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All Dressed Up & Nowhere To Go!

Optolong L-eNhance Optolong L-Pro Dark Site Backyard Astrophotography
SF Bay Area Imagers •4 replies•102 views
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
I'm so eager to get out and do more imaging but the rain keeps coming; more, more and more rain.   Yep, we need the rain here in California, desperately.  But now that I've taken my first three images after obtaining the scopes, mount, camera, etc.  I am really eager to have clear skies again.   I've been shooting from my backyard with the Optolong L-Pro and L-Enhance filters and I am getting good results so far. 

I'd like to start talking with other SF Bay Area astrophotographers about planning some trips up to Lake Sonoma.  I've been compiling numerous dark sky sites that are within a 2 to 2.5 hour drive from San Francisco.  I've got maps, images, directions and as soon as the rainy season is over I'd like to get out to a Bortle 2 site.

If this is of interest please respond here on this group thread and we can take it from there. 

Jerry
Engaging Supportive
Spaced Out Bill avatar
Spaced Out Bill avatar
I'm interested.
I'm working on getting a more mobile setup for my Redcat.
I only usually have limited time because of work so when the sky is clear I'm using my heavier mount and not doing anything to setup my smaller setup.
I'm going to do better moving forward.
Check out my Astrobin page. All those pictures are from El Cerrito.
Where do you live in the Bay area?
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
Spaced Out Bill:
I'm interested.
I'm working on getting a more mobile setup for my Redcat.
I only usually have limited time because of work so when the sky is clear I'm using my heavier mount and not doing anything to setup my smaller setup.
I'm going to do better moving forward.
Check out my Astrobin page. All those pictures are from El Cerrito.
Where do you live in the Bay area?

Hi Bill,

I am in the Inner Sunset area of San Francisco, a block from Golden Gate Park.  Bortle 7 skies,  artificial light = 3360 μcd/m2

My Astrobin page (https://www.astrobin.com/users/jsg/)has only 4 images, as I am new to astrophotography, taken from my backyard and processed in PixInsight and ACD Photo Studio.  I bought the ZWO AM5 mount because I knew that I'd want something portable, the mount weighs less than 12 lbs!  

Let's talk further after the rain tapers off.  Ideally, I'd like to be getting out to a darker sky around twice a month, weather permitting. 

Jerry
Reg Pratt avatar
Reg Pratt avatar
Vallejo here, a dark site trip would be fun. I go up to Lake County for my serious imaging but haven't been in the field in many months.
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
Reg Pratt:
Vallejo here, a dark site trip would be fun. I go up to Lake County for my serious imaging but haven't been in the field in many months.

Sounds good.  Let's keep this SF Bay Area Imagers Group active and when the weather improves plan a trip up to Lake Sonoma.  Bortle 2 skies, at zenith the artificial brightness is 14.9 μcd/m2.