Well for me it is. Welcome to my first blog. I intend to use this blog page to talk about adventures. This could be a day trip, a short break or a longer holiday. It could be an event that I attend or one that I photograph. It could be just sharing some photos that I get excited about. Let's start with that.
The Quadrantid Meteor Shower was visible over North Queensland on the evening of January 4 & 5 this year (2024). It is much more visible in the Northern hemisphere, but it was likely to put on a bit of a show for us. I decided to head out to Kinchant Dam near Mackay, Queensland to find myself a dark spot and see if I could capture some images. We had a fair bit of cloud on the 4th, so I decided to have a go on the 5th. During the day it was very cloudy, and I didn't think I would get a shot. As it got later in the day, the cloud started clearing. I decided to go for sunset so at least would get a shot. While not spectacular, it was quite a nice sunset.
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Lens: EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
Shutter speed: 2 sec
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100
Camera: Canon EOS R8
Lens: EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
Shutter speed: 1/5 sec
Aperture: f/5
ISO: 100
Then I waited until it got dark. As I was watching the sky, I couldn't see any meteors and I thought I wasn't going to get anything. I still set up two cameras and started taking some shots. I could then see on the back of the camera - meteors. I shot for about 1/2 an hour before some cloud moved in. I got some shots that I was happy with and was quite surprised how many meteors were in each shot. There are up to 8 that I have found in one shot. There could be more. While I am fairly new to astro photography, I did enjoy the experience and was happy with a few shots that I took. I do look forward to another opportunity to do this again. The Quadrantid Meteor Shower will return in 2025 with the best viewing days being January 2 & 3. I think I will give it a go again.
Canon EOS 6D
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
Shutter speed: 25 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 3200
Camera: Canon EOS R8
Lens: RF 50mm f1.8 STM
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter speed: 25 sec
ISO: 2500
Camera: Canon EOS R8
Lens: RF 50mm f1.8 STM
Shutter speed: 25 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 3200