Kevin Morefield image

(Top) “A Galaxy Bursting with Stars” is one of the many astrophotography images captured by Kevin Morefield (below), who uses a large telescope to acquire many of his beauty shots of space phenomena. (Photos provided by Kevin Morefield)

July 03, 2024

All are welcome at SIU event featuring beautiful astrophotography July 15

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumnus Kevin Morefield, who has garnered national acclaim for capturing amazing astrophotography images, will share his work during a public presentation at his alma mater on July 15.

The public is welcome to attend “The Blurring of Art and Science” from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center’s Art Atrium, 1740 Innovation Drive in Carbondale. There is no cost.

Morefield-with-planewave The evening will begin with a reception for Morefield, a native of Murphysboro who earned a bachelor’s degree in photography at SIU and went on to a successful career in business and marketing. The owner and operator of Morefield Consulting in Portland, Oregon, has traveled the world – from Norway to Chile to Australia and beyond – chasing total solar eclipses and capturing beautiful images in the sky with telescopes and cameras. He has a large telescope that is permanently affixed in the Sierra Mountains, enabling him to grab some of the special beauty shots and others from locales far and wide.

Following the reception, Morefield, who has established the Morefield Opportunities Scholarship at SIU to “pay forward” opportunities he was given, will discuss how he became interested in astronomy and how he sets up his equipment and captures the imagery of stars, planets and other space phenomena. He will also discuss the processing of images and share some of his favorites.  

For planning purposes, organizers would appreciate people planning to attend the event RSVP to innovation@siu.edu. The evening is sponsored by SIU’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development.