Have you ever gazed up into the night sky, particularly in the areas of Lennox & Addington County far enough away from a settlement that the sky is pitch black, except for the dazzling light show provided by stars, planets, galaxies, comets, and the occasional falling meteor? At those moments, caught up in the breathtaking spectacle of the vastness of space and the night sky, have you also wished that there was a way to capture what you see through the lens of a camera, in order to have some sort of memento of the occasion?

Lennox & Addington County, in partnership with the Napanee Photo Club, and top Canadian astronomer Terence Dickinson, is holding a photo contest called Shoot the Stars, to see who can best capture the beauty and majesty of the night sky.

Before shutterbugs race their cars to Kaladar and point their digital cameras skyward, Dickinson will host a workshop on how to best use your camera gear to get the best picture possible.

It will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 15. People need to pre-register by calling Rob Plumley at 613-354-4883 ext. 271, or by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More information, including the time and location of the workshop will also be available using the same contact information.

Contest participants have until Friday, Oct. 15 to submit their photos to www.bestdayever.ca. Cash prizes of $250, $125 and $75 will be awarded for the top three photos, and the winners will also have their masterpieces displayed at the L&A County Museum as well as on both the L&A County website and the Napanee Photo Club's site.

L&A County's manager of economic development, Stephen Paul, said the county is just beginning to tap into a niche tourism market of stargazing, capitalizing on the fact that parts of the area have some of the darkest skies in Canada.

"The big thing is we really want to try and highlight how good stargazing is here in Lennox & Addington, and we thought a unique way to do that was a photography contest. There are a lot of great things you can see by looking up, and we want to try and capture some of those and give the people here the opportunity to learn hot to shoot it as well," he said.

"And we've had numerous conversations with Terence over the least year or so about stargazing and he's the one who suggested how good the photography is here when looking at the stars. We kind of took his lead on that. But there's a skill that goes along with that, and our workshop in the 15th will have Terence making sure you do it right when you do point that camera at the sky."

In a press release from the county, Dickinson, a resident of the area, talked about the significance of the skies in L&A.

"I have photographed the night sky from some of the most favourable locations in North America, and there are parts of the northern two third of L&A County where viewing conditions rank among the best. The Milky Way is brilliant, and the light pollution from distant cities is virtually non-existent," said.

Those who attend the workshop will get a package that talks about the rules of the contest and photo submission information. It will also be posted as a PDF on www.bestdayever.ca, for those who can't make the workshop.

Paul said it's a real bonus for the county to have someone like Dickinson living in it, because of the prestige he brings to activities and promotions such as Shoot the Stars.

"He's a wonderful man, and we're lucky to have him here in Lennox & Addington. And the great thing about Terence is he is willing to help, and he sees this as a great opportunity for the county, and for him to help us grad that opportunity is certainly special," he said, with the 'opportunity' he is talking about meaning the chance to market the county to a unique form of tourism.

"We're just kind of in the first stages of that, and that's just about increasing awareness and almost creating a brand for L&A as being a location for stargazing. So we're going to start there and then, hopefully, we'll see some good numbers and we'll do our work to try and track that as well in the future.

"When you look at marketing, you have to be able to differentiate yourself from the competition. And we think that this is one of those aspects that we can do a good job with. All you need to do is look at a light map of North America, Ontario specifically, and you will see a big dark area in the northern part of Lennox & Addington, and that's a great opportunity for us."

From: Top astronomer will teach how to shoot the stars
By:  Jim Barber
The Napanee Guide
September 2, 2010