at f/2.8. I know that Samyangs can have patchy quality. I’ve not heard too much wrong with the 14mm, though, so if you’re not happy it might be worth contacting the dealer from whom you bought it. 😊

This week's "Sturgeon" Moon, rising over the first and last church in England, at Sennen in Cornwall. Separate exposures for the foreground and the moon, blended in PS. I wish I had a longer lens than 200mm!! 🌕📷

Lovely shot Pete. 👍

That’s a lovely shot - great capture! But I think it must be a different meteor to the one I caught as it’s in (almost) the opposite direction to the one above, which wouldn’t make sense from your Norfolk location. Great pic, though - you can really see the green colour!

And my second entry, this time taken with a Canon 1000D and a Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens over Swavesey Lake in Cambridgeshire, also on the night of the maximum. I saw this visually as well and it was a corker!!

Some stunning images on here this year - glad a lot of people managed to bag some! Here’s my first, taken on the night of the maximum over Ferry Lagoon, in the Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB reserve in Cambridgeshire. 13 second exposures (32 stacked here), taken on a Canon 6D with Samyang 24mm lens at f/2.8 and ISO 3200. Stacked in Sequator (using the shot with the meteor as the reference frame), edited in Lightroom and Photoshop.