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revans
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 1517
Loc: Fitchburg, MA
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Hi all,
I was looking through some old photos and I found the first moon photograph that I took (at least that wasn't overexposed). It is from March 25, 1972 and was taken using a Yashica rangefinder camera with Tri X Pan film, and a 60 mm Sears refractor at FL=900 mm. The camera back was opened, the moon was focused using a piece of opaque ground glass, and then the glass was removed and the film inserted ! Those were the old days... nothing like that now... The telescope is shown and also my projection screen setup that I prepared a few minutes before the solar eclipse of June 10, 1972 (photo taken at about 3pm EST). It is nice to keep journals  In those days I did all of my film developing and printing myself.
Anyway... a little nostalgia for those of us with some grey hair...
Rick
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Rick Evans
http://www.freewebs.com/revans_01420/
"The universe is there for us to see, but it cannot be understood without learning its language -- mathematics." Galileo Galilei
Edited by revans (07/02/09 03:07 PM)
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cpsTN
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/26/07
Posts: 1205
Loc: Tennessee (37129) 36N 86W
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That is really a find. What I can't believe is that '72 is 37 years ago!
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Charles P. Sands
Observing since 12/29/86
8" f/5.9 dobsonian (Zhumell DSH-8), with 8x50 RACI
70mm f/5 achromatic refractor (Orion GoScope)
GSO plossls (12 15 20 40), Orion barlows (2x 3x)
10x50 Bushnell Falcon binos
15x70 Celestron StarMaster binos
S&T's POCKET SKY ATLAS
Kodak EasyShare Z915 digital camera
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The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth His handywork
Psalm 19:1
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Carl Kolchak
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/02/06
Posts: 549
Loc: Northeast, Florida
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Very cool. Nice shot. I was 12. Ahh the good old days!
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Richard H.
Antares 105mm f/9.5 Elite Series Refractor
AstroTelescopes 102mm f/7 Refractor
Orion ShortTube 90mm f/5.6 Refractor
Meade Model 300 80mm f/15 Refractor
Tasco Cosmic 6TE-5 50mm f/12 Refractor
Orion SkyView Pro 8" Intelliscope
Orion Scenix 10x50 Binoculars
Zhumell SuperGiant 20x80 binoculars
NightSky Journal
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revans
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 1517
Loc: Fitchburg, MA
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Yes, it is really amazing to see what a few years, some grey hair, and advances in technology can do. The image isn't too bad for a 1972 high school student with a 60 mm refractor... but my images today with a little experience, a 10 inch SCT, and a Lumenera CCD camera are a little better But I still feel a little nostalgic about the early days... even if the result wasn't much better than the first lunar photo taken by Draper in 1840 (but with a 5 inch refractor ! ).
Rick
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Rick Evans
http://www.freewebs.com/revans_01420/
"The universe is there for us to see, but it cannot be understood without learning its language -- mathematics." Galileo Galilei
Edited by revans (07/03/09 07:02 AM)
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Mare Nectaris
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/09/08
Posts: 1433
Loc: Toijala, Finland
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Rick,
now U opened up a magnificient subject!
Your photo is great!
I also have pretty good documentation ever since I started to observe with binoculars, on the 4th of August 1974 at the age of 11. The first target was the Moon, of course 
On the 19th of May 1978 - some four years later, at the age of 15 - I experimented with my father's Exakta Varex VX -camera. Attached is the pic  with details.
My father is now 97, but back then the scope I used was his DIY-project.
Be well!
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Share - and you shall have it all
Timo Keski-Petäjä
CtheMoon
Observation shelter KuuMaja (MoonHut)
TAL 250K*Celestron C8-N*SkyWatcher Skymax 150 Pro*TAL1(Mizar)*EQ6 Pro SynScan*Celestron Advanced GT (CG-5 GOTO)*Baader Hyperion Clickstop Zoom 8-24*17 mm UWA-70*TeleVue BIG 2x Barlow*Celestron 2x Barlow Ultima SV Series
Edited by Mare Nectaris (07/03/09 08:30 AM)
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Dr Morbius
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/06/07
Posts: 1721
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Yes, the good old days!
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Meade ETX-125
NightFire 6" f/8 Refractor with Moonlite focuser
Meade 14" LX200 S/C
D&G 10" f/15 Refractor with Parallax Mount
Little Giant 11x70mm Binos
I'm afraid of dying, but I've learned to live with it. ......Steve Perry
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Dr Morbius
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/06/07
Posts: 1721
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Or were they, considering Goto and digital cameras today? 
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Meade ETX-125
NightFire 6" f/8 Refractor with Moonlite focuser
Meade 14" LX200 S/C
D&G 10" f/15 Refractor with Parallax Mount
Little Giant 11x70mm Binos
I'm afraid of dying, but I've learned to live with it. ......Steve Perry
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kraterkid
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/07/05
Posts: 4578
Loc: Jacumba, California
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Hi Rick,
Wonderful setup and a very nice shot of the Moon given the technology of the time. Waxing nostalgic myself, I used to use a Polaroid Instrument Camera (these were made for microscopy but I forgot the model number) which had a long plastic body and a nosepiece that slid into the 1.25" focuser of my homemade 6" f/11.3 Newtonian scope. Since there was no way to determine focus directly, I remember having to take several shots to bracket the sharpest. With the cost of Polaroid film at the time being close to $15.00 a cartridge, I used to hate having to do it this way. Still, for a kid in high school, it was a very satisfying pass time! Thanks for bringing that all back to me! 
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Rich
My CN Gallery
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revans
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 1517
Loc: Fitchburg, MA
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Rich,
Do you still have any of those polaroid photos? It would be very interesting to see one posted. Sounds like you had a really advanced telescope especially for those days. A 6 inch scope was way beyond my ability to make or buy. I was very envious of a highschool friend who got a 4.5 inch Newtonian as a present from his parents. We were constantly comparing views from my 60 mm achromatic refractor with his 4.5 inch Newtonian. I always found objects faster, but they always looked better in his scope. But... I remember that another friend's Dad (an engineer) found a WWII vintage German aerial gun camera lens in a flea market. It had a six inch aperture and was an achromat. They built a telescope around it and I have never seen more detail on the moon in any other telescope before or since.... it was absolutely amazing. I'm just guessing now, but judging from what I remember of the tube length, it was probably about F7 or so. It did have some false color fringing around bright objects, but that didn't bother me at all. Imagine the effect of lunar detail visible with a scope like that in the 1970s on someone who had spent hours and hours peering through a 60 mm refractor A little nostalgia is good... gives us some perspective.
Rick
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Rick Evans
http://www.freewebs.com/revans_01420/
"The universe is there for us to see, but it cannot be understood without learning its language -- mathematics." Galileo Galilei
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kraterkid
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/07/05
Posts: 4578
Loc: Jacumba, California
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Alas, those old Polaroids were lost in the fire that destroyed my home in late October of '07, Rick.
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Rich
My CN Gallery
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revans
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 1517
Loc: Fitchburg, MA
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Rich,
I'm sorry to hear that the Polaroid images were lost in the fire. I've been lucky to still have most of my early photos. Since I developed and printed them myself, the earliest ones are starting to suffer from my lack of skill. I should reprint more of them but I haven't used my little photo lab setup in a few years now... everything seems to have become digital.
Rick
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Rick Evans
http://www.freewebs.com/revans_01420/
"The universe is there for us to see, but it cannot be understood without learning its language -- mathematics." Galileo Galilei
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