Blog

16Jul2020
by Thomas Stirling
in
astronomyastrophotographyphotographyspace
2

Tonight I headed out on a mission to see and photograph Comet Neowise. Neowise is a fairly recently discovered comet first spotted by the astronomers using the Neowise Telescope. Having seen the great comet of 1997 Hale Bopp as just a teenager, standing in my back yard in Scotland with my mother – it piqued my interest in all things extraterrestrial. I didn’t own a camera back in 97′ but the internet had started to boom and I saw a lot of inspiring photos taken by people from all over the world had got of Hale-Bopp. I decided then that should another comet visit our cosmic neighborhood in my lifetime I would get a photo.

Fast forward 23 years (more than a lifetime compared to my younger self being only 17 or so at the time of Hale-Bopp) later and I got my chance. Now living in the United States, I took the photo below in West Kennebunk Maine’s Blueberry Barrens. I arrived around 9 pm and noticed a few other cars parked. It was a great evening, I enjoyed chatting with fellow comet hunters and space enthusiasts. The shot is not as tack-sharp as I wanted it to be, but the good news is that the comet will be around for the next month or so, I will be back out many more times to try and get the best results possible.

These photos were taken on July 20th, 2020 at approximately 10:30 PM

13Jul2020
by Thomas Stirling
in
astronomyastrophotographyvideovideography

Last night I had clear skies and the opportunity to photograph and film Saturn without having to stay up till the middle of the night. Below is just a short clip, but in it you can clearly distinguish the rings of Saturn as it slowly pans across my viewfinder.

3Jun2020
by Thomas Stirling
in
astronomyastrophotographyphotography

I recently picked up a Nikon P1000. After having spent almost 15 years taking photos exclusivley with Canon Cameras I felt it was time to cross over and see what all the fuss was about with a good point and shoot Nikon.

For the price this camera is awesome. Its a good all round camera allowing you to take everything from Macros to super zoom images. The zoom is an impressive 300mm (more with the digital enhancements) and can take you close up to the moon craters. I am also looking forward to getting photos of Jupiter and Saturn.

Check back soon for some more astronomy pictures.

Moon phases gallery © Tom Stirling 2020.

21Aug2017
by Thomas Stirling
in
astronomyphotography
For the first time in 99 years a coast to coast total solar eclipse cast its shadow over the continental United States. Everywhere from Oregon to South Carolina was in the 70 mile wide path of Totality. After a hectic morning I managed to get a camera and headed outside to get some shots of this rare celestial event.
This shot I took out in the Blueberry Barrens in West Kennebunk Maine. The sun was so high in the sky by 2:30pm that there was no chance to frame it against any earthbound object for reference. A passing cloud came along at just the right time to help dim the light and add an almost spooky atmosphere to this picture.
I took a second shot a short time later at home, this time I decided to improvise a dark glass filter using an old glass picture frame and a candle. I tempered the glass over the flame until it blackened, carefully moving the flame to different areas to avoid shattering the glass. It actually worked pretty well for something that I created in a matter of 2 minutes. See the result on the right. I will have another shot at this only with totality in a few years time when the eclipse comes to Maine. For that I will be ready with my very best gear.

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