The 2017 Astrophotography Workshop was a resounding success! 18 participants gathered under the clear, dark skies of the Adirondacks for three days of classes and practical skills. Participants learned about the techniques for taking and processing astronomical photographs. The Photo Gallery below shows some of the images taken by participants during the workshop. We hope you'll join us for next year's workshop!
Some comments by workshop participants (some comments have been edited for brevity):
- Even with decades of experience as a photographer, I probably doubled my knowledge of Photoshop. Tim and Mike took me from clueless to competent on the subject of stacking planetary and solar images. - Tim Roske
- A look at astrophotography for practitioners at all levels that both gives an overview, and in-depth details of various parts of the field. - Christopher Schuck
- Extremely undervalued. Five years worth of potential trial and failure saved. I can't thank you enough Adirondack Public Observatory! - Michael Vonic
- This workshop helped me get over hurdles that I'd been stuck on for a long time and boosted my confidence with some of the foundational steps. I was never certain if I was using the polar alignment scope properly and getting good alignment. The instructors answered my newbie questions and confirmed my end result giving me confidence that I was doing it right. - Anonymous
- Great opportunity for learn about the basics of Astrophotography from people with a wealth of hands on experience. - Andrew Metz
And a report on the Workshop by one of the instructors, Art Cacciola:
This four-day Astrophotography workshop was amazing. The dark skies of the APO were a key reason for the success. The participants’ diverse levels of experience ranged greatly. There was a young lady who had her interest peaked earlier this year while watching others perform various astrophotography operations at an astronomy event. There was a young man who just began using his new DSLR camera for imaging for the first time. There were a number of participants, both male and female, young and those with more life experiences, who were trying to learn how to use the equipment they had. And a few who were experimenting with new techniques for the first time.
There was a vast amount of experience demonstrated by the instructors. The ratio of instructors to participants was good, 5 to 18. The instructors covered a wide variety of topics including DSLRs, webcams, and CCD cameras. There was wide field unguided imaging on a tripod, and tracked images on various tracking mounts. There were piggy-backed cameras as well as prime focus and afocal cameras. There were refractors, Newtonians, solar scopes and SCTs. Participants could use their own equipment, equipment brought by the instructors or the plethora of equipment provided by the APO. There were scopes inside the roll off roof observatory and others outside in the yard. There was plenty of power available to run mounts, cameras and computers. There was a variety of software to capture and later process images. The processing classes were held in the Tupper Lake Middle/High School and all of the computers were pre-loaded with processing software. As a teacher, I experienced the euphoria of watching the participants learn and demonstrate new skills. It was an honor to be a part of this great experience.
Art Cacciola, Kopernik Astronomical Society of the Kopernik Observatory & Science Center
