Winterfest at Kelling Heath

[davew]

I attended Winterfest at Kelling once again and managed two pretty good nights worth of imaging. If anyone else has been in the area during the winter season they'll know that the steam trains running close by are fully lit with bright coloured lights. This is one occasion I don't mind the light pollution too much because it's quite short lived.

This first shot was handheld and was taken last year. It shows the steam loco under power on the hill out of the station.

I got the next shot completely wrong as the loco was just free wheeling down hill ! No steam or smoke on this one. The train was shot blended with the night sky that I'd taken just before the train arrived.

If you're wondering just how much light pollution it makes then wonder no more. Here's a test shot at 2 seconds and ISO 10000 !  With hindsight I should have done it properly as at 2 seconds I've had to use noise reduction. No other processing, other than exposure, so you can see the mess 😮

To end the railway theme, here's a shot of a signal post. I used ten shots on the background and sky and two shots for the light painting. What you can't see are all the brambles I had to fight through to get the light painting done !

Finally. For those who don't know me too well, I have to admit I have problems with my legs ... I just can't walk passed a body of water if I see a reflection. Strange eh ? The autumn colours seem to have come out well and Orion is looking rather dashing.

 

All quite good fun and as I'm sure you'll all want to know I was fuelled this time by Kit Kat Chunky bars. Well, four of them actually,

Dave.

 

 

[scotty1]

Nice shots 

The weather looked a bit misty on the Weybourne light pollution shot. 

FYI the steam loco was once owned by painter the late David Shepherd. 

Normally the trains are not fitted with fancy lights, it's a gimmicky winter feature for Xmas etc. 

I haven't been up to Weybourne for several years, I recall seeing plenty of tadpoles in that pond. And quite a few bluebells amongst the trees. 

Edited December 4, 2022 by scotty1

[AstroKeith]

Nice photos. I enjoyed Winterfest too. Not the best weather, but we've had worse! Observed on 4 nights, one was an all-nighter.

Battling the wind with my 18" dobsonian was the challenge. 

One evening we had an 'outreach' session with some of the non-astronomy campers. We may have got one young girl hooked - she couldnt stop talking about what she had seen and learnt.

[davew]

8 hours ago, scotty1 said:

Nice shots 

The weather looked a bit misty on the Weybourne light pollution shot. 

FYI the steam loco was once owned by the painter David Shepherd. 

Normally the trains are not fitted with fancy lights, it's a gimmicky winter feature for Xmas etc. 

I haven't been up to Weybourne for several years, I recall seeing plenty of tadpoles in that pond. And quite a few bluebells amongst the trees. 

It was a little misty low down but as usual, once you got back up to the campsite it was ok.

I think I've photographed that pond on every visit I've made to Kelling in recent years and I haven't yet got bored with it. Others may have 😉

Dave.

[davew]

3 hours ago, AstroKeith said:

Nice photos. I enjoyed Winterfest too. Not the best weather, but we've had worse! Observed on 4 nights, one was an all-nighter.

Battling the wind with my 18" dobsonian was the challenge. 

One evening we had an 'outreach' session with some of the non-astronomy campers. We may have got one young girl hooked - she couldnt stop talking about what she had seen and learnt.

Hi Keith,

Was that the young lady who was over joyed at discovering she was made of stardust ? I heard about her.

I tried doing tracked shots from lower down in the red field but all I got for my efforts was buffeted by the wind, like you, and swamped by the lights of Holt. I should start bringing a scope to Kelling and try that for a narrower view.

Dave.

[AstroKeith]

Yes that was her!

I've done outreach a bit and have a list of 'facts' that have worked in the past. They need to be pitched to the right age. In this case stardust hit the spot. For a grown up I used the 100 million stars in our galaxy and more galaxies in the known universe than grains of sand on earth. He couldnt cope with that one!

I always have a pitch up against the bushes/trees on the west side of red field. You lose a bit of sky, but the prevailing winds are usually from the SW and they do shield quite a bit.

Keith

[James]

Good to see you couldn't resist a reflection or two Dave

That train is seriously funky, it must look quite something from a distance too winding it's way up the track..

Now, the important stuff - was that 4 Chunky Kit Kats on that night alone or spread across 4 nights?

James

[davew]

Important stuff first ... I had two KitKats per night of imaging and that's it, well apart from the mint club biscuit of course. Oh yes and the plain crisps. 

The train is a sight to see in the distance and I have to be honest that I quite like it. The kids seem to love it too.

See you there next year !

Dave.

 

[FenlandPaul]

Those are super, Dave. The reflections are stunning!!

[davew]

Thanks Paul, much appreciated. One very good thing about the pond being surrounded by trees is that the water stays calm even when the wind blows fairly hard elsewhere.

Cheers,

Dave.