Deep Sky camp 5 - 7 April

[Carole]

There is a Deep Sky camp next weekend at Cairds.

Currently there are 6 of us planning to go.
2 members and 4 non members.

Carole
Julian (possibly) (Van)
Dave (Van)
Roland (? POD)
Lorenzo (Tent)
Mohamed (new - day visit only)
Michael (? coming)

Forecast is not looking great at the moment, but Friday seems to be improving and also Thursday is looking good, so I may go early.

Please post here if you are planning to go.
At the moment the POD is taken but the cabin is still available as far as I know.

Thanks

Carole

[julian]

Hi Carole
I will be at Kelling DSC not Cairds DSC.

Julian

[Carole]

Hmmm, Must have been May we were talking about. 

Duh!!!

Carole

[Carole]

Forecast is not looking good, so may cancel this DSC.  Final decision tomorrow morning, will update post on here.

Carole

[Carole]

Forecast still not great. 

Depending on which weather website you look at there could be a bit of clear sky between 2 or 3am and dawn, and on another website it says some clear sky between 9 and midnight but its not clear at all on the other sites.

So overall I don't there is reliably enough forecast clear skies or even enough to warrant going, so I am cancelling for this weekend.

Fingers crossed for next month, 3 - 5th May, though some of you may be going to the Science Museum instead.

Carole

[julian]

Had a great night last night started at 9pm and packed up the 20" Dob at about 5.30 am.
But I am glad to say it's now cloudy.

[MarkS]

Had a great night last night started at 9pm and packed up the 20" Dob at about 5.30 am.

Kelling Heath?

[Carole]

Kelling Heath?

Must be, confused me too, should have started a separate thread lol.

Carole

[julian]

Yes sorry at Kelling Heath
Put it down to lack of sleep. Very very sorry for the confusion. Yes should have started a new thread . But in my defence it is deep sky camp.

[Carole]

Lol, glad you are having a good time.  We were right to cancel DSC this end, wall to wall cloud and some rain by the looks of it.

Carole

[MarkS]

Lol, glad you are having a good time.  We were right to cancel DSC this end, wall to wall cloud and some rain by the looks of it.

Yes - it's been wall to wall cloud since I got back from the Maldives a few days ago.  Wall to wall cloud for the next week as well

Mark

[Carole]

Maldives.  Always wanted to go there, but never quite managed it.  I guess mainly because I like snorkeling and hubby doesn't even swim, so guess he was never keen as not much for him to do except sunbathe.

Hope you had a great time.

Carole

[MarkS]

Maldives.  Always wanted to go there, but never quite managed it.  I guess mainly because I like snorkeling and hubby doesn't even swim, so guess he was never keen as not much for him to do except sunbathe.

Hope you had a great time.

Thanks. To be honest, I went there under duress, thinking it would be quite boring to be stuck on a small tropical island.  But I hired some snorkeling stuff to take a look at the coral reefs and didn't look back.  I was quickly addicted and I really wish I'd had an underwater camera.

Mark

[Carole]

I have done loads of snorkeling over the years, including taking photos, but they never seem to turn out as good as what you can see.  Some of it is breathtaking, it's another world.

Here's me at the barrier reef a few years ago:


a few photos I have taken:




See here for more:
https://sites.google.com/site/caroleotherhobbies/snorkeling

Carole

[ApophisAstros]

Considering they are taken under water they are superb!!
Roger

[MarkS]

Lovely underwater pictures Carole!

Mark

[Carole]

Thanks Roger and Mark. 

I normally buy one of those disposable underwater cameras from the airport when I know I am going on a snorkeling holiday.  The FOV is not great, and stopping to pose for a photo, the movement of the water tends to turn you around/roll you over before you have taken the shot, and certainly most of the fish have swum away.

I remember snorkeling over the edge of the reef in the Sulu sea between Thailand and the Philippines once, and all the beautiful coloured fish hovering over the edge of the reef it looked like a flower garden.  Didn't have my camera with me on that day unfortunately.

The only time I panicked and got out quickly was when I came almost face to face with a huge barracuda. 

Carole

[Carole]

Here's a few more:

Great Barrier Reef (Agincourt Reef)


This was quite deep (so colour loss), you can see the giant clams.








South china Sea:


Urchins in the Caribbean

[Carole]

Just had an idea and tried some of my processing skills out on the Giant clam photo and managed to extract a bit more colour.

[MarkS]

Just had an idea and tried some of my processing skills out on the Giant clam photo and managed to extract a bit more colour.

Hi Carole,

I don't know about anyone else but the underwater images you linked are not being displayed for me

Mark

[Carole]

Do you mean the ones I have posted on the forum are not showing?
You must have seen some of them, or did you see them on my website link?

Or the ones on my hobbies website are not showing?

I wonder if it's this annoying Google account thing.  Can't remember how I uploaded them to my website and I am linking them to here from there.

I could upload them to my Astrobin staging area once I know what the problem is.

Carole

[Carole]

OK I am uploading them to Astrobin.

There will be 9 of them when I have done them all (but got to find the original files "somewhere"). 

1. Great Barrier Reef and Giant Clams (after some processing as the colour went blue due to the depth)


2. Sea Urchins, Grenadines islands Caribbean


3. Borneo Snorkeling


4. Agincourt Reef (Great Barrier Reef)


5. Other Swimmers around me at Barrier Reef:

[MarkS]

Do you mean the ones I have posted on the forum are not showing?
You must have seen some of them, or did you see them on my website link?

Or the ones on my hobbies website are not showing?

I wonder if it's this annoying Google account thing.  Can't remember how I uploaded them to my website and I am linking them to here from there.

I could upload them to my Astrobin staging area once I know what the problem is.

Carole

The ones on your website are fine.  But the ones posted on the forum were not showing. 

[MarkS]

OK I am uploading them to Astrobin.

There will be 9 of them when I have done them all (but got to find the original files "somewhere"). 

1. Great Barrier Reef and Giant Clams (after some processing as the colour went blue due to the depth)

2. Sea Urchins, Grenadines islands Caribbean

3. Borneo Snorkeling

4. Agincourt Reef (Great Barrier Reef)

5. Other Swimmers around me at Barrier Reef:

These ones are showing!

Mark

[Carole]

Thanks Mark, just uploading them now.  Had to upload them to Astrobin, how they are showing now?

5 out of 9 done so far.

Carole

[Carole]

6: Hook Island, Whitsundays Australia


7. Found a few more.
Hook Island again


8. Hook Island again


9. Knuckle Reef


10: Knuckle Reef Plate Corals


11. Another Corner of the Reef, Barrier Reef

[Carole]

That's the best of the bunch.

Bet you will go on another snorkeling holiday now you're "hooked" Mark, and you'll take an underwater  camera this time.

Carole