Chris-Sandy-StreamChris was born and raised in the shadow of Mount Mansfield in Underhill, Vermont. He grew up in the woods, maple sugaring and growing Christmas trees. After attaining a degree in economics at the University of Vermont, and living for two years in San Diego, California, Chris returned to Vermont and started Mount Mansfield Maple Products. “Working for myself really allows me to develop my passion for photography. Much of my photography is impulsive, and my favorite subject, Mother Nature, often presents herself dramatically at randomly inconsistent times. So being flexible enough to put everything on hold and grab my camera whenever I need to is a great benefit of self-employment.” While most of his photography is from within the beautifully picturesque state of Vermont, Chris also has an affinity for travel. He spent eleven weeks in the fall of 2008 on a photography trip to Southeast Asia, has spent many weeks in Northern Maine photographing landscapes and wildlife, been to the Delaware River region in New York kayakand Pennsylvania for Bald Eagles, to Ottawa for Great Gray Owls and additional destinations whenever an opportunity presents itself. Whether locally or afar, you will almost never find Chris without his camera nearby. Chris shoots with Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon 100-400mm II and 24-70mm f2.8 II on a Gitzo Tripod as well as from his kayak. 

In addition to a passion for wildlife and landscape photography, Chris has taken an interest in the night sky.  He has always been drawn to the night sky and has spent countless hours peering into the depths, awestruck by the vastness and beauty.  Even though the night sky has been extensively explored by astronomers past and present, this photographic canvas is an exercise in discovery for him, both personally and visually.  “The universe is full of secrets that can be appreciated through long exposure photography.  Similar to the changing terrestrial seasons we enjoy here on Earth, the view of space changes with seasons as well.  Capturing these objects with digital imagery presents a significant challenge in itself, and processing these images to unlock the data within to create a visually appealing image is even more challenging.  Overcoming these challenges, from image capture through processing the data, provides me with immense personal rewards.  I can honestly say that every single time I engage with astrophotography, I learn something new, and am afforded a glimpse at our primordial beginnings.”  For astrophotography, Chris uses a QSI 6120 and QSI 683 cooled monochrome cameras with LRGB and Narrowband filters as well as a Cooled ZWO 533 one-shot-color camera.  For scopes he uses a Celestron EDGE 9.25 reduced to 1,645mm focal length and an Astrotech AT92 reduced to 330mm focal length.  To track the sky as the earth rotates he uses an Astrophysics Mach 1 and iOptron CEM 60 Equatorial Tracking Mounts.  For image processing Chris uses Pixinsight.

The Orion Nebula Complex
The Orion Nebula Complex
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