Astrophotography – This is not a hobby for most. It is very expensive and time consuming. It takes a considerable amount of technical skill and patience. So before I jumped in I did lots of research before purchasing my first setup.
That’s me above on the left, along with a couple of my imaging buddies Don Conrad and Bob Holzer. Take a good look at all this stuff we had to haul around before you think about jumping into this hobby!
My adventure into astrophotography started in late 2000 when I purchased my first ‘real’ mount and scope. I purchased a Losmandy G11 mount with a Gemini GOTO option from a nearby resident and club member here in Atlanta. The G11, for many, is considered the bare minimum starter mount for astrophotography. It is stable and is capable of tracking objects very accurately. My research pointed me away from the more popular mounts from Celestron and Meade. These mounts are just not accurate enough for long duration, deep sky astrophotography, many have tried…most have failed. My first scope was an APM 6″ Quartz MN. I learned a lot with this setup and produced some pretty good planetary and lunar pics using a digital camera and webcam.
Things started getting really fun, and costly, when I upgraded to an Astro-Physics setup and an SBIG CCD camera. I am a big fan of Astro-Physics optics and mounts. The quality and craftsmanship that goes into their scopes and mounts is worldclass. To this day I continue to buy, upgrade, barter and trade equipment. It seems there is always another gadget that one needs to help take that special picture.
After several years of struggling to find darks skies nearby Atlanta, me and a few friends decided to start our own astronomy village, Deerlick Astronomy Village. In 2004 we purchased a 96 acre tract of land in Taliaferro County (Central Georgia). The skies there are very dark and population growth is very low. This project has far exceeded our expectations. We have developed 26 lots where folks are building observatories and cabins. It is a wonderful place to observe and socialize with like minded folks. In addition to the parcels of land we have sold, we developed a 10 acre special-use field/campground for use by amateur astronomers and clubs. We have members from all over the country who come to our site to camp for the weekend and special events. To learn more about DAV check out the DAV Website.