care for a dip?

I hope you can see this alright, despite it being so dark.  A late drive with a clear night sky took me far enough away from the city lights, that I pulled over and took pics of the stars from a corn field.  I used a tripod and a wireless remote control.  The manual focus was preset to infinity.  Exif data: 20mm, 30.0s, f/4.5, ISO 400.

This part of the sky was the big dipper, which is one of the easiest constellations to find.  No telescope required!  I hope to learn more about classic astronomy, but we all have to start somewhere, right?

First, I'll tell you about the picture, and then I want to point out a couple of things.

These stars were the brightest, but there were many others that showed up, even though they were not as bright.  I found that distracting, so to minimize the clutter, I copied the photograph, and on the second image, I blacked out most of the stars, and then made a composite of the two.

After that, I searched online to find the names of these stars and voila! I discovered that what I always assumed was one star in the handle was actually two!  The second spot from the end of the big dipper's handle is a binary cluster of stars that is difficult to discern from any area where we do not have enough darkness in the night sky.  Did you already know about those two stars?  Their names are Mizar and Alcor, but sometimes they're called the Horse and Rider.  It is said that ancient Romans used Alcor to test a warrior's eyesight.  (For me, this "Horse and Rider" was the single most exciting thing about this pic.)

On the opposite of the Big Dipper's handle, we can use the last two points, Merak and Dubhe to point us in the direction of the North star (Polaris).  The distance from the constellation is approximately five times the distance between the optical space between these two stars.  Here's another easy way to find it: stretch yout your arm and open your hand wide; the distance between your thumb and pinkie is about the space between the lip of the Big Dipper and the North star.

For more about Sky Watch Friday, visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/ .

transit of venus

[click on image to enlarge]

Bob and Carol are friends of mine.  They teamed up to create an excellent photograph of Tuesday night's Venus Transit.  Bob is our local science guru, and he used this technique to cast the image of the sun onto a piece of white cardboard.  Carol snapped the pic with her compact point & shoot.  Theirs is the largest globe in this collage of four sun pics.  See the dot at the very bottom?  That's not the sun's bellybutton; that's Venus!

I stumbled onto the other three images while fiddling with the camera as I tried to snap a pic of the sun with my Pentax K-x, a 55mm lens, and a #850 Infrared filter.  I shot the pics in raw, cropped aggressively, and then used Picasa to try to correct the color balance.  That first picture, the magenta ring with psychedelic focal zoom is actually closer to the original, unedited pics than my yellower suns.  Again, special thanks to Carol for letting me download her photograph!

The Transit of Venus happened eight years ago in 2004 and then again just this week, but won't appear again for another 105 years.  That's because Venus' orbit has a slightly different tilt than the earth's.

Friends, I couldn't capture the kind of image I had hoped for, but it was fun to try.  I hope to fiddle around again with sun pictures and see what develops.

Sky Watch Friday!

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a hint of rouge

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It has been much too long since I've participated in Sky Watch Friday!

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Today's contribution is an effort to capture the splendor of clouds. I have a hard time catching the same detail in pics that I see with my own eyes. A pink filter in post-editing helps, I think. Do you have any tips for showing depth in thick, fluffy clouds?

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crispy craters

It's been eons since I posted something for SkyWatch Friday!

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Somebody told me that you can take a digital pic through a telescope. I tried it and think the result is astronomical, don't you? When (if) you try it, give yourself plenty of time and be patient. The telescope will get blurry shakes every time you touch it, and the moon won't stay still. Some say it's because of the moon's orbit plus the earth's rotation, but I say the man in the moon is camera-shy. Update: It's called digiscoping, and birdwatchers, like my friend Maalie do it all the time. I just discovered his post on the topic from March 7.

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Gratuitous grandson photo:

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tree-riffic

Spending a few hours with a brother-in-law whose company I always enjoy, having just received a nifty home-audio hand-me-down, I stood next to my car. It felt like everything was right in the world at that particular moment. The air was fresh and clean, the leaves were a crunchy topping for his thick, cushiony grass. Then I looked up, and couldn't decide which I liked more... the sky or the tree. So I drew my camera and collected them both.

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always looking up

We love to look up. Sure, there are many wonders down here, some natural and some crafted by the hands of men, but there is still something that draws our eyes to the sky. We can go on making improvements to terra firma, but what could possibly be added to the splendor of the skyscapes? They change continually. Sometimes clouds, sometimes birds, sometimes rainbows, and sometimes just a simple blue background. Please, I don't say this to take anything away from the things down here... just that the sky is forever touching my soul as if for the first time.

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There's not a whole lotta tall stuff in Bolingbrook (where I live). I was in Chicago nearly 40 years with tall structures all over the place! Anyway, our high point here is a landfill called Scenic Overlook. Catchy title, eh? It's a popular observation point for birdwatching, especially now because you can spot large migratory birds. I went up there with S2, just to see what it was like. Plus, it's fun to be way up high, over everything. If you look in the background, you'll see Chicago's skyline with the Sears Tower.

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Giant boy crushing houses. (Chicago Skyline waaaaay back.)

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A friendly birdwatcher lets S2 look through telescope.

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Zooming into Chicago's skyline. The Sears Tower is in the center, and that's the John Hancock to your left.

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Saturdays are for sleeping in

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sometimes.

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The guys called a meeting, and we chose 7AM, because it is less likely to interfere with all of our schedules... except when that schedule involves sleeping in.

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On the way to the meeting, I passed the field where we hold our soccer practices. There was an eerie mist hovering low on the pitch. The sky displayed soft, subtle, dreamy pastels, so I pulled over and snapped away a few "frames." (Can we still call them frames with digital photography?)

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Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining about getting up for a 7AM meeting. I like the idea, even though I didn't get to sleep in. In fact, I had already been up and about that morning. My son, the barista had an opening shift that day. That means that I was up at 3:30 to wake him up and then drop him off for a 4:15 start time. Trying not to waste the starry opportunity, I set my camera lens-up on the asphalt at its longest exposure, and used the timer to attempt a photograph of the stars. (Sorry; I was too tired an lazy to identify any constellations.) In post-editing, I tried to make the image lighter, but it gets grainy and weird if I mess with it too much. I hope you can see it alright. [click on photos to enlarge]

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(yawn) Would you care to divulge any experiences with astronomical photography at zero-dark-hundred?

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'Morning Sunshine!

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six A.M. at church

the band practices early

our sun says hello

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It would actually be more correct to say that I went to drop a vocalist off at 6AM; the picture was snapped closer to 7AM. But that would mess up the haiku. Earlier this week, I posted photos of a sundog. Do you know what that is? Scroll down or click on the link to check it out.

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lunacy

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The moon seemed a fitting subject this week for several reasons. There have been numerous bizarre phone conversations. I personally, have indulged in an inordinate amount of silliness. Even my camera got in the action with these two renderings of the exact same event. The difference was the push of one button. "Twilight" setting is used to preserve colors in moderate light. "Twilight Plus" is more of the same. The truth is that the sky looked a little like each photo. The moon is more accurate in the first shot, and the clouds are more accurate in the second.

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My tripod is broken, so I used it like a monopod. Otherwise, I would have experimented with a multiple exposure for a third photograph.

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These were taken on different days, and at different times of day, hence a wide variation in color. But more than that... When my wife and I spot a sky event while driving, we like to put our sunglasses on and compare views. It seems we can catch more details and/or colors with our shades. So, in the bottom photo, I put my sunglasses over her camera lens to see how the picture would turn out.

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Satur-dazzle!

Good googley-moogley, is it Friday already?!

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I didn't post Sky Watch photos last week because of computer problems, and I still haven't finished responding to the good visitors from Today's Flowers. But I have these memories from a couple Saturdays past that I really, really want you to see.

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This is the pond where caught no fish at my friends' barbecue.

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This was taken less than an hour later from the front of their house.

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And barely five minutes later, the skies were even more dramatic!

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haiku of sadness

Computer problems.

All my photographs are gone.

Lost in the hard drive.

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I wanted to do Sky Watch today. The computer situation is so gloomy that the clouds wept uncontrollably this morning. I could not console them. They're better now, but they may cry again before the day is done. I don't know if or when I'll get the pictures back.

Sky Watch Friday!

cottony clouds

The different types of clouds are what first caught my attention. Do you see how they smeared a big blur in the background, but the closer ones are more substantive? But looking at this photo again, I just feel so blessed to have all this open space and low structures close to home. There is a lot of sky to look at here. By contrast, when I lived in Chicago, "look at the clouds" meant "look straight up."

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Speaking of clouds. This one has a concave wall. It's like a big hole in the cloud! Maybe a smaller cloud can hide inside to sneak up on his little cloud buddies...

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Whalon Lake

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Whalon Lake became open to the public this month. It is one of those things that might remain unknown unless someone points it out to you. Fortunately, it was pointed out quite nicely. There were all kinds of things to do at the grand opening. We missed most of it, due to other obligations that day, but when we arrived, we watched a reptile show and browsed through various booths, collecting information and playing free games.

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One booth had a host who made sure each child received a promotional frisbee prize. Everybody who played became a winner. I like that!!

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We scooted out of there at about 3PM; just in time to miss a torrential downpour. Sheesh, it must have been rough on the folks who had to put stuff away and take all those tents down.

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Golden Dreams

For some odd reason, I woke up too early on Tuesday. Maybe it was the annoyingly loud but unintentional chainsaw impersonation I do while snoring. Before I could let myself drift back to sleep, I noticed an eerie amber glow as it oozed through the miniblinds of my bedroom. What an unnatural color! Half-asleep, but providentially wearing jammies, I walked downstairs, grabbed my camera, stepped out front, and fired off a couple of photographs before returning upstairs for that oh-so precious last 22 minutes of sleep.

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That photograph is completely unfiltered and unedited in any way. The sky is exactly the way I saw it through my droopy eyelids, except that my eyeballs were not really focusing on anything except the enigmatic haze.

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Speaking of Tuesday... no, the dog does not smell like skunk anymore, and no, we still do not have a new refrigerator.

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Bonus shot. Black storm clouds from 7:30 AM on Monday morning.

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blue skies ... good times

I won't say that it was "nuthin' but blue skies," but we had predominately fair weather for last weekend's activities. My parents came up to visit (from Florida) and the top two photos were from Saturday's family reunion at a cousin's farm. There was a little rain off and on, but we had strong sun for a good portion of the day. ...Man, I have a LOT of cousins!!! Some came from as far as Puerto Rico, and one (the sister of the balloon catcher with the orange shirt) just earned a PhD! I resisted the urge to say, "Eh, what's up Doc?"

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The bottom two pics are from a return to my brother's place. That's the same site where we went pond fishing last week. There were plenty of wonderful things to see at both places, but the best part was that I got to spend time with people I love.

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One quick story from the family reunion: There was about 9 of us in the swimming pool, when (just for kicks) I shouted, "Guys! Guys! Help me find my swimming trunks!" You should've seen the looks on their faces!!

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New Sky Watch location:

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Sky Watch Friday!

moving picture

It is probably wise that we do NOT get snap-happy, shooting photographs from behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle. Can we agree to that?

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...Unless of course, you just pulled up to a stop light and your spouse points and says, "Ooh, you should take a picture of that!"

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(Cue Indiana Jones theme music and begin slow motion.) I opened her (pwr) window with the left hand and unbuckled the camera bag with the right, simultaneously slinging it up onto my lap. I grabbed both zippers in the middle and pulled them back to the corners. As quickly as I lifted the lid from the camera bag, one fluid move reached in the bag, grabbing the camera firmly, pressing the power button with my thumb, and picked it up to aim it while the other hand removed the lens cap.

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(Stop music & slow motion) Let's go already, you digicam-a-saurus! This camera boots up so slow! Come on, come on, hurry before the light changes... YESSS! It's ready!!

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(Resume music) Presets all good, aim, click, off, zip-zip, clip... the camera is stowed away again. The light turns green, and I'm completely done and ready to drive. My Mrs. and I glance at each other. Yup... we're gooood! (Music continues as we drive away--into the sunset.)

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Big family reunion this weekend... I'll check back in when I get a chance.

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New Sky Watch location:

Visit HERE to enter this week's Sky Watch Friday

Sky Watch Friday!

Did I omit something from Sky Watch Friday? Yup; I sure did!

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As always, I encourage you to visit Tom for all the other SWF links.

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Here's how it works. On any given weekend, anyone who wishes, may post their sky photo. Include the reference above (which I forgot) and go to Tom's site. Enter the link to your Web address, and go around visiting (and leaving comments) at other Sky Watch Friday participants. Meanwhile, you will receive visits (and comments) from some of the coolest people on the planet. And maybe me, too. :-)

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Note: The statue below does not have any special historical significance that I know of. Bolingbrook has these statues of children at play all over the place.