Posts Made By: Donald Boyd

This is my first post to the web site forum. There is a bit of explanation that I owe the viewer. For a number of years I have attended re-enactment events called “Rendezvous.” These events commemorate the “fur trapper“ period of American history, roughly 1600-1840. The things that make these events so intriguing for astrophotography: the events are usually held in remote locations away from urban light pollution, and the participants (usually) conform to strict prohibitions against electric lights, including flash lights and flash cameras after dark. I started conducting “star parties” at some of these events a couple years ago, and have a following of friends who try to convince everyone of the beauty of the “natural” night sky. I wasn’t sure where to post these. Please let me know if there is a more appropriate forum for this type of photo.


This image is a stack of 3, 13 second exposures @ f1.8, ISO 400, produced using CS2.
I used a Canon XTi w/ Sigma f1.8, 20mm lens

This is my first post to the Digital Astrophotography forum. I’m not sure if Startrails qualify as astrophotography, as most of what I see posted here are (really great) deep sky objects and nebulae.

There is a bit of explanation that I owe the viewer. For a number of years I have attended re-enactment events called “Rendezvous.” These events commemorate the “fur trapper“ period of American history, roughly 1600-1840. The things that make these events so intriguing for astrophotography: the events are usually held in remote locations away from urban light pollution, and the participants (usually) conform to strict prohibitions against electric lights, including flash lights and flash cameras after dark. I started conducting “star parties” at some of these events a couple years ago, and have a following of friends who try to convince everyone of the beauty of the “natural” night sky. Please let me know if there is a more appropriate forum for this type of photo in Astromart. Another post will follow, shortly.


This image is a stack of 15, 30 second exposures (with 1, 10 second exposure) @f1.8, ISO 800, produced using CS2. I used a Canon XTi w/ Canon EF 28mm f1.8 lens.

Please see my previous post "startrails above camp" for details on the event location. In my TIFF based photos the startrails are smooth. When I save the image as a JPEG I loose the smooth trail. What going on? (BTW - this not an issue when the image is printed using a "large" JPEG or TIFF).

The lightening photos that have been posted recently inspired me to share my two attempts from last summer. Both of these were taken at “re-enactments” (called Rendezvous) in July last summer in Vermont. The weather was horrible! We had a tropical storm move up the eastern seaboard and provide us with a late night electrical storm. These two photos were taken with two different lenses on a Canon XTi. These are both “stacked images” with the camera shooting the same shot at different shutter speeds (to compensate for the bright lightening, and still get the detail of people huddled under their dining flys. (We’re an eccentric group of campers…)

Last week I set up in my "favorite" field for some early evening star gazing. Unfortunately, the clouds moved in earlier than they were supposed to. I grabbed this shot of a near by tobacco barn just as the sun hit the horizon.

I never know where to post the star trails shots. The camp is the 2009 Northeastern Primitive Rendezvous, held near Newark Valley, New York. This is a stack of 27, 30 second shots, taken at f3.2, using a Sigma 15mm lens on a Canon XTi set at ISO 800. The photographs were taken looking east on July 14th, at 9:46 PM, just after the stars became well defined in the twilight. Adobe Photoshop was used to process the stack of photographs. The camp rules demand that participants refrain from using gas and electric light. It is lit solely by candles and campfires.

My wife and I took a weekend trip into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I took five photos of the view of the valley, and Mount Washington, in Intervale, NH. The original file is huge. I'm hoping to get a nice large print of this.

I cannot say that I've read a lot of books on this subject. I can say that I started "messing about" with my DSLR and astrophotography last summer, after I went to NEAF and attended a seminar lead by Jerry Lodriguss. I was really inspired by his presentation, and purchased A Gude to DSLR Astrophotography! It is an electronic book (an interactive CD) that was very helpful! I've been recommending it to my students who are interested in the subject. His address is http://www.astropix.com/ Others may have a better lead. Good luck!

:S I forgot to add tha this image is

donald Boyd said:

Please see my previous post "startrails above camp" for details on the event location. In my TIFF based photos the startrails are smooth. When I save the image as a JPEG I loose the smooth trail. What going on? (BTW - this not an issue when the image is printed using a "large" JPEG or TIFF).

I forgot to add the details. This image is a stack of 35, 30 second exposures, FL: 18mm @ f4.5, ISO 400, produced using CS2. I used a Canon XTi w/ Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM lens.

Very impressive! I don't think I've seen a sky that clear in ages, and you've really shown a talent for using the technology. I'm envious.