The person, the gear, and why this site exists
Hi, I'm Kevin — I run Southern Smart Sky. I've been into photography for as long as I can remember, and the night sky bug goes back even further, to camping trips as a kid — Scouts trips to places like Northern Tier and Philmont, where you get skies most people never see. That stuck with me.
A few years ago my family did the Utah 5 out west, with a stop at the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley — an incredible trip. I brought a big traditional telescope along for it, and honestly, it was a mess: hard to travel with, a pain to set up every night, and I never got the shots I was hoping for. That trip is what pushed me toward smart telescopes.
I'd been watching the DWARF lineup for a while and really wanted one for the wide-angle lens, but the wait list was long, so I ended up picking up a Seestar S50 instead. First night out with it, from my own backyard in Atlanta, I got a shot of the Orion Nebula — and I was hooked. From there I kept shooting, eventually took over someone's full rig at Starfront Observatories, and have been hosting a scope there for about a year now. When the S30 Pro came out, I swapped it in for the S50 at Starfront because of that wide-angle lens I'd wanted all along. These days I'm shooting as much as I can — from Atlanta when the weather cooperates, and remotely from Starfront the rest of the time. Smart telescope astrophotography has fully taken over my hobby time.
Because Atlanta's skies are heavily light-polluted, hosting a scope at Starfront Observatories in Rockwood, TX gives me access to real Bortle 1 skies. This site is where I log both — session notes, gear reviews, and honest comparisons between shooting from a light-polluted backyard versus paying for dark-sky access.
Every product reviewed on this site is something I've personally purchased and used for real imaging sessions unless a post says otherwise. Review scores reflect actual hours logged, not manufacturer specs alone — I'm out shooting from Atlanta and Starfront as often as weather and life allow, and I write about gear only after I've put real hours behind the eyepiece (or, well, the app).
Southern Smart Sky is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Full details are on the affiliate disclosure page.
Questions, corrections, or gear you'd like to see reviewed — reach out via the contact page.