Dipti Ranjan Das

Bhubaneswar: OTV photographer Rakesh Roul spent days comet gazing for a perfect shot of Comet NEOWISE and he finally nailed it! On Saturday evening he became the first person in Bhubaneswar and the second in the state to capture the magnificent view of the Neowise.

Passionate about Astrophotography, Rakesh has been extensively reading and capturing the pictures of stars and planets for the last 2 years. On getting to know about the visibility of Neowise, he packed his bag and went on a mission to capture the rare comet.

Struggling for 10-days, Rakesh, despite changing locations, he failed in his attempt to find the comet because of pollution and cloudy sky in the city. Even visiting the outskirts of Bhubaneswar didn’t help. He went to various locations like Balakati, Patia, Dhauli and interiors of Khurdha every single day but came back disappointed.

However, Rakesh didn’t lose hope. He stayed in regular touch with Dr. Subhendu Pattnaik, Asst Director, Pathani Samanta Planetarium who guided him throughout and constantly gave him weather updates and position of stars. On July 25, all of Rakesh’s effort bore fruit as he finally managed to spot and click shots of the iconic comet at Deras dam in Jhumka in outskirts of city with his Nikon 200-500mm lens.

Speaking about the challenges as far as Astrophotography is concerned, Rakesh said, “Even on 25th July, it was a challenge for me as the cloud movement was very fast. As soon as I spotted the comet I verified the picture with Planetarium official and after their confirmation, I clicked from various angles. Some other challenges included travelling 30-40kms every day with 25kg of kit that includes 3 cameras, lenses, monopod, and tripod. There were nights when the GPS didn’t work while returning from Deras late nights but still my passion and dedication kept my spirit up.”

Rakesh till date dedicates at least 4 hours to shoot the sky and will continue to spot the Neowise till July 30. His success in capturing the comet just goes to prove that at the end of the day, patience is what matters.

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