Biography
My name is James Paulson
I have been enjoying the hobby of amateur astronomy since age 6 and I have been doing astronomy for over 55 years now.
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Professionally, I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Education (1991), majoring in math and physical sciences, and I have taught high school sciences and computer science, including astronomy prior to transitioning to my present career in Information Technology. I loved teaching astronomy and still do when I can.
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I started out doing visual astronomy as a child, spending nights out under the stars learning the constellations., moon and planets. I did lots of visual astronomy first with the naked eye, then later with binoculars and small telescopes, but soon my love for astrophotography began. In the summer of 1977 at the age of 14 I received my first real telescope, a home made 6 inch f/8 Newtonian from my uncle. Later that summer, I got my first 35 mm film camera, and from then on, my desire to do astrophotography just grew.
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I learned black and white darkroom techniques in middle school, as well as color film techniques like C41 and E6 later on when I worked in a professional photo lab. I got to enjoy astrophotography in the classical sense with film, picking up tips and tricks from Sky and Telescope magazine, as well as my astrophotography friend, John Leader. I was super active in the hobby in 1985 and 1986 with the Halley's comet apparition , and I think that is what really cemented my involvement in this hobby and my desire to teach science, I bought a Cave Astrola 10 inch f/5 and built a roll off roof observatory for it in the summer of 1986.
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I have been involved with a few astronomy clubs over the years (MHAC, Lethbridge Astronomy Society), and even started one (Big South Fork Stargazers), but my home club and the one I am most involved with, even today, is the Medicine Hat Astronomy Club (MHAC), where I first joined in 1984.
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Today I enjoy astro imaging using my new Celestron Origin. I also do my prime focus imaging with a ZWO ASI533MC Pro, although I also own planetary cameras and Canon DSLR's to go along with it all. I have collected a bit of equipment over the years. I added the ASI533MC Pro and an ASIAir Pro back in 2021, and the two together are a revolution in my abilities to gather starlight. I am taking images today that far exceed even the best from those early days in 1977. I recently purchased a Seestar S50 as well to work on a project to catalog the Messier list and other deep sky wonders. I also added an AM3 mount and recently sold the EQ6 and my C8 Hyperstar setup.
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I am also an active amateur radio operator with the callsign VE6CKY. I operate a local repeater and also serve up the west coast node for DoDropIn radio network. The repeater runs on UHF but I also am active on VHF and HF. I have yet to combine both hobbies but I will say that the allure of bouncing signals off the moon is always there.
​Clear skies to you all.
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FIRST BLOG (Now archived)
