Perseid Persuit

August 14, 2016

First off, I apologize for the length in between blogs. I would like to say it's been a busy summer, but at times I just get a bit lackadaisical. So thanks for your patience :)

I have been an admirer of astronomy for quite some time. I even spent some time in Astronomy Club in school. I find star-gazing a beautiful, relaxing and interesting activity. It seems extremely surprising that photography love and star gazing love have not collided sooner... yet it hadn't.

When the Perseid Meteor Shower comes around, I mark it on my calendar. I have been viewing these meteor showers for at least 15 years, but have never tried photographing them. This year I decided it was high time to try. I read a few tips. I gathered my gear. I went outside and set up my tripod. I did a few test shots to see what was in my frame and to test exposures. The moon was beautiful and bright that night. Then the clouds rolled in. I waited an hour or so and hoped they would cooperate, but around midnight I packed up and went inside.

I awoke around 4am and decided to run outside and check out the sky. I witnessed two quick meteors. I ran upstairs and grabbed my gear and hurriedly set up. Now the moon was gone and it was partly cloudy. I changed some of my settings to compensate for the lack of moon (all my settings were geared towards the moonlit sky) and hit my remote.... Everything was black. I tried again, black. After three attempts my groggy mind realized I had not taken my lens cap off. I should not even share that portion of the story with my readers, but these types of things will happen on a few hours of sleep. Unfortunately, the clouds moved back in and I didn't even see any more meteors These photos below are of the first set up with the moon. Enjoy!