Astronomy is the scientific study of universe; especially of the motions, positions, sizes, composition, and behavior of celestial objects. These objects are studied and interpreted from the radiation they emit and from data gathered by interplanetary probes.

Astrophotography: the process or technique of photographing celestial objects and events for astronomical studies.

Jim is a locally well known and respected amateur astronomer who enjoys sharing his love and knowledge of the night sky and photography with friends, local groups and students. He takes great pride in his work and selects only the best of the best photos to display. Every print is an authentic, unique and limited edition which is signed and numbered.

Jim has been in awe of the wonders of the universe since the young age of 7 when he earned his first telescope. His passion for the night sky has led him on a lifetime journey of the study of Astronomy and Astrophysics. He has owned both refractor and reflector telescopes. Each has increasingly grown in size and magnitude enabling him to see and photograph the deep sky millions of light years away. He moved to Milford, Michigan in 1997 and built an observatory near his home. He spent two years painstakingly designing, selecting and assembling the Ritchey-Chretien 61 cm F7.5 telescope which he is currently using to take these photographs. The 24" mirror required for this reflector telescope was hand ground and polished for two years in Germany before it was ready to ship. It is believed to be the largest privately owned telescope in Michigan. Once the observatory and telescope were completed, Jim was inspired by the beauty he was able to see and wanted to capture and share these wonders that are on display now.

The challenges of astrophotography and the countless hours at the telescope have proven well worthwhile with the beautiful images he has captured. He uses both film (35mm and 4x5 format) and a CCD camera. With the aid of computers, Jim plots and tracks the stars and planets to keep the telescope focused on the image he is photographing. Some of the images can take up to 5 hours of exposure time. It can often take months to capture one "clean" image due to weather conditions, asteroids, airplanes and fireflies interfering with the exposure! Sometimes it can take 10 to 15 shots to obtain a picture that meets his standards of excellence. The best photos are taken in the winter months on very, very cold nights in the early pre-dawn hours. Since the roof rolls off the observatory to accommodate the telescope, there is no heat for him. Spending countless hours in the bone-chilling temperatures is when Jim gets his best photos.

Please feel free to contact us. We would love to hear from you. Thank you for your overwhelming response and patronage. We love sharing these wonders with you.