125 stalwarts risked being late for the door prize drawings to appear for the 17th annual OSP Group Photo in 2005. This year's photo weather was remarkably similar to 2004's, marking two years in a row with the Group Photo held under dull, gray lighting conditions, rather than the bright, contrasty sunshine which we've had nearly every other year of 14 years in the the Ochocos.....Total attendance at OSP 2005 was 647.... In the picture famous mirror maker Steve Swayze stands in one of the rear rows to the left of center, flanked on the right by his brother Bruce. Pat Lewis holds her trademark straw hat just to the right of Bernie-- she's our famous Grand Prize double winner from 1994 and 1995. Past long-time OSP Director Chuck Dethloff and his wife Judy are in the far back row, to the right of center, and Chuck wears one of the Committee's tie-dyed OSP shirts.... Our new Director Larry Godsey is found in sunglasses and a tie-dyed Committee shirt in the middle-middle of the crowd. to the left of a big, prominent fellow in a pale yellow t-shirt.......My son Davin is found in the front row in the red Rose City Astronomers t-shirt, just to the left of Bernie Kuehn. Space Artist Hulan Fleming is to the right of Bernie. Past editor of Astronomy Magazine Richard Berry is not to be seen in the picture, although he was nearby.... Space Artist John Foster was in the showers (he confessed later!)
Digital:
If you like the group photo above, be aware that it was taken with my digital camera. I call it the "digital panorama version" of the 2005 Group Photo... It comes in a 10 x 15 inch size, which can be ordered from me either as a flat print, or mounted on a board with a protective laminate. At this size, the picture has much impact, and nearly everyone is easily recognizable. I brought this version with me as a sample when I attended the RCA meeting in September and October, and several people purchased it.... Pricing will be basically at my cost. ($15 as flat print and $26 mounted and laminated). Shipping is additional.
Film version Group Photos:
The film version Group Photo has been developed and scanned, and at this point (October 18th) the 8x10s that you ordered are finished and all mailed! This year due to the rather dull, gloomy lighting and some other factors, I ended up creating three separate versions of the 2005 Group Photo. 1.. One is the standard 8x10 that we have had for years. It was taken with the high-mounted Pentax 6x7 medium format film camera and produced the print that was mailed out.......2. In addition, there is an 8x12 size print available at the same cost as the standard 8x10. It's from a different vantage point, and is a composite of two images taken by my low-mounted 35mm camera; it shows the people in the front of the crowd really well, and also shows all the people along the east edge of the crowd very well........3. Finally, there is the third version, which was taken by my high-mounted digital camera; it is a composite of two digital images and comes in a large 10x15 size, as mentioned above..... All three versions were available at the September and October RCA meetings, and I will bring samples for sure to the RCA annual Christmas party, which is usually held during early December. .(Rose City Astronomers)..
The
take-down of the Group Photo this year was made very pleasant
by Timahyah (that's my phonetic spelling!) from India, who sang
a beautiful Indian song for Joe Rottman and I as we dissasembled
the ladders of the Group Photo shoot and put away the photographic
gear. In the photo, his hands are showing Joe the song written
in one of the Indian languages. His name badge spells his name
as "Thimmaiah," but he told me his real name is something
like 30 letters long!
Several
in the crowd this year noticed that my notorious colorful but
tattered photographer's shirt was not on my back this year! To
the left is a picture of it at the 1993 OSP, the year of the horrific
thunder and lightning storms. In fact, I am pointing at the huge
ponderosa that had been blasted by lightning just two nights before;
since then this tree has become known as "Chuck's Tree,"
or "LT" for Lightning
Tree (see link)..... In any case, 1993 was the year when my
Shirt was NEW! Since the shirt was sorely missed at this year's
Photo, I PROMISE to resurrect it, patch it some more, and wear
it for OSP 2006. Yeah! (Update 2006-- yes, I made good on my promise
for OSP 2006, and my shirt made its triumphant return to public
life high atop my photographer's ladder!)
2005's
weather, although somewhat plagued with clouds on Saturday night,
was dry and temperatures were warm to cool, with no heat waves
with hot nights like at OSP 2004. There was a great sunset Saturday
night, as you can see in the photo to the left.
Other comments about OSP 2005: There has been only one year in OSP history when the weather was so bad that no Group Photo was taken, and that was 1990 in the Steens.
Interesting tidbit: At the 1992 OSP, I led a daytime field trip to Lookout Mountain, and hadn't thought about it for years, but this year I got asked by a couple people why I wasn't doing this anymore! Click for more on this subject and 1992 pictures.
ALERT. I have recently created a substitute 8x10 Group Photo for 1990. Although no true, staged Group photo took place that year due to the atrocious rainy, cold weather, the fact remains that I was in attendance, and I did have a camera, and I did take various pictures. I hope to have my effort posted by October 21st. Like all the past 18 years' worth of the Group Photos, it can be ordered from me as an 8x10, or larger, print.
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