Stellarvue will hold an Astro-Photography Workshop in Auburn California July 31 - August 2, 2008 for Stellarvue Telescope owners. Instructor Tony Hallas, one of the true legends among astro-photographers, will instruct the course, sharing his secrets and providing one-on-one instruction. This course will save you years of work! It will be held at the Holiday Inn in Auburn and we have a special room rate of $119 per night plus tax for participants who sign up early. To register for a room call (530) 887-8787. Tell them you are with the STELLARVUE GROUP to get the correct rate. The rate expires in July so book your room ASAP but only after you are registered and confirmed in the class. 

Don't delay. Sign up now for this rare opportunity to learn how the experts do it.

AN OUTSTANDING AND COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING PROGRAM

This course is designed for beginners and more experienced Astro-Photographers as well. Participants can take the course 3 ways:

1. Simply attend the course to learn from the master
2. Attend the course bringing along a laptop with raw, unprocessed data for processing in class
3. Attending the course and bringing laptop, telescope and camera to take images at our dark sky site by night and processing by day. Tony will provide hands on instruction both day and night, in the classroom and in the field.

Tony will present the course making sure that all participants:

• Learn how to get good  data.
• Preserve all data in the reduction phase.
• Learn how to process 16 bit Tiff data using Photo Shop into a work of art.

Along the way Tony will touch on rules of  composition, visual psychology, ways of preserving all the detail in your image,  ways to bring out the hidden detail. The lectures will give all attendees insights into the role that curves play in processing ... and why they are the  essential tool. We will look at various noise reduction techniques and filters, and star reduction techniques, plus many other techniques that will come up as  we progress through image processing. We will also look at the advantage of repeated steps when stretching the data ... one of the great "secrets" to  preserving all detail.

It is a prerequisite that students have a basic  knowledge of Photo Shop. If you don't, Tony advises getting "Classroom in a Book" published by Adobe Press (same Adobe that publishes Photo Shop). This course assumes that you know nothing, and in nicely structured lessons teaches the major functions of Photo Shop. We will be using Photo Shop version CS2 or higher in the course so Tony recommends getting it if you don't already have it. The main improvement is added capability to process in 16 bit mode.

The best thing about this course is that the student will understand what they are doing by the time they leave  ... not just click a button and hope for the best! If you are trapped in any kind of "automatic" processing, you will never achieve the best images ... software should be a tool, not a decision maker. 

LOCATION

The course will be held in Auburn, California at the Holiday Inn (the best hotel in town) which has a pool and Marie Calendar's Restaurant next door. It is located directly off Interstate 80 in Auburn. Auburn is located between Sacramento and Reno in Northern California. Auburn is located one hour from Sacramento Airport and 2 1/2 hours from San Francisico or Oakland Airports.

HOW TO REGISTER

Click on the appropriate Pay Now button above and sign up for the course. Do not register for the hotel or book any flights until you are confirmed. We will contact you within 48 hours of signing up to send you the sign up forms, map and information. Once the signed form is returned to us by fax, e-mail or mail, you will be confirmed. Confirmations are issued on a first come, first served basis. Right now there is room but do not delay!

Once you are confirmed, call the hotel immediately and make sure you let them know you are attending the Stellarvue Workshop to get the special rate. There is an air show this weekend in Auburn so the rooms will book fast. We DO NOT recommend staying in alternative hotels in the area.

We highly recommend you get trip insurance with your flight. We have never canceled a training program or Stellartrip, but something unforeseen could happen. So please get flight insurance as we are not responsible in the unlikely event that the course must be canceled.

ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED. For direct hands on training, we are limiting class size. CALL (530) 823-7796 Monday - Friday 9-5 Pacific Time to attend this course. We will send a complete information package with maps, a list of what to bring, signup sheet, list of activities (for significant others) and waiver form, once you call to register.   

All specifications and prices are subject to change without  notice. We often modify designs to improve them. All copy and photographs copyright 2008 and may not be used without permission.

Stellarvue trademarks and service marks, and logos and product and service names are trademarks of Stellarvue (the "Stellarvue Marks"). Without Stellarvue's prior permission, these marks may not be displayed or used in any manner. Some products are patent pending. Stellarvue will take necessary action against any dealer in the USA carrying imitations of our proprietary products. Dealers are warned to check with us first before purchasing similar products as they may be illicit copies of products we specifically designed. Such products may only be sold by authorized Stellarvue dealers. We encourage all dealers interested in carrying our specific products to become a Stellarvue dealer. Contact vic@stellarvue.com or call (530) 823-7796 for more information.