Aurugids

[Nikolai]

This morning (I woke up 1:15 am) I went to watch and shoot me some Aurigids. It wasn't as spectacular as it was predicted. We saw a dozen, maybe two instead of thousands, and even these were rather small. However I still managed to get a few on camera.

I was using Canon 30D + EF-S 10-22, set on a tripod and controlled by TC-80N3 timer remote control. The settings were:

ISO 3200, 10mm, f/3.5, 14sec, 1 sec between the exposures.

I simply let the camera click and later at home went through all of them and pick up those with some action. I scored 3 on first pass and 3 more on a second. Culling through ~250 nearly identical shots is no fun, trust me on this, so no wonder I missed those second there on the first pass.

Here are the results:

01: I started with a 5-shot pano of night LA (taken from 6,000+ ft):

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371018-L.jpg (http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371018-O.jpg)

(click the image for a larger version)

02: Then I found a nice spot on a north side of the Mt.Wilson with a great view to the North-East. Here is my setup, you can see one of Mt.Wilson observatory domes further back, about half a mile away, I think. I used the umbrella to cover the moon, which was 3/4 full and very bright:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371055-L.jpg

03: Meteor:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371072-O.jpg

04: Meteor:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371081-O.jpg

05: Meteor:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371092-O.jpg

06: Meteor:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371100-O.jpg

07: Meteor:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371104-O.jpg

08: This is a rare case when my camera caught a rather large one in two shots. I dared to blend them together, covering a tiny gap. I'm positive it wasn't a plane, so I feel pretty solid about it.:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/190371114-O.jpg

All these shots are also here: http://nik.smugmug.com/gallery/3403150

BTW, if anybody is seriously into this: I have about 250 original shots, all taken in a manner described above (14 sec exposure, 1 sec pause, hence 4 shots per minute), all large 8mp jpegs.

[BBiggs]

Thanks for sharing these shots! They are all great1 Too bad I missed this one :(

[OffTopic]

Great job Nikolai! I got up at 3:30a since they were supposed to peak at 4:30. After an hour I hadn't seen a single one and went back to bed...I saw more the night I photographed the eclipse (5 in all). We had a marine layer to the west of me, so between that and the moon I think the sky just wasn't as clear as I needed.

Love your idea with the umbrella! Will definitely have to remember that.

[Skippy]

This morning (I woke up 1:15 am) I went to watch and shoot me some Aurigids. It wasn't as spectacular as it was predicted. We saw a dozen, maybe two instead of thousands, and even these were rather small. However I still managed to get a few on camera.

I was using Canon 30D + EF-S 10-22, set on a tripod and controlled by TC-80N3 timer remote control. The settings were:
ISO 3200, 10mm, f/3.5, 14sec, 1 sec between the exposures.
I simply let the camera click and later at home went through all of them and pick up those with some action. I scored 3 on first pass and 3 more on a second. Culling through ~250 nearly identical shots is no fun, trust me on this, so no wonder I missed those second there on the first pass.
Here are the results:
01: I started with a 5-shot pano of night LA (taken from 6,000+ ft):
02: Then I found a nice spot on a north side of the Mt.Wilson with a great view to the North-East. Here is my setup, you can see one of Mt.Wilson observatory domes further back, about half a mile away, I think. I used the umbrella to cover the moon, which was 3/4 full and very bright:
08: This is a rare case when my camera caught a rather large one in two shots. I dared to blend them together, covering a tiny gap. I'm positive it wasn't a plane, so I feel pretty solid about it.:
All these shots are also here: http://nik.smugmug.com/gallery/3403150
BTW, if anybody is seriously into this: I have about 250 original shots, all taken in a manner described above (14 sec exposure, 1 sec pause, hence 4 shots per minute), all large 8mp jpegs.

Love that PANO Shot Nik :clap
Gawwwd you must be keen to get up 1.30am and shoot images :huh

You'd have more air traffic over your way than you could poke a stick at mate :rofl

Thanks for pointing out the Meteors :thumb .... Skippy :D
.

[Nikolai]

Thanks for sharing these shots! They are all great1 Too bad I missed this one :(
Thank you! :thumb
As I mentioned, you didn't miss much, there was nothing spectacular. I am still glad I went since it allowed me to hone my technique a little. Besides, 64F in the car and 72F on top was much better that 80F at home :rofl

[Nikolai]

Great job Nikolai! I got up at 3:30a since they were supposed to peak at 4:30. After an hour I hadn't seen a single one and went back to bed...I saw more the night I photographed the eclipse (5 in all). We had a marine layer to the west of me, so between that and the moon I think the sky just wasn't as clear as I needed.

Love your idea with the umbrella! Will definitely have to remember that.
Thank you! :lust
Yeah, I noticed there was a slight overcast in the Valley. That and the lights - you won't have a chance. Next time if I decide to go somewhere, I go up Hwy 5. A bit further to drive (not by much, though), but also at least 1,000 ft higher and defineitely way less light. :deal

[Nikolai]

Love that PANO Shot Nik :clap
Gawwwd you must be keen to get up 1.30am and shoot images :huh

You'd have more air traffic over your way than you could poke a stick at mate :rofl

Thanks for pointing out the Meteors :thumb .... Skippy :D
.

Thanks, Maxine! :thumb
Nah, it was OK, I could not sleep well due to the enourmous heat wave anyway :wink
Airtraffic was pretty much inexistent. Maybe the made special rules about the observatory (Mt.Wilson), maybe simply because two major airports (LAX and Ontario) and rather far away from this place. I still got a few tracks, but very low on the horizon, so they were not in a way.

[Awais Yaqub]

These are wonderful great job

[Nikolai]

These are wonderful great job
Thank you, my friend, appreciate it! :thumb