Tuesday 13 August 2013

Another lesson in much to learn

Somehow I have managed to shoot the night sky from 3 - 4am DURING a Perseid (meteor) shower and after a 100 frames of long exposure, I have not a single photo of a shooting star. Oh, I've seen plenty. We must have seen close to fifty of them. Some overwhelming. Usually when we were setting up the camera/behind us/in between the takes - and it takes two seconds to press the big button ... But it was an adorable night, if unusually cold, and the drive was solitary and relaxing.

Figuring out tow to steady the aperture, I have made great progress since two weeks ago, but I can see where the problems are. The mirror hits summat viciously, so that's something I have to fix next time. I didn't think it would, but it really does. Also, my sensor is a junkyard. Need to have that cleaned, seriously. It wouldn't hurt to have a (much) wider lens. Hmmm... Thinking.... Naa. Not until I get serious with this. 

Shooting portraits and landscape is a lot easier. Or at least not as precise. Different game anyways. I enjoy having to study something from scratch. That gives me a great sense o conquer. Of course, I also need to remember more stars. My confusion when looking up at that mess is alarming. I mean, I know WHERE the constellations are, but I can't make them out. I know exactly where Perseus is (actually it's really hard to miss, because it's right between two very obvious constellations, Cassiopeia and Pleiades) and for all intents and purposes, I can see it, I just can't interpret it. Make heads and tails of it, so to say.

Fun fact. It takes 28.7 seconds for the stars to show movement on film. Marki doesn't have a switch-on-switch-on mode - if you want longer exposures you either need a remote or to hold down the button. It's bulb is limited. You know how long the bulb lasts? 30 seconds. Makes you suspect the makers of Marki were stargazers :D

See? Perseus. No, I don't see it either. But that's where it is.

Maribor haze in the far distance. Pleiades up right

One thing we did catch was a plane, though

Celje haze in the distance and Saint Rosalia, glowing it on

From the balconi, back home

Towards the old castle

... and dawn

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