Just to update my earlier post,
Alan Meehan and I left in windy rain squalls, heavy at times to travel up to SPSP via Mudgee. The trip seemed to go quickly and soon we were in Mudgee, and met up with fellow Novocastrians Dennis Zambelis, George Livanos and Richard Crisp. Some other NAS club members went a different route via Rylstone. We arrived on site Thursday afternoon after having lunch in Mudgee (I bought two more tarps and a handheld white light led torch – somehow I sensed that we would not be viewing stars).
After arriving on site we met john and Anna who were camped near the infamous Mike Sidonio who had arrived earlier and set up camp. Alan and I quickly set up the campsite and tents, boy was it cold and drizzly and windy. After that we set to having a Chook for dinner that Alan bought – Yummy and thanks Anna for heating the chook up on your stove until we found ours!
The evening came quickly and with the cruddy conditions (and seeing Mr Sidonio with the help of others build a recycling monument outside Bobs tent from the nights consumables
) it was an early night. But the wind was howling and it was difficult to go to sleep…….
Friday saw the registrations and meeting some others who showed up overnight and that morning. It was good catching up with Fred Vanderhaven and Monte “I can organise anything” Wilson
, and all of the other volunteers that did a great job. I suppose Friday was a bumming around day until the afternoons speakers and discussing the usual Astro topics.
Friday night was almost a mirror image of Thursday night – but with very brief glimpses of stars on the odd occasion. The informal talks Friday night were brilliant, as too the hot donuts….LOL.
Saturday morning I was in the packing up mode as I had to return home due to a family problem that happened Friday night, but I still entered a few of my images, and Mike Salways images as well as the poor dear had to go into town for a hot breakfast
. Life is tough. LOL.
I missed out on the group photo and the prize draw, as well as the Imaging comp results but I expected both Mikes to do well and Fred with his narrowband shots (I am sure he said that he took them with a DSLR …..) But the image that impressed me the most was the star trails shot behind a domed observatory –that was a great shot.
The vendor sales on Saturday were good and for some reason popular. I got my Kendrick Digifire 10 there for a good price from Bintel, but the other vendors seemed to be doing a roaring trade - even tried to get Geoff to do a inpropmtu ad for the camera for his wares - might need a better actor for the voice over geoff LOL.
The gear is still drying out, the Astro gear that never made it out of the car was packed away, and I have the evidence on video of Mike Sidonio paying off Monte for the imaging comp LOL….. wasn’t nearly as much as what FRED must have paid Mike so take heed LOL. I will have to work out how I get my video posted?
Anyway the pros were meeting people and getting to network and gain new ideas and fresh insight into the hobby, the cons – the dribbly hot showers with possible prostrate problems in the new male block, but better than nothing.