Some years ago (just 13 years after the discovery of quasars, as it happens), my dear old Dad bought a second-hand telescope at auction. It was a Charles Frank 6-inch reflector, CF then being a company based in Glasgow's east end. I'd proved my lasting interest in astronomy with a pair of smaller telescopes in previous years, and he clearly felt the time was right for me to have a serious-sized instrument. (I think my brother Colin was given a ham radio around the same time, but he couldn't see Saturn with that, so I reckon I got the better deal.)
The outskirts of a city the size of Glasgow was not the ideal place for astronomy, but it could have been worse. Planets, galaxies and nebulae revealed themselves to me, and in time I wanted to photograph what I was seeing through the eyepiece. Trouble was, I didn't know much about photography, except how to release the shutter on a Box Brownie; talk of 103a-O and FP4 type II, and exposures in blue light, seemed like so much exotica. The only course of action therefore, was to learn about photography. Little did I know that the photography would supplant astronomy as the major interest, for quite some time.
I tried to take photographs through that telescope, my first attempt being with a 126 cartridge glued into an aerosol can cap lined with foam rubber, which fitted the eyepiece focuser on the 'scope. I did manage a pic of the Moon, but it was a crude result which I don't recall trying to improve upon; the fact that I'd achieved something seemed to be enough for the time being.
I soon bought a 2nd hand Praktica, and attached that to the scope with a suitable mount. I got some fuzzy snaps of Jupiter and Saturn, which I took along to the Airdrie observatory for feedback and advice (I think I bumped into someone associated with that place at an exhibition somewhere in Glasgow purely by chance). When I proffered my amateurish pics, they asked me how I got such good results -- which was a bit disappointing, as I knew they could be so much better than they were. I never did much more photographically with that 'scope, until last week.
The main motivation for buying a Canon 30D was to use it on the Brisbane Planetarium's Zeiss refractor. However, it's 21 km from home, so not exactly handy for a few quick snaps. I'd had the mirror on my 'scope realuminized a couple of years ago, and it was begging to be used properly for the first time in years, so I dug out the adaptor, did a bit of minor surgery to bring the primary mirror further up the tube, and attached the 30D. At this point, I did not have the 'scope on its mount, as I couldn't be bothered dragging it out of the garage and round the back of the house, so my first tests were done with the 'scope propped up on two chairs and a small wooden stool; hardly ideal, but good enough for a test. Results can be seen here and here.
The outskirts of a city the size of Glasgow was not the ideal place for astronomy, but it could have been worse. Planets, galaxies and nebulae revealed themselves to me, and in time I wanted to photograph what I was seeing through the eyepiece. Trouble was, I didn't know much about photography, except how to release the shutter on a Box Brownie; talk of 103a-O and FP4 type II, and exposures in blue light, seemed like so much exotica. The only course of action therefore, was to learn about photography. Little did I know that the photography would supplant astronomy as the major interest, for quite some time.
I tried to take photographs through that telescope, my first attempt being with a 126 cartridge glued into an aerosol can cap lined with foam rubber, which fitted the eyepiece focuser on the 'scope. I did manage a pic of the Moon, but it was a crude result which I don't recall trying to improve upon; the fact that I'd achieved something seemed to be enough for the time being.
I soon bought a 2nd hand Praktica, and attached that to the scope with a suitable mount. I got some fuzzy snaps of Jupiter and Saturn, which I took along to the Airdrie observatory for feedback and advice (I think I bumped into someone associated with that place at an exhibition somewhere in Glasgow purely by chance). When I proffered my amateurish pics, they asked me how I got such good results -- which was a bit disappointing, as I knew they could be so much better than they were. I never did much more photographically with that 'scope, until last week.
The main motivation for buying a Canon 30D was to use it on the Brisbane Planetarium's Zeiss refractor. However, it's 21 km from home, so not exactly handy for a few quick snaps. I'd had the mirror on my 'scope realuminized a couple of years ago, and it was begging to be used properly for the first time in years, so I dug out the adaptor, did a bit of minor surgery to bring the primary mirror further up the tube, and attached the 30D. At this point, I did not have the 'scope on its mount, as I couldn't be bothered dragging it out of the garage and round the back of the house, so my first tests were done with the 'scope propped up on two chairs and a small wooden stool; hardly ideal, but good enough for a test. Results can be seen here and here.
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