Sky-Watcher USA Just Got a NEW Marketing Specialist
Figure 1 Self-portrait at the full moonset dawn in Rancho Palo Verdes
Hi folks, I actually started with Sky-Watcher USA last September, but I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jarred Donkersley and I'm originally from Arizona where I grew up skateboarding, loving the outdoors, and going to punk rock shows in the 90s. I studied English Literature and the Humanities at Arizona State University and then moved to the Arts District in Los Angeles to help a friend start his fine art printing business and ended up staying!
Figure 2 My older brother and I in 1987
I've had all types of jobs including museum guide at Griffith Observatory, veterinarian technician, lifeguard, guitar repairman, DJ, film projectionist at an independent movie theater, record store clerk, gallery and print production assistant, telescope operator and photographer for Skies Away, Asst. Marketing Manager at Celestron, and now I'm the Senior Marketing Specialist at Sky-Watcher USA!
Figure 3 Long exposure half dome rotation of Griffith's coelostat telescope
Figure 4 Shooting the 2017 Great American Eclipse for SLOOH
Quick facts: @jarredpd on Instagram. @darskymatters elsewhere
First light: Saw the Moon and Saturn in 2011 from my porch in Long Beach, CA through a Meade ETX 90mm
Current gear: Scopes/Mounts: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer, SAM, Evostar 100mm, and AZ-EQ5 mount. 8-inch Celestron Evolution and 8-inch EdgeHD. Cameras: Sony Alpha 7s Mki, Canon XSi, Starlight Express UltraStar. Lenses: Canon kit 55mm + macro, 75-300mm, 400mm, Rokinon 14mm
Astro companies worked for: Sky-Watcher USA, Griffith Observatory, Skies Away, Celestron, Slooh, AstroGear Today, Dark Sky Matters
Figure 5 Showing David Lynch the planet Saturn at the 44th Annual Saturn Awards
Favorite astro moments (in no particular order):
- Showing David Lynch the planet Saturn at the 44th Annual Saturn Awards show with SkiesAway
- 2-week national park road trip, imaging workshops, and live-imaging of the 2017 total solar eclipse for Slooh
- Celestron's LA MoonWalk fundraiser for the Planetary Society and LA Free Arts
- Visiting JWST above the clean room at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, CA twice before launch
- Archival photo project at Griffith during the 2020 pandemic lockdown
- Photographing the Moon and Jupiter through the 60" at Mt. Wilson Observatory for Atlas Obscura
- LA Science Weekend with the New York Times for Atlas Obscura
- Malibu fire fundraiser with Skies Away
Figure 6 The crescent Moon over Griffith Observatory
Darkest skies visited: Badlands NP, Death Valley NP, Polihale State Park Beach, Kauai, HI, Grand Canyon NP, Acadia NP, Capitol Reef NP, Kitt Peak Obs., Mauna Kea Obs.
Figure 7 The Milky Way over Gold Beach, OR
I share all this to illustrate to the younger folks that it is 100% acceptable to not quite know where your road goes 100% of the time. I found my passion at 31 years old and made it my business to help people connect to the cosmos one peep in the eyepiece at a time.
Can't wait to meet some of you at a future show or star party once the world gets normal enough!
Cheers.
