Meet Ken Naiff | Astrophotographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ken Naiff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ken, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My life-long passion for astronomy began in 1957 when, as a young boy in England, using a small telescope, I watched in amazement as Sputnik orbited the Earth. I was an “armchair” astronomer until I retired to Arizona in 2004 with my wife. June, which gave me the opportunity to get “off the chair” and to learn to be an astrophotographer.

I gave myself a 10-year apprenticeship in astrophotography. Because of my knowledge of electrical, computer and mechanical engineering, I was able to teach myself how to use the specialized cameras, telescopes, and mounts as well as the mathematically sophisticated software to manage the equipment, collect the data, and process the images.

Over the next ten years, I would travel hundreds of miles during “dark of the moon” to remote locations throughout the Southwest for windless, cloudless nights pursuing my passion. For the first several years, I slept in my car. It took years but now I have a small R/V with all the comforts of home.

After the fieldwork, I would return home to process the multiple, grayscale and noisy exposures that I took in the field. Using specialized software. I mastered a number of different techniques and algorithms to reduce “noise”, improve resolution, sharpen details, enhance contrast, balance brightness, minimize pixilation, manage over-saturation, etc. Finally, I would adjust the color intensity and hue to create a scientifically accurate, full color, richly detailed, high resolution, artistically inspired image.

During a visit to the dermatologist, he asked my wife, June, about me and she told him that I was at a dark site in the desert taking images of deep space objects. He was intrigued and June showed him my image of the Andromeda Galaxy on her iPhone. “I’ll buy it!”, he said. At that time all I had was digital data. After some research, I invested in a 20″ x 30″ image of Andromeda printed on metal. He was so pleased, he bought a second image, the Rosette Nebula.

A few weeks later at a neighborhood art show, I sold 5 more images and Dark Sky Images was officially launched.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was born in Newton-Kyme, England, the youngest of five children, my parents were the last generation of “in-service” workers. Mom was a cook and Dad a gardener at the “big house”.

I was fortunate enough to successfully pass England’s 11 Plus exam … a rare success from my little village …which governed admission at Collyer’s School (founded in 1532) and an opportunity for an academic rather than a vocational education.The village grocer was so proud he bought my first uniform so I could attend.

After completing a grueling 6-year work/study program. at Lintott Engineering, Horsham, England, I worked at several small engineering firms and eventually joined General Instrument, Basingstoke, England.

In 1976, I quickly accepted General Instrument’s offer to transfer to the United States. Until my retirement in 1998, I enjoyed a variety of highly rewarding assignments at General Instrument locations in Hauppauge, New York; Chandler, Arizona; and Horsham, Pennsylvania.

During my 24-year tenure with General Instrument I was awarded seven U.S. patents for electronic devices and circuits. My most challenging work was leading the U.S. engineering effort to convert analog cable television systems to digital. Yes, I know 300+ cable television channels, really!! BUT I was responsible for the technology – not the content!

After retiring from General Instrument, I formed a consulting company, the Staplefield Group and joined the Board of Contec, a Schenectady based cable box company.

During my career, I tackled obstacles and problems by “peeling back the onion”. By doing a methodical deep dive, I was able to solve challenging problems . In addition to being “relentless” and focused, my creative skills enabled me to develop patents that successfully overcame technical problems.

I hope my images will provoke questions, especially from children, so that they may gain some insight into the beautiful and awe-inspiring objects that our eyes cannot grasp in our star-studded Milky Way, and beyond.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Living in Scottsdale is like liking in a Resort! Great weather, highly rated golf courses, scenic desert beauty, fabulous food, a variety of cultural venues – so putting together an itinerary for visitors is easy!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife, June has always supported and encouraged me. Astrophotography requires very expensive equipment, many days and nights away from home, and hours of sitting at the computer processing the exposures. She never wavered. Yes, astrophotography requires a very patient partner.

When we decided to launch our business, I continued my desert trips and June managed the business side … applying to art festivals, securing business licenses, making travel plans, paying sales taxes, etc. She was also my “marketing consultant” and we discussed what I should shoot next, which filters, what sizes, etc. Since I only create about one image a year, these are important decisions and I always value her insight and good taste.

One safety rule that I never break is not to go alone to the desert. I have a small circle of friends, dedicated observers, and we travel together to dark site remote locations. I’ve experienced malfunctioning equipment, rain storms, flat tires, broken generators and they have always been there to help out. Equally important, when the nights are windy and cloudy and the ‘scopes are idle, we sit around telling each other “star” stories.

Perhaps, the greatest encouragement is when children see my work and they are so excited and enthusiastic and have so many questions.

Finally, a shoutout to Arizona. All of my images were taken in Arizona -dark skies, dry weather, remote locations -are among the best in the US.

Website: www.DarkSkyImagesByKen.com

Instagram: www.Instragram.com/DarkSKyImagesByKen/

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DarkSkyImages/

Youtube: Dark Sky Images