About Lonely Speck

On Photographing the Milky Way on Vimeo

Hello and welcome to Lonely Speck!

We are Ian Norman and Diana Southern, a married couple with a passion for photography and travel.

Ian Norman and Diana Southern

Lonely Speck is the home of our night photography and astrophotography adventures. It’s a project to help us learn as much as we can about photographing the Milky Way and sharing those experiences with others so that they can learn how to do it, too.

Here you will find our best efforts to impart our own knowledge of dark sky photography to you. We pride ourselves on the hundreds of images all of you have created and shared with us using the tutorials and articles on Lonely Speck. We hope that you will find as much satisfaction using the tools here as we have had creating them.

We hope that you will join our small community and share your experiences with us. Subscribe to our email list, share your images on our Flickr group, follow us on Facebook, and read about our travel adventures on our travel blog.

Check out our meet-ups and workshops page for more opportunities to connect with us!

Wishing you clear dark skies and happy photographing.

–Ian & Diana

57 Replies to “About Lonely Speck”

  1. Hi. I was about to order the SharpStar2 after seeing in your FAQ section that I could order to 75 mm for the Lee Seven 5 system which I currently have. However when trying to order there was no option for 75 mm. Please clarify. Thanks.
    Barry
    PS I enjoyed your latest video on the solar eclipse Chicago sunrise.

    1. Hi Barry, unfortunately we’ve discontinued the production of the 75mm size.

    2. Hi Barry, we’ve had a bit more interest in the 75mm size and will be placing a special order if you’re still interested. I’ll send you an email with the details.

  2. Diana &Ian,
    I would like to know how thick the Sharp Star 2 filter is. I ask because my 150 mm filter holder is made by Wine Country Camera and each filter has to first go into one of their filter frames prior to being placed in the filter holder.

    1. The SharpStar2 is 1.5mm thick and will fit in the Wine Country Camera frames. Diana uses their 100mm system.

  3. Hello Ian & Diana,

    I am eagerly looking forward to joining a meetup when you are able to restart them. Just a noobie Astrophotographer (one class taken at the Trona Pinnacles), but I learned a lot. I have a question regarding lenses: one of your favorite lenses for a Canon APS-C (80D) is the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8. I’m thinking that it would also be an excellent general scenic landscape lens as well; I’d like your opinion.

    Thank you.

  4. Just found your site and looking to gain new knowledge in the area of astrophotography. I currently have my classic Minolta X700 35mm camera and was wondering if a 35mm camera can photograph the skies as well as a digital. Also, in your intro video, I noticed you use a tripod. What tripod do you recommend and do you use a remote to snap the photo?
    Thanks for sharing your site and looking forward to some useful info on your site.

  5. I recently attended your tutorial on Meteor Shower. I also used the PhotoPills app to make a plan. When I went to shoot at the location per plan there were no showers. Can you help me figure out what went wrong?

    1. Hi Madhav, meteor showers are a natural phenomenon that can vary greatly at different shooting times.

  6. Ian looking at the sharp star filter which would work nicely on most of my lens. Any thoughts on how to use it with the rokinon 14 mm 2.8 this lens has a bulb lens and a attached lens hood. The website tutorial Look great

    1. Our 150mm SharpStar2 was designed to work with a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens when paired with a 150mm filter holder.

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