Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/06/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I recently saw a man on the street with a rather large telescope. It's not the type of thing you usually see in the center of downtown in the middle of the day. Some of the more curious pedestrians stopped and asked questions as they walked by. Being a curious type, I did too. As it turned out the telescope was pointed at the sun. It was equipped with a very special filter that eliminated all but a very narrow and safe band of light. I think the gentleman referred to it as an "alpha-hydrogen" filter. (I didn't ask if it was B+W and multicoated). He explained to me that the filter was far more valuable than the telescope. Obviously a little more than your standard UV skylight. The telescope's owner was giving people a rare glimpse of the sun. Afterwards he asked for people's impressions. Part of an research project. When it was my turn to look I was absolutely amazed. I could see solar flares very clearly. It was really something special. "So that's what natural light looks like at the source." He even had a battery to turn the telescope's tracking mechanism. I stared at the sun through the filtered telescope for at least 10 minutes, just in awe. I had my Leica R7 and 50/2. I shot a few frames with a promise I'd scan them and send them to him. This guy taught me more about astronomy in a few short minutes than I learned in years of public education. He was passionate and animated as he shared his knowledge. Fortunatley I had my R7. All the shots in this little essay were taken with a 50/2. Don't know if anyone's interested in taking a peek (not at the sun, unfortunately, but at a different type of street photography). This is one of my favorite aspects of photography. Capturing daily life. http://www.lightcurves.com/images/sunwatch.jpg http://www.lightcurves.com/images/sunwatch1.jpg http://www.lightcurves.com/images/sunwatch2.jpg http://www.lightcurves.com/images/sunwatch4.jpg http://www.lightcurves.com/images/sunwatch5.jpg Dave