Advanced Imaging Conference 2005 report!

Nov 16, 2005

San Jose, CA – November 11-13, 2005

I enjoyed a great time this weekend at the Advanced Imaging Conference in San Jose, CA. The attendance for this year’s event increased from ~120 people in 2004 to ~180 this year.

A wealth of talent, knowledge, and ability with regard to CCD astrophotography were present, with an all-star list of guest speakers, including noted amateurs Rob Gendler, Johannes Schedler, Adam Block, Russ Croman, John Gleason, Rick Bennion, Ron Wodaski, Ken Crawford, Don Goldman, and event host, Steve Mandel.  Professional presenters included Lisa Frattare and Zolt Levay of the Hubble Heritage program; and Travis Rector of the University of Alaska.

Topics for discussion ranged from advanced image acquision to advanced image processing.  I greatly enjoyed the presentation by Rick Bennion about “Best Practices for Image Acquision.” Likewise, Adam Block received an ovation from the entire group when he showed us how to salvage a particular image that we all thought to be unusable.  Ron Wodaski’s very enlightening discussion on astronomical seeing was also a treat.

Event sponsors were most generous, donating a ton a great door prizes, which, or course, I didn’t win.  Of special note was the presence of CCDware with a host of new astroimaging software (including a great program by Paul Kanevsky that inspects a telescope’s collimation in real-time) and Brad Ehrhorn of RC Optical Systems, who brought a 20” military RC that he made; portably towed and capable of slewing 60 degrees in one second.  (!)

But as always, what makes the event so great is the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the greatest people and imagers in the world.  I enjoyed sharing time with the “European Gang,” including George Sallit, Derrick Farley, and Daniel Verschatse, who taught me how to play a great dice game while drinking lots of beer.  Likewise, sharing Sunday lunch with a table full of elite imagers (see below) was an unbelievable blessing.  But the pinnacle of my extra curricular activities came on Sunday night when I shared some great Japanese food (a terrific “Benihana’s” type of place) with Tom Harrison, Frank “Sandy” Barnes, Adam Block, Bob Benamati, Sean Walker, and Rob Gendler.  The great conversations carried on back at the hotel where we formed an impromptu lounge, away from the very loud Apple Computer employees who had infested the bar area.  Sharing drinks, talkiing astronomy, and solving Adam Block’s numerical brain-teasers made for a great time as the evening wound down.

But most of all, I enjoyed the company of my friend, Bud Guinn, who drove down to the event from Oregon.  Bud’s is a talented astrophotographer and charming gentleman.  We had lunch last year in Weatherford as Bud passed through in his Texas travels.  But spending several hours shooting the astronomical “breeze,” among other things, was the highlight of my weekend.

Special thanks to the Three Rivers Foundation for the opportunity. I’m now 2 for 2 when it comes to AICs. I’ve heard rumblings that next year’s event will likely be on the East coast…hopefully, I’ll be able to make it 3 for 3.

Pictured above is the Sunday Lunch gang, taken by Sky and Telescope assistant editor Sean Walker. Shown above on the top row, left to right, is Frank “Sandy” Barnes (www.skyimager.com), Tom Harrison (www.ironmountainobservatory.com), Ken Crawford (www.rdelsol.com), Don Goldman (www.astrodon.com), and Michael Mayda (www.flickr.com/photos/mamayda/page2). On the bottom row, left to right, is Russ Croman (www.rc-astro.com), Jay Ballauer (yours truly at www.allaboutastro.com), Adam Block (www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/bestof.html), Tony Hallas (www.astrophoto.com), and Rob Gendler (www.robgendlerastropics.com).

Not pictured but still a wonderul part of the lunch crowd are Jim Misti (www.mistisoftware.com/Astronomy/index.htm), Bob Benamati (http://home.comcast.net/~bobbenamati), and Sean Walker (www.skypub.com).