As promised, here are a few of the astrophotographs that I took on my recent camping trip. They were taken at Sandpiper Beach, on Hornby Island, British Columbia - which happens to be my favorite place for observing because there is almost no light pollution at all at this site. You really cannot appreciate how bad cities are for observing until you have had a chance to spend a few nights in the wilderness and really see what the night sky should look like.

I must also apologize for the quality of some of the photos. For those who haven't already heard the story, this trip was under a bit of a curse it would seem. My good telescope and mount didn't fit in the vehicle I was taking this time, and had to be left behind. My backup scope and mount had developed some damage from being left in storage, and were not salvageable. So I ordered in a new tracking mount to use, only to find literally days before my trip that the merchant had none in stock and the manufacturer had them on back order. Then I found that my fastest lens wasn't working, so I had to use a camera lens with a less precise focus. And so these shots were taken with just a standard ball head tripod, a Rebel XSi, and a timer shutter unit.  But I think that considering all of that misfortune, the photographs aren't too bad. And the best of luck was that the clouds and threatened storms did not appear!

So without further ado, here is a small sampling...


The view above the old cabin that my father half-finished


 The Milky Way galaxy rises above Tribune Bay, Hornby Island, BC


Panoramic view of the stars and galaxy above Vancouver Island (on the horizon) and Hornby Island