NEAF 2010
An overview of the world's largest astronomical trade show. The North East Astronomy Forum was held April 17-18, 2010 in Suffern, NY. Jeff highlights the gear that caught his eye during the exhibit. You can view a larger presentation of the video at YouTube.
Trouble with YouTube, try the Vimeo file.
NEAF 2010 by Jeff Ball from Jeff Ball on Vimeo.
Heading to NEAF (North East Astronomy Forum)
Leaving for Suffern, NY and NEAF today. Look for blogs, photos, videos, and other commentary about things that catch my eye. NEAF is the largest astronomical trade show in the U.S. if not the world. Check out the link for more information and stay tuned to the blog.
Surprises from printing marathon...
Preparing for the Norton Commons show next month and fine tuning all of the astronomical fine art prints. I have said it too many times, but an image that looks fine on the monitor is often times not nearly ready for fine art printing. Over the past few days I have been optimizing my astrophotography prints and today I had an opportunity to compare two different papers.
Now earlier in the week I had an opportunity to compare my two favorite papers, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag (matte paper) to Harman Fiber Gloss (semi-glossy.) To my surprise I preferred the matte paper to the glossy. Today I just received a new semi-glossy paper, Canson Baryta. Just finished the new comparison and again, I prefer the matte paper for my current asto prints. The Canson looks like a gorgeous paper and will probably become my preferred paper for landscape prints. But for astrophotography prints right now, the matte paper provides a more comfortable look into the scene and presents the image in the best possible way.
My first thought at the beginning of the week was that the semi-glossy paper would be the preferred for the astronomical subjects. But the darks in the matte paper and the subdued contrast and highlights really deepen the visual experience of each astronomical print.
So after numerous hours of printing and comparing I am very confident in printing my next round of astronomical prints with the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag matte paper. It really looks wonderful!
A New Tool: Astro-Physics Refractor!
The Astro-Physics 130EDF refractorToday I received an Astro-Physics 130EDF refractor. Astro-Physics is a premier telescope manufacturer and IMHO manufacture the best photographic instruments available today. The refractor is an f6 focal ratio and a focal length of over 800mm. The telescope can be stopped down to f4 and about 600mm focal length. This telescope has a field of view at 600mm of 2x3 degrees. It will be terrific for moderate field objects like the Andromeda Galaxy, Pleiades, Triangulum Galaxy, and the Rosette. Can't wait to put the instrument to work.
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