Ken, i think that is a most fitting tribute. I only know of Erwin from his posts and photos on the internet. It is sad to see such great tallent pass from from this world. But i am sure he will move from the humble earth to the noble stars he loved so much. My condolonces to family and friends, our thougts and prayers are with you.
I can't beleive it! - I only knew Erwin from his internet presence (especially digital_astro) but he probably didnt know me {I remember when he really burst into my vision when he made available an unbelievable image he had taken of the Gegenschein!!! - it took me several days to remove my chin off the floor} . But it was a very bright luminous presence, I almost felt like i knew him from the astonishing energy he put out via his very beautiful and strong intelligent work, he will be sadly missed by more people than he may of imagined.
My very sincere sympathy and condolences to his family and friends, a VERY bright light has been extinguished from our world.
Kearn
Last edited by fringe_dweller; 29-09-2005 at 09:54 PM.
Reason: website has already been mentioned
Irwin stayed at my place on Saturday night and observed till the Moon came up,He was then gracious enough to colimate both my pairs of binoculars,He was a very quiet peaceful man and will be surely remembered by all who crossed his path. Rest In Peace Irwin. astroron
As an Astro tribute to Erwin, the Astrophotography award at the Star camp will be known as the 'Erwin van der Velden' Award for Astrophotography.
I hope nobody minds.
Thanks Ken , That is truly appreciated,
Erwin was without doubt " one of the good guys"
For those that only knew him through this forum I can tell you he was as mad as a two bob watch, I remember being woken up at 5am one cold morning hearing swearing and cursing coming from outside the caravan I was sleeping in.
I thought somebody was having an argument, it was just Erwin cursing himself for sleeping in an extra half an hour as he had missed his opportunity to image Mercury.
Thats how dedicated he was to his astronomy.
He made me laugh, he took the time to answer questions and was happy to share his knowledge.
As I go out to Leyburn this weekend I will be thinking of him and all the nights we spent there together.
There will be a place in the paddock for you forever Erwin.
I remember being woken up at 5am one cold morning hearing swearing and cursing coming from outside the caravan I was sleeping in.
I thought somebody was having an argument, it was just Erwin cursing himself for sleeping in an extra half an hour as he had missed his opportunity to image Mercury.
I remember that morning well David (I was in the bunk below Erwin). You mention that there will always be a spot for Erwin at Leyburn, I think the picture I have attached is along the same lines (taken at this years Astrofest) and typifies how revered he was with the QLD astro community. I think we will probably all be looking for his hire car to zoom in on dusk at Leyburn tomorrow - sadly it won't.
Thanks Andrew that made me laugh,
Erwins passing will effect more people that he would have thought, As Dennis said he was a quite unassuming modest man, who I think touched everyone who had the pleasure to know him.He was fun to be with, had some crazy ideas, and on those cloudy nights when he couldn't take an image was always thinking "What If" "why Can't I" "Maybe we should try this"
Wow, I am only 41 and still considered young, this is tragic news for his family and friends. I have only spoken to him two or three times. Very weird. RIP.
On Sunday Irwin and I talked about his plans for his trip to Egypt for the Eclipse next year, he said he had a lot to organise but was well in advance with is thinking,his main sticking point was weight and power, he also showed me his latest Mars shots and other astro images as well as his fantastic eclipse photo's.
I think all who have seen his images on this website will surely miss him.astroron
Unfortunately,I also didn't know Erwin except through his marvellous photos,he will be very sadly missed.
My condolences to his family and many friends.
Very,Very sad.
Regards.John
What sad and unbelieveable news. To the QLD forum members who knew him personally, it must be an incredible loss to them. I've only known him by reputation and from his images on the forum, but I know that he was respected widely for talent.
An incredible loss to the Australian astrophotography community, and of course even sadder for his immediate family and friends.
My condolences to his family and he certainly will be missed.
Gee this is trajic and totally unexpected news.
Erwin's images are amongst those that inspired me to get my off axis guider and experiment with nebula filters. When I saw the great work he was doing with a digital SLR I wanted to "get amongst it" too and see how far I could push my gear. So I have Erwin to thank for much of my work with his fantastic, inspiring images, they are among the best ever taken with a digital SLR and rival some taken with much more expensive astro , cooled CCD imagers. We can only imagine the great images he would have taken just in the next few years. We must treasure the great images he has taken, and I expect that they will continue to inspire up and coming astrophotographers in the way they have inspired me.
Thanks Erwin
Regards Scott
