Steve Paxton's photos

This is the outdoors kitchen the kids can play in sand, leaves, sticks. All the times I have even been in the kindy area this gets a hammering, boys and girls.. Last week I was asked could I please fix up the doors none closed properly all the old latches well rusted away. It was a case of remove the door that looks like an oven cut of a 5mm slice off one side as the door had very badly swollen in all the rain and water. I had nightmares all week as I knew it was going to be very wet on the day I planned to fix this. This morning you would have fitted in well if you were a duck when we first got to school and I was doing inside jobs. Side note to this we are only 15 days into the month BUT so far well ahead on any months average on record. The time I pick up leaves I could see it fine so I got everything I had got ready the previous day to do the job. I brought the bits I need down in our wheelbarrow plus a ground sheet as I had to lay on my back to remove the old rusted hardware. I had my head fully inside each of the three doors to first remove the old and put in the new. I was only two doors down when all the kids where set out to play me head inside a door guess who was the center attraction. The boys even went to get there "tools" and brought them out in the red wheelbarrow. The boys(with tools in hand) told the Girls who wanted to "use" the kitchen, they said you cant "Steve is fixing it". 45 min later it was all back together even the other shelves that where left out the water has twisted lots but it still works and kids fully enjoy it. So what is better than to be protected by those that where mimicking you. Then it was back to the real world leaves, dead birds, block drains............. small things that brighten your life.

The Crystal like structure www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/albany-entertainment-centre

worth a read

The bird is Know as a 28 by in large from the sound they make. by all account from read the below link this is a female no red mark on the head and the colours not quite so bright or vivid. may even be the same one I took a photo of last year as well. two males beautyofbirds.com/twenty-eight-parrots The parrots have taken a liking to the three Guava trees we have in the yard BUT the dont eat the ripe fruit the eat more when they are green. They sit up there silently eating away only way you know bits of fruit fall out of the tree. This is the first one who was more interested in eating than worrying about me and the camera. The softer yellow two at the bottom of the photo are ripe for picking are untouched.

As I have been locked out by clouds and rain AND I have things to fix on the telescope I am not sure its worth doing the last shot. A panorama of 4 shot. My heater on the secondary mirror is Dead no heat so lots of dew I find out its not a full circuit so heater never worked . As I got the heater from Europe it so much hard work trying to get a fast reply and new heater. What I found out today there is a broken wire in the right half so it was never going to work. I have to remove the mirror and glue it down to take away the clips that hold the mirror in place to get cleaner stars so i think it best to end this image it would be best to start all over again.... QHY 183C -10c 104 shots 5 min each over three night. MeLE Mini PC Pegasus Astro Pocket Mini power box Prima Luce Essato Focus Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher 200 F4 PREMIUM PHOTO QUATTRO REFLECTOR OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned SVbony 50MM Guide scope QHY5L-II-M Guide camera Guided PHD2, Nina Pixinsight, Ps .

Thank you Isabel for opening . I have worked two days on my knees fixing a job that was done by a tradesman. one of the students in a wheelchair the wheel fell through the concrete work causing him to fall out of his chair. It turned out to be only a skin of 10mm over sand that water washed away, I spent the last two days fixing this and making it safe for the student to move around school thursday I went to bed 7:30pm

This is night two (and that's it for well over a week) this came about by recollimating the mirrors on the mount. In short you have to line up the mirrors by following steps and "eyes" to see just where things are each adjustment is not on one screw but three bottom or main mirror and the secondary or top mirror. It better than the first shot but still could be better. I have to remove the clips that hold the mirror and put silicone under the mirror to hold it in place gives cleaner stars. This also was stacked with the right flats the first had none. That was a nightmare in itself I got up early to get this done every time I turned around power points all lost power. after the 4 th time and a lot of head scratching I remove everything on power points in the house and built it back. Came to fish tank lights and it all went dead. the egg can be seen at the very bottom of the PIp.This shot hangs in our bed room on metal as we dont have any other place to hang it as its BIG, yes I sleep under dragons . QHY 183C -10c 104 shots 5 min each over one night. MeLE Mini PC Pegasus Astro Pocket Mini power box Prima Luce Essato Focus Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher 200 F4 PREMIUM PHOTO QUATTRO REFLECTOR OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned SVbony 50MM Guide scope QHY5L-II-M Guide camera Guided PHD2, Nina Pixinsight, Ps .

Skywatcher 200 F4 PREMIUM PHOTO QUATTRO REFLECTOR OTA and new set up. this is after shooting last nights image. those astute enough to notice at the back I have my black beany this has a two fold purpose keep the warmth in on the main mirror and its main job to cover the light leaks that come through the back bottom plate on the telescope.

This is First photo with the new scope as it is two mirrors that have to line up I did not do it as this was first look trying to get focus position and exposure. the ED80 only had one 5kg weight to get balance this scope requited 2x 5kg and 2x 1.25 kg weight to get balance. the guide scope was set to on side of the scope but I could balance out the side with no guide scope only to find the other side was MILES out of balance. So plan B was to mount the guide scope on the top of the telescope so it all in line and balanced. I have to recollimate( aligne mirrors) as putting the scope on the mount would chance the mirrors positions which has yet to be done. the 4 spikes you see on the main stars comes from the 4 spider webs that hold the secondary mirror in the right place. you have to adjust the main primary mirror and then the secondary so every thing is in line. Yes you have seen these stars formation before. last night was the culmination of a very busy two weeks took about 1 hour to get focus and I had to remove 2 rings in the train. the photo above has no flats only darks as it was not really suppose to happen but as it went so well I just let it work all night long. QHY 183C -10c 224 shots 2 min each over one nights. MeLE Mini PC Pegasus Astro Pocket Mini power box Prima Luce Essato Focus Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher 200 F4 PREMIUM PHOTO QUATTRO REFLECTOR OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned SVbony 50MM Guide scope QHY5L-II-M Guide camera Guided PHD2, Nina Pixinsight, Ps .

I have a second hand mount so I inherited a whole set of problems, Crushed legs from over tightening heavy loads. You can't mistake the flat spots that are between the lines. I could not move the legs to adjust unless I used a 1 Kg hammer and as I wanted to lower the legs to the very bottom I had a major problem as it is much stronger to carry a heavy weight. this is front leg totally not adjustable but for 1kg hammer and the two back legs some adjustment to level. In the end I hit on the idea as its only for getting level I would cut the bad parts off. so what you see here are the new leg lengths and the position of the slider and lower foot. the line on the right is where I cut the legs to length as the above part of the leg is in shape and useable. I did all this when I got up and after I saw my wife go to work at 4:50 am in the morning. By 8am it was all done and fully assembled. I was searching for a way to make the legs stronger as the stainless steel wall was only 1mm not really up to the job of carrying too much weight. I first looked for some plastic tubing I could put inside the legs when they were finally cut to length as I found nothing I had to then rethink next best. In the end I was able to find a wooden Dowell 35mm the fitted the space perfectly so I cut them to length hammered the in and the tired to reround the bottoms there the foot went. Both end of the tubes where sealed over with silicone so the wood would not get wet and set the wood into the tube with some glue as well. I now have three legs that are round, adjustable, not going to crush and fully useable on the mount. the shorter leg is in the front the two longer legs are at the sides to get adjustment.

The luxury of a rainy day the beach free of people.

Yes you know this place and have see it before many night time photos have come from here.

This is the very last photo from the ED80 that has taught me so much but will be retired most likely sold off or given away. I am starting the harrowing learning of using a reflector telescope. the good part the focuser and camera train are the very same as was on the ED80. I had a list of things to buy just to get the scope operational it has been a slow progress to not in stock or slow deliveries, my last part lands wednesday next week The biggest part is learn how two line up the two mirrors so you get a photos. What I am changing to is a 200 F4 PREMIUM PHOTO QUATTRO REFLECTOR OTA its not a lens as such but all mirrors. I will be changing from a 420mm to an 800mm. This will be a while off as I get use to lining up but for the next it will be a shot from my fathers prime Nikon 85mm F1.8 D lens of Antares and the Blue horse. the ever changing view we get of space and the things we challenge ourselves This Is a shot that took three night to get and it was hard fought with clouds. now we are in a good week plus of rain a clouds just to remind you we have our feet firmly place on this earth.. QHY 183C -10c 150 shots 10 min each over three nights. MeLE Mini PC Pegasus Astro Pocket Mini power box Prima Luce Essato Focus Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned SVbony 50MM Guide scope QHY5L-II-M Guide camera Guided PHD2, Nina Pixinsight, Ps .

As you walk down the road to the back of the orchard this is your view.

A shot that came from a night I could only take one lens out as it was my only waterproof lens. I chose to hide under the bridge as a huge rain shower went by look at the bridge drains to see the amount of water that was falling above. From same night

As we are almost in the Doldrums of targets as the huge Body of the Emu has to rise to be able to see any other targets' it was a case of retry this and get a pleasing image. The key is when taking these not to blow out the core of the cluster so easy to do but this was spot on exposure . This is not cropped this is the full shot both the others got a small crop. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Centauri A third look at this Huge Star Cluster one of the biggest in the skies. This is the result of one night and 229 shot 2 min long. The real result is from a better understanding of Editing and a lot more time taking these shots. 2019 2021 QHY 183C -10c 229 shots 2 min each over one night. MeLE Mini PC Pegasus Astro Pocket Mini power box Prima Luce Essato Focus Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned SVbony 50MM Guide scope QHY5L-II-M Guide camera Guided PHD2, Nina Pixinsight, Ps .

This is a small cluster on the inside of the milky way( this time of year) that has always caught my eye as a possible target. unlike the next its very small but still has a bright core as an experiment I took this as 5 min exposures. on reflection I think I should have used the same as the very bright Omega Centauri 2 min. Part of the learning curve of space. QHY 183C -10c 122 shots 5 min each over one nights. MeLE Mini PC Pegasus Astro Pocket Mini power box Prima Luce Essato Focus Optolong LeNhance filter, Skywatcher Black DiamondED80 OTA Skywatcher NEQ 6 Pro Hypertuned SVbony 50MM Guide scope QHY5L-II-M Guide camera Guided PHD2, Nina Pixinsight, Ps .