TAARP -
Astrophotography of Glenn E. Johnson
I started doing astrophotography when Comet Hyakutake (hyah-koo-tah-key) passed Earth in March of 1996. I was so excited to have propped my camera against a tree trunk and took a 30 second exposure that looked pretty decent. Since then I was hooked. I was able to once again rekindle my desire to achieve photographic nirvana. To see other photographs I have taken, please click here. If lightning images and movies are of interest, please click here.
One of the more common difficulties for a beginner in astrophotography is being patient. Not with waiting for the picture to be over to take another one, but more of not expecting 'perfect' pictures first time out. Time and time again, I see someone spend a chunk of money on great equipment, read how to take 'great' astrophotos, buy the 'best' film to only be disappointed that the pictures did not turn out as well as expected. Firstly, Mother Nature doesn't play fair. Expect atmospheric turbulence to be the greatest enemy while taking exposures longer than average film will allow. Secondly, alignment of the telescope's polar axis must be parallel with Earth's polar axis! Otherwise the stars will rotate about the guide star whether or not that star is in the picture.
Astrophotography is not just pictures of objects in the sky. For some people, if there is no terrestrial reference, they have a hard time comprehending the scale of the picture (see "Pleaides" below). Some of my favorite pictures contain part of a horizon (see "Venus, Saturn, Mars and Mercury" below).
