Swoop1

It seems that architecture and street planning is increasingly involving higher levels of illumination. Opposite where I live is a small, 3 storey office building that has recently been refurbished. Part of this refurbishment involved rendering a large proportion of the red brick frontage and colouring it light grey. Having done this a number of permanantly illuminated floodlights have been installed to light up the newly rendered walls. So now, at 3 o'clock in the morning, the odd passing motorist and pedestrian can see this 'beautiful' grey facade....... Farcade more like.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and reasoning. This has given me some food for thought.

Very nice @don4l I love the fact that it is b&w as well. Colour will look fabulous but sometime black and white does it for me.

Bonus time is approaching and I might get enough pocket pennies to buy, amongst other things, a processing software package (Photoshop etc.) What are your preferences and why?

Nice image. Lot of atmosphere. I like the way your eye is led from top left to bottom centre following the Milky Way to the illuminated mast to the boat.

For just a camera, a clockwork mout like the Omegon is compact, works on a camera tripod and not as expensive as a driven scope mount. https://www.omegon.eu/camera-mounts/omegon-mount-mini-track-lx2/p,55040 For a small scope capable mount, a drive EQ3-2 is a less expensive option BUT you may soon fin yourself increasing the load on the mount and then need to upgrade to an HEQ5. I started by buying the motor upgrade kit for my manual EQ3-2 and doing it myself.

Trim some of that vegetation back and it'll start to look like the top of Mauna Kia

I have got a positive response from asking them to reconsider the other lamp. A larger shroud has been fitted which has reduced the light spill in my direction. It is still there but not as bad. A result as far as I am concerned.

Lets not forget about the legions of repurposed brake discs keeping mounts attached to piers.

Is your local shop a walk in shop with staff on hand to deal with you personally? If so, overheads wil be highere and they probably pay more for their stock as they buy in less than the internet only affairs. Plus personal service is worth extra as far as I am concened. I work in the bicycle industry as a slaes droid at a local bike shop. We can't compete price wise with the big internet outlets who sometimes offer stuff at lower cost than we can buy it for. We look after our customers though. Any issues? We'll sort them. Customers do get a bit arsey when we refuse to do warranty stuff on bikes they have bought elsewhere.

1. was probably a satelite flaring the sunlight as it progressed across the sky.

A very tidy and unobtrusive solution to your dillema Ade. I keep trawling the interwebs for a second hand Romulan cloaking device to install on an obsy with no luck yet so will be making do with a corner of the garden pier myself.

Recieved my HEQ5 pier adatper last week. A finer piece of aluminium and brass I have never seen-

Not today but warly last week, I recieved my HEQ5 pier adapter. Manufactured by @Stardust and modded from his previous design by reducing the diameter of the main puck and leaving a lip so that it drops into my pier extension tube. Verily a thing of beauty.

That ain't a meteor- this is a.... oh, hang on. Strewth mate!