Today I got an e-mail from Gary that a photo of the Big Dipper that I had submitted a few months ago got selected for this week’s column on SkyNews. Couldn’t be happier. I wish all my weeks could start this way.

Astrophotography is a combination of equipment, experience, location/timing and luck. With this photo I just happen to hit everything right and was lucky.

Using the best equipment helps, but for this photo it was the simplest of setup: my very worn Canon Rebel XTi DSLR with a zoom lens set to 17mm F4 mounted on an old steel camera tripod my father used in the 60s. So nothing special, and within everyone’s reach.

OK, for the next part I had experience on my side. It allowed me to pick the right camera settings, but was also lucky as my photo viewing was limited to that small LCD screen on the camera. I had no laptop to fully explore and review the photos and make the necessary adjustments.  Even the focus was reviewed through the small camera LCD.  That night I only took 4 images with 20 second exposure crossing my fingers that I would have something worthwhile once back home.

And then there is the post-processing on the computer, which is a lot of trial-error. In image processing doing steps A + B will not give you the same results as performing B + A. We all have our “recipes” for what produces good results, but every photo ends up being a unique project. With this one, I knew there was good potential.

Finally there is the location and timing.  I was up in cottage country, away from city lights, and a clear sky. However there was a full moon rising, couldn’t wait too long as the sky would start to brighten. A Big Dipper low in the sky next to the trees framed everything very well.

Thanks Gary and SkyNews for selecting my photo. For all the experimentation that I do with the camera, once in a while I get everything right. I’m just happy someone noticed and said “Hey, that’s a great photo we could use.”