About Us

I started my astronomy journey as a lot of kids my age did, with a Tasco department store refractor, seeing the moon, Jupiter and Saturn as well as nature, and was immediately hooked.  That scope got used though university and beyond. Eventually moving up to visual astronomy with a Celestron C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain picked up from Efston Science in the early to mid-2000s, I then picked up a Meade DSI camera in 2006 and was amazed what you could see with a camera sensor and was hooked again, this time on astro imaging.

As many people in the hobby do, I kept upgrading the equipment, picking up a colour QHY8 CCD camera, 12” Meade ACF Schmidt-Cassegrain scope and Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount in the late 2000s, using this setup to image for many years, using Photoshop to process images.

I built (and knocked down) 4 concrete piers in various back yards over several home moves, and converted a Home Depot Rubbermaid shed into a roll-off roof astronomy shed to make setup and imagining faster and easier. I more recently upgraded to a ZWO 2600MM-P and CEM120, and PixInsight for image processing, exploring monochrome imaging.

I'm always learning new things from the community, staff and customers, it's an endless journey that keeps you on your toes.

I was just 5 years old when, in February of 1986, Halley’s Comet passed by and put on a brilliant display. I remember my dad and I driving out to the baseball diamonds on the outskirts of town to take in the beauty of this celestial wonder. From that point forward, I was absolutely fascinated with the night sky and the vastness of our universe. This would become a core childhood memory and play a huge role in shaping my life.

Fast forward 40 years and I’m working with telescopes for a living. I’ve invested thousands of hours, and dollars into this hobby. My first real telescope was a Celestron 127SLT, a 5” Maksutov-Cassegrain. Seeing Saturn through that scope was enough to send me down a very deep, yet rewarding, rabbit hole towards a permanent astrophotography setup.  

I have built a permanent roll-off roof observatory in my backyard which houses my main astrophotography setup. It consists of the following:

Sky-Watcher Esprit 120 Refractor, iOptron CEM70-NUC Mount, ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro Camera, PegasusAstro Falcon Rotator, PegasusAstro FocusCube v2, PegasusAstro Pocket PowerBox Advance

My other gear consists of a Celestron 9.25 EdgeHD, PegasusAstro NYX-101, William Optics SpaceCat 51, ZWO ASI533MC-Pro, ZWO ASIAIR 256GB, and ZWO ASI662MC.

My first look through a real telescope was sometime around June 1984, it was my science teachers homemade 11" dobsonian and I can clearly remember seeing Saturn and it's rings as well as Messier 13... I was hooked! I got my first telescope (a 4.5" Tasco Newtonian) the following fall, and spent countless nights under the stars with it. I saw Halley's comet in 1986, and numerous other targets over the years... with galaxies being my favorite even though they were just fuzzy smudges in the eyepiece at best. I made my first attempts at imaging right around this time too with a Canon SLR and manually guiding the telescope with slow motion controls while looking through the finderscope. I caught a few stars in my images but that was about it.

I took a break from astronomy in the 90's but got back into it in the summer of 2005 when I picked up my first go-to telescope, a used Meade 10"SCT, as an added benefit made a new friend too. I started imaging more seriously soon after using a Meade DSI color camera and was completely blown away at how in a very short time a CCD would bring out details that I could only dream of with my attempts at film. Since then many telescopes have come and gone, cameras have changed dramatically and software has "evolved" to the point where I don't need to fight with it :)

Currently my telescope of choice is a Celestron Edge 11" with an iOptron CEM70 mount and galaxies are still by far my favorite targets

I've always been fascinated by the night sky, ever since I was a kid visiting the science center and staring up at the planets and stars in awe. During high school, I was heavily involved in robotics, mentoring at science summer camps, and exploring different ways to engage with space and technology. That curiosity only grew over the years, leading me to pursue an undergraduate degree in astrophysics, where I had the guidance of an amazing mentor who helped foster my interest in astrophotography and imaging.

My journey with telescopes took an exciting turn in 2023 at Starfest, where I won my first telescope—a BeaverLAB Smart Telescope, thanks to Telescopes Canada. That moment truly kickstarted my deep dive into astrophotography, a hobby that quickly became a passion. Since then, I’ve spent countless nights imaging from home with my Seestar S50, at local observatories, and within RASC communities, always looking for the next incredible celestial target to capture.

Recently, I upgraded my setup to a SharpStar ED Glass 61 paired with a ZWO ASI2600MC Air, an AM5 mount, a PE200 pier, and an EQ6-R tripod—a major leap forward in my astrophotography journey. Today, I’m thrilled to be part of the Telescopes Canada team, helping others find the right gear and sharing the excitement of exploring the universe through both visual observation and imaging. Whether it’s testing new equipment, troubleshooting setups, or simply talking about the best views in the night sky, I love being part of this amazing community!