Toronto Photography Meetup Group

** UPDATED **

So, I've updated this thread. Given that it's not clear how many people would be coming out, I've opted for the Beaches. (That way, if it's just me, I can get there and back on public transit.)

Meeting time: 10:00 p.m.
Tim Horton's, Queen Street just east of Lee Ave.

From Tim's we can walk down to the beach.

Bring: Camera, tripod, beach blanket or towel for laying down and looking up.

See you there!




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The best viewing nights for the Perseid meteor shower, Aug 11 and 12, fall on Wed/Thurs this summer.

(The good news is that the new moon falls on Aug 9, so it will just be a thin crescent on the 11th/12th, not hampering the view.)

If the weather is good that day, I would be interested in either locations. Torrence is a gorgeous spot.

+1

I'm on for Torrence Barrens.

+1

thank the heavens it's it's in warmer weather. i thought i was gonna freeze to death at the observatory last fall (winter?)

even though it was quite isolated out there, it was still hard seeing the stars so +1 for the Barrens

Wow, that's (already) a lot of votes for the Barrens!

Guess we'll see how this develps as the date draws closer....

Would it still be active on the weekend?

I would not be able to go to torrence on a worknight but would love to go again

If I could get a ride it would be worth booking time off work if it is to Torrance Barrens,

where is the barrens? and how much does it cost to camp out there?

--Take HWY 400 North to HWY 11
--Take HWY 11 North, past Orillia, past Washago, at Severn Bridge take
Rd 13 ( also called Southwood Rd) West directly to Torrence Barrens on the right. This is a very pretty woodsy road.

There are other roads further off HWY 11, and other entrances. This is the only one I've been to.

Is my house too far south?

What kind of lenses are best for this kind of photography? I've done lots of star gazing, but I've never attempted to photograph meteors. Any suggestions (other than the obvious tripod...)

Thanks.

North

Free. It's not a campground, just a conservation park in the middle of nowhere. Hard core camping. As long as not too many people are there already, you can camp there. google more about it.

It sort of falls off like a bell-curve, so there would be some outliers the weekend before, and the weekend after. (The weekend after, though, would suck somewhat due to the moon.)

I would suggest using the widest wide-angle lens that you have, and just leave the shutter open for as long as posible, perhaps including some foreground for context. (That's what I do with film, anyway. The digi folks can give you some advice for digital, perhaps. Basically you may have "noise" issues. You can also try "stacking" short exposures -- I have never done that.)

I don't remember exactly where you live; but basically the further you get from the megalopolis, the better.

Highway 9. You can see highway 400 about 1km away.

Anyone know an easily accessible location that isn't too far from Toronto, but is still dark enough to see lots of stars? I know some people go to the David Dunlop observatory, but that's still pretty close to the city and I hear viewing conditions are only so so from there.

Realistically, there isn't. I might have an idea or two up my sleeve.

Well, a "lazy man's option" is always Ashbridge's Bay. It is, believe it or not, a smidgeon better than downtown -- actually at least 40% better, or so. Of course, it's not "dark" -- you can't see the Milky Way -- but it's streetcar / bus accessible, and could be combined with some evening / sunset shooting or something.

What we need is another Toronto blackout.

so when are you going dan? with the official event on the 7th or mid week? I'd like to go midweek to catch the shower in it's prime

I didn't know going to Ashbridge's Bay would be a whole 40% better. But I am willing to go further than that though. There's a house that I can go to up near the McCowan and Majer Mac area, it's further north so would you say it's enough of a difference that would make it a good choice over Ashbridge's Bay?

I've also heard of people going to the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. Has anyone been there before? How's the viewing condition and is there parking available at night?

We used to go here for a few star gazing trips - it was cool

http://www.ontariotrailsmap.com/ontario ... ion%20Area

It's tricky: It's basically a compromise between distance+good viewing vs. convenience+not-so-good viewing. For many people it's a "school night" and for that reason maybe we don't want to go too far; on the other hand, the viewing is pretty crappy from anywhere near downtown, and gets only gradually less crappy per km as you go away from the core.

How long does it take to drive to the Forks? Would that be about an hour from Yorkdale Mall? (I'm totally guessing here.) I'm also not familiar with the location that Scott mentioned -- but it sounds like Scarborough(?) So that'd be a bit closer, for sure. And the Beaches would be closer still.

Oh yes, Long Sault (mentioned above) is pretty good too. (Was that about 90 minutes drive out of the city? Maybe a bit less?)

(I might go on the weekend trip to Torrance Barrens too; I'm really thinking of this as a totally separate thing for Thursday Aug. 12.)

In general I think I'd lean toward someplace an hour's drive or less from a subway station...

According to GoogleMaps, Fork of the Credit is 53 minutes from Yorkdale (likely longer though due to traffic), or 49 minutes from Kipling.

"How To Find The North Star And Why You

I guess it's in Markham so it's north of Scarborough. I did find out that it's latitude is almost as north as the Forks of the Credit park. So I'm thinking about going there instead.

Albion Hills or Kortright Centre. Google it to find out where they are. I've been to both star watching before. Albion Hills was pretty good and dark. I've watched the comet from there in 1996.