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EnglishWhat Kind of Astrophotography Is Featured on the Cowichan Valley Starfinders Website?
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The Cowichan Valley Starfinders Society (starfinders.ca) showcases amateur deep-sky and wide-field astrophotography, with each image accompanied by its capture and processing details. The gallery reflects the work of club members shooting from dark-sky locations on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and is aimed at anyone curious about how amateur astronomers in the region practice their craft.
What targets appear in the gallery
The site's image collection covers a mix of deep-sky objects and wide-field studies:
- Wide-field constellation study — the Cygnus region, captured with a 50mm lens as five separate images, followed by a mosaic combining them.
- Wild Duck Cluster (M11) — imaged under very dark skies at the Island Star Party.
- Eagle Nebula (M16) — listed among the featured targets.
- M22 — described as "the other great globular cluster (along with M13) in the northern sky," also taken at the Island Star Party.
This range shows both narrow-field nebula and cluster work and broader constellation-scale imaging.
How the capture details are documented
Each image is presented with a consistent set of technical notes, which is useful if you want to understand or replicate the approach. The details typically include:
| Category | What's listed |
|---|---|
| Conditions | Sky quality, temperature, and moisture (e.g., "clear and very dark, dry and 15 °C") |
| Equipment | Lens or telescope, camera, and mount |
| Exposure | Number of light frames, frame length, ISO, plus darks and flats for calibration |
| Processing | Software used for alignment, development, and mosaics |
Example: Cygnus wide-field mosaic
- Equipment: Modified Canon 350D on an Astrotrack mount
- Exposure: Each image is a stack of 5 to 19 light frames at f/4, ISO 200, 4 minutes each
- Processing: Frames aligned and digitally developed in Images Plus; mosaic assembled in Photoshop
Example: M22 globular cluster
- Conditions: Clear and very dark, moist, 10 °C
- Equipment: WO 105mm refractor with a modified Canon T1i on an HEQ5 mount
- Exposure: 33 × 1-minute lights at ISO 800, with darks and flats for calibration
- Processing: Images Plus and Photoshop
A separate wide-field image notes a 300mm Canon L-series lens with a modified Canon T1i on an Astrotrack mount, using 37 × 2-minute lights at ISO 800.
What this tells you about the club's practice
The recurring pattern — modified DSLR cameras, portable tracking mounts, multiple stacked sub-exposures, and calibration frames — points to a practical, field-oriented approach to astrophotography rather than a fixed observatory setup. The repeated mention of the Island Star Party and Bright Angel Park shows that dark-sky gatherings are central to how members capture their images.
A note on current activity
The site states that monthly club socials and meetings "have been canceled until further notice." If you're looking to visit or join an event, check the site directly for the latest status before planning around a meeting.