Loading…

A guy at the star party in Flagstaff almost ruined my best shot | Astronomy Photos - Vivisector

A guy at the star party in Flagstaff almost ruined my best shot

I was out at the Buffalo Park star party last fall, trying to get a clean 30-second exposure of the Andromeda galaxy with my new ZWO camera. This older guy, who seemed to know his stuff, walked right up while my shutter was open and clicked on a super bright red headlamp to point at my tripod, saying 'You know your polar alignment is off, right?' The whole frame got flooded with light and was totally wrecked. He meant well, I guess, but he didn't get that even a quick blast of white light ruins dark adaptation, and red light can still mess with a long exposure if it's too bright. I had to start the whole 20-minute sequence over. It taught me to always, always have a polite but firm line ready to stop 'helpful' advice during a live shot. Has anyone else had to deal with this at a public viewing event? How do you handle it without being a jerk?

4 comments

4 Comments

maxl936mo ago

Ugh, that's the worst. Did you end up getting the shot later? I keep a cheap red bike light in my bag just for this. If someone comes over, I hand it to them and say "here, use this so we don't blind everyone" before they can even touch their own light. It makes the point without being rude. Also, a simple "shutter's open, one sec" usually stops people in their tracks. Most folks just don't know how sensitive the gear is.

noahgreen6mo ago

Assume people just want to help and don't need your weird tricks. Handing them a bike light is still rude and makes things weird. Just talk to them like a normal person instead of doing a whole act.

ray1735mo ago

Honestly Noah, what makes handing over the bike light a "weird trick" instead of just a fast solution? Like if the goal is to save the shot, isn't the action itself pretty neutral?

pat_murray536mo ago

So handing someone a bike light is rude, but what's the actual line here? Like if someone's about to wreck a long exposure shot, is saying "shutter's open" really that different from handing them a light? Both are trying to stop the problem fast. Where does helpful info turn into a weird trick?