A couple of nights out in South Devon - Sea Caves, Train Trails, M31 and ISS

[John Baker]

With the dark and clear skies I have been able to get out twice in the last couple of days, it seems an age since I posted in here so I thought I would share some pictures...

Shoot I - This is a revisit to the arch and caves under the Langstone Rock which is located between Dawlish Warren and Dawlish in South Devon,

This was the shot I was trying to get,  I was really after a better view of the Galactic Core, but I was thwarted by clouds on the horizon and light pollution from Torquay in the distance.  The rock is a very red sandstone

Moving outside the arch, I then found that there was a far nicer image to be had looking towards the North, the lights from the security lights in Dawlish Warren and Exeter provided a nice level of light to show the arch - images shot on my 1Dx and Tamron 15-30, I did like the view of M31 which was clear in the sky

A final shot, this is a comination of 2 x 30 second images or the ISS passing through the scene complete with a couple of other satellites passing through the sky - I was rather chuffed when this image was used the The Times on the 25 July.

Shoot 2 - home town of Teignmouth, South Devon. I have a couple of presentation to give to camera clubs in the Devon area and I was keen to see what astro  I could do in my home town. While there is a lot of light pollution in the town, there is a nice walk along the South Devon Coast path and railway line towards Holcombe and Dawlish which I felt could possibly work, between the two is a location known as Sprey Point and this was my target location.

Looking to the South East there was a great view along the coast, as I was about to shoot I heard the sound of a train approaching so I decided to add that  into the shot. This is a small two carriage unit passing along the line. A combination of 2 x 30" shots, f2.8 at ISO 4,000 - I needed teh 2 x shots to get the full train journey before it entered the Parson Tunnel.

 

Take II - this is an intercity main line traing going from Penzance to London, it was great to get a meteor passing M31

I was keen to try to get the ISS passing through the scene, so this is a combination of 8 x 30" shots, so 4 minutes of the 6:30 pass...  This shows the rock stacks known locally as "The Parson and Clerk"

and finally a selfie, this is a large sign to show rail passengers they are about to enter Teignmouth. I used a small flash on 1/125 power on rear curtain sync to put some light into the sign

[happy-kat]

I very much like the capture of the trains passing. A selection I'd be extremely happy with.

[faulksy]

very nice fella

[John Baker]

24 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

I very much like the capture of the trains passing. A selection I'd be extremely happy with.

I don't think I have seen the combination of train and astro before, so I was rather chuffed with how well they came out. While we get regular steam engines coming through, they are never going to be in the dark - now that would be a shot

[Pete Presland]

A fine set of images, lovely to see Teignmouth again. I stayed nearby a couple of years back. No astro gear allowed, I did manage a few unsuccessful widefield Perseieds though  

In the selfie image, it looks like maybe a couple NOSS satellites to left? 

[John Baker]

28 minutes ago, Pete Presland said:

A fine set of images, lovely to see Teignmouth again. I stayed nearby a couple of years back. No astro gear allowed, I did manage a few unsuccessful widefield Perseieds though  

In the selfie image, it looks like maybe a couple NOSS satellites to left? 

I am still learning about the satelites, I have had these double before, many thanks for the clarification.  I had wanted to go  further afield, but did not fancy a long drive so staying at home turned out to be a good idea.    I had left all my tracker behind in the car as I had not realised quite how good it would be. I will definately be looking to have another go when the MW is around to the South East and when Orion is back in the sky.

[johnfosteruk]

A fine set John. Love the train shots!

[StargeezerTim]

Excellent photos. I'm coming to Devon in Sept so can hopefully do some photography myself. Your images are inspirational.

[John Baker]

On 8/4/2017 at 22:48, StargeezerTim said:

Excellent photos. I'm coming to Devon in Sept so can hopefully do some photography myself. Your images are inspirational.

It has a lot of potential, from the dark sky locations on Exmoor through to some of the ancient monuments on Dartmoor - fingers crossed you have clear conditions