Ken Norton,
You just lost your spot!
Thought I would die laughing!!
Brian P. Huber
bphuber@xxxxxxxxxx
Troy, OH
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of kelton
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 2:13 AM
To: Olympus List
Subject: [OM] Someone said meteors?
>I recall some discussions of meteor photography in the past but I don't
think
>there was much technical advice.
>So is it B exposures for how long at what aperture
>for say, Provia 100?
I'm sorry, I missed my cue. Someone said "astrophotography" -- OK, I'm
awake now. Advice you want? Advice I have. And this ain't no ordinary
advice: this is advice from a *complete, miserable failure* at meteor
photography. I've tried twice, and have not gotten a single image of a
meteor, not even during an active meteor storm, so I figure that makes me
an expert (of sorts). Give me a comet, and I can work wonders with it,
but those slimy, slippery little *%#$$@! are a different story. Here's
what I know: The comets will appear ninety degrees from their apparent
origin. Make a "gun" out of your finger and thumb, point your finger (the
barrel) at the point of origin, and your thumb (the hammer) will be
pointing at the area where the meteors will be the brightest. (Parents:
don't do this with teenage children present, they'll get the wrong idea
and point their fingers at friends.) Rotate your "gun" on its axis, hold
it kittywampus like a gangbanger: wherever the "hammer" points (excluding
earth, and the horizon) is fair game for one of those creepy little
meteors to show itself. It's a moonless night, right? you can't see the
glow of a distant city on the horizon, right? -- this is important. Load
your OM with 400 ASA, (preferably 3 or 4 OMs pointed at different parts
of the sky), use a standard lens or a fast moderate WA lens, put OM on a
tripod, point it at a likely patch of sky. Put your OM on B, open your
Zuiko WIDE OPEN, damn the abberations, full aperature ahead (I can hear
the objections now, but believe me, you'll be glad you used at least
f/2.). Lie on your back and watch that patch of the sky. Watch the
meteors gravitate to every OTHER patch of sky but yours. If you happen to
see one streak by "your" patch, close the shutter, say a hail mary, toss
salt over your shoulder, and promise to donate to charity. Your shutter
may stay open for 8-15 minutes or more at a time, but lore says to close
the shutter once you get one. (Astronomy Magazine has published several
nifty photos of meteor trails that were taken at EV -9; I find that I
start to exceed the sky fog limit at these exposures, even on dark
nights.) You'll be happier with slide film, but print will do. OK, so why
have I been unsuccessful? Here's my failures: One. I only burned a single
roll the first time out. Foolish! Need to use more film. Two: tripped and
fell over my tripod in the dark. Caused some interesting but
unintentional star trails, several welts & embedded cactus spines, and
much awful cursing, elaborate and articulate cursing, the likes of which
I've not heard before. (Which is why, my friends, I am shopping for a
SOFTER, not a more rigid, tripod). YES, THE OM-1 WAS FINE, IT DIDN'T
TUMBLE-- I know, who cares about my encounter with the cactus. Three: On
second try, I fell asleep. Shutter doesn't open itself when the operator
is sleeping. May your luck be better than mine! You are using the camera
that the almighty himself intended to be used for photographing the
wonders of the night sky, so you are on the right "trail," pun seriously
intended. Good luck. --Kelton
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