Speaker profile
Mr Nik Szymanek
Available for booking
Summary
Amateur astrophotographer, lecturer, musician.
Full biography
Nik Szymanek is an astrophotographer based in North Essex and has been using CCD cameras to image the deep sky since they were first introduced in the early 1990’s from a back garden observatory and more recently from a remote observatory in south-eastern Spain. He has written a monthly ‘Masterclass’ astro-imaging column in Astronomy Now magazine for the last ten years as well as three books on astronomical imaging, the latest of which is ‘Shooting Stars II’,
In 2004 he travelled to Berkley, California, to receive the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Amateur Achievement Award for outreach and image-processing techniques, some of which have been used in collaborations with professional astronomers.
Nik is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the British Astronomical Association and is a regular speaker to astronomy and photographic societies. Other interests include meteorological photography and playing drums in heavy rock bands. He is also an ‘ambassador’ for the Telescope Live remote imaging platform and provides them with astro-imaging video tutorials. Nik is an honorary member of Clacton AS as well as a member of the North Essex Astronomy Society.