Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

[OM] Someone said meteors?

Subject: [OM] Someone said meteors?
From: kelton <kelton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 99 23:13:14 -0700
>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

< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz