Solar System Ambassadors Join the Night Photography Group for a Night Out Under the Stars

Submitted by Keith

High thin clouds drifted feather-like across the southern sky on a beautiful and unseasonably cool summer evening as the Night Photography group once again rediscovered the wonders of the night sky.

Beneath the clouds, random artificial light sources bounced their rays off the bottom layers setting them aglow which partially obscured what lay beyond; the magnificent center of the Milky Way.

Even so, little dampened the energy of the five club members and our two special guests who had gathered for another evening of star gazing.

Theo Wellington and her son Nathan traveled all the way from Nashville to join the group partially to check out the night sky in Kentucky but mostly to help Julie with the setup for her telescope and tracking mount. Theo is a Solar System Ambassador and member of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society and is active in observing and promoting the science of astronomy. Her knowledge of the night sky and observing technique was a huge boost to the group and provided a heightened level of interest and expertise for the evening.

Theresa Smith Photo

After gathering at Split Tree BBQ for some good food, we convoyed over to Julies Farm. where the group learned how to mechanically setup a telescope by aligning it properly with the celestial pole...which sits just to one side of the north star Polaris. The process was completed by locking onto a couple of alignment stars to refine the tracking Go-To accuracy. With the proper alignment and some program input, the telescope would automatically rotate to a large number of deep sky and other celestial objects and planets. We were able to observe Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, The Ring Nebula, along with a couple other objects, and the spectacular Perseus Double Star Cluster.

Julie Barrick Photo

Theresa Smith Photo

Along with this fascinating lesson on observing with the telescope, all of the group spent time photographing the night sky in spite of the clouds. Theresa and Steve Smith came for their first time and spent time learning how to set up the camera for night sky shooting and where to point it to capture the most interesting portion of the Milky Way. The group also were able to capture some fascinating images using a tent illuminated from the inside as part of the foreground and also applied some light painting on a farm tractor foreground object as well.

As the evening progressed, the clouds thinned out and the skies grew in clarity and offered a final opportunity to close out the evening.

So far this season, the Night Photography group has proven to be a successful and entertaining element of photography. Without exception, those who have attended even just one of the sessions have learned something new not only about photography, but about the celestial realm that hovers above us each night.

Thanks to the club members, Bob, Theresa and Steve, and Julie for coming out, (me too) and an extra thanks to Julie for again allowing us to use her farm for a night of shooting. We are grateful for Theo and Nathan for joining us and providing a tremendous amount of insight into the realm of the night sky.

An Old Tree, Some Cows, and the Night Sky

Submitted by Keith

The Milky Way seems to never change and indeed it retains the same basic look when photographed on any given Night Sky shoot. What does change is the location from which you photograph it along with the atmospheric conditions. August 1st, eight members from the S16 club gathered at Julie Barrick's farm for an evening of capturing the sky. Turned out to be a great location.

Photo by Keith

The night was a bit hazy and not quite as clean and clear as other nights, but it was still a fantastic evening. Dancing before us stood an old dead tree, a tree possessing a great deal of character and offering a wonderful foreground for our night sky compositions. Around the tree several of Julies cows meandered offering curious incursions into our shooting area until, their curiosity satisfied, they settled down.

We also caught a glimpse of the International Space Station (ISS) as it drifted across the northern sky. it is always a lot of fun to see its glow as it sails across the sky some 200 miles high.

Julie Barrick Photo

We had some first timers join us along with a few other second or third timers giving this fascinating form of photography a try. With a little basic instruction to point them in the right direction, they took to the evening like pro's and captured some quality images.

Bob Smith Photo

The evening flew by and what seemed like in only a short interval, it was time to wrap up the night. I for one really enjoyed the evening, I'm sure everyone else did so as well.

Sheila Reeves Photo

These kinds of shoots require a level of commitment not always easily adhered to. The simple fact they are done at night makes it a bit more difficult, but the rewards are long lasting. Capturing photographs of this amazing realm offers its own accolades, but simply standing in an open field to gaze across a dark, star filled sky, well, you just have to be there to understand the significance of the moment.

Photo by Keith - Five images stacked in Sequator - Cropped
then Tweaked with PS

Thanks to Julie for allowing us to use her farm as a shooting location, and thanks to all who came, Bob, Ronnie, Brent, Heather, Allen, Shelia, myself, and of course Julie. Maybe we can do this again when we have another dark sky and clear weather so we can visually sail among the stars.