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Saturday, December 31, 2005

Another view of sunset

 
Here is another view of last nights sunset, this one looking south towards the WIYN telescope (on the right) and the old Kitt Peak 36 inch (the dome on the left) towards spectacularly lit clouds just moments after sunset. This image was obtained with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/125 seconds at f/4, ISO 100. Posted by Picasa

Friday, December 30, 2005

A Photographers sunset...

 
...but not an Astronomers (which would be crystal clear). The Sun splits into two as its trailing limb approaches the mountainy horizon. This image was taken with my trusty 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/640 seconds at f/4, ISO 100. The exposure was 1 stop under the metered sky and gave the scene a bit of punch compared with the nominal metered image. Happily it cleared off soon after and remains clear, but cirrus still threatens and might close us down soon. Posted by Picasa

Morning twilight

 
Stars are still visible as the morning twilight grows brighter, lighting the sky and the dome of the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope. This image was made with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 1600. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 29, 2005

There goes the Sun...

 
The Sun has just set moments before this image was taken leaving behind the rather pretty clouds and a pillar of light left of center just above where the Sun dipped below the horizon. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 70mm focal length. The exposure was 1/400 seconds at f/11, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Almost time to get to work

 
Can susnet be any prettier than on the top of a mountain? This view shows the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope with the Steward Observatory 90 inch and Kitt Peak National Observatory 4-meter telescope domes in the background. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/100 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Venus

 
The Planet Venus graces our evening skies just after sunset. It is just past its greatest eastern elongation and therefore displayes roughly a quarter phase to us. This image was taken this evening with my 70-300mm zoom set to 300mm focal length and heavily cropped shows the shape of the planet. The exposure was 1/15 seconds at f/11, ISO 100. Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 26, 2005

Red Flowers

 
Some red flowers, lit by a blue sky.
This image was with my 70-300mm zoom at focal length 149mm. Exposure 1/250 seconds at f/6.3, ISO 800. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Santa's Sleigh?

 
Is that Santa's sleigh flying through Perseus, making a turn back towards the North Pole? It might be a plane, but then I didn't get a good look at it and I'm not sure I didn't hear a faint "Ho Ho Ho" and some jingling of bells from the sky above. The Pleides (M-44) are visible on the left side of the image. This photo was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 15 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, December 24, 2005

El Rio 16th green

 
This is the 16th green at El Rio Golf Course in Tucson as viewed from the 17th tee box. I don't get out golfing often enough, but did manage to get a round in a couple weeks ago. This image was taken with my old trust Canon A75 with the lens set to 5mm focal length. The exposure was 1/640 seconds at f/5.6. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Campus Sunset

 
The view west at sunset on the UofA campus. This exposure was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

A-10 on final

 
An A-10 passes over the UofA campus on its way into Davis-Monthan AFB. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 300mm focal length. The exposure was 1/1250 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 1600. It's just about sunset at the time of the image. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Sunset

 
I took this around sunset, setting the exposure for a stop below the sky in order to silhouette the palm trees. The image was taken with the 24mm lens on my 20D. The exposure was 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 19, 2005

Iridescent clouds

 
Sunday after playing softball, I caught this image of some Iridescent clouds neaar the sun. I knew one of those street lights would come in handy. The clouds had a lot of neat structure in them too, though this image only hints at that. This image was taken with the kit lens and a polarizing filter on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/800 seconds at f/8, ISO 100. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Jack

 
Fun with zoom lenses.... One of those Jack-in-the-Box antenna balls. This image was with my 70-300mm zoom at 190mm focal length and in macro mode. The exposure was 1/1600 seconds at f/5, ISO 100. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, December 17, 2005

"UFO's"

 
These "UFO's" are actually military flares over the Goldwater range in south-central Arizona as viewed from Kitt Peak. You can also see airplanes in the area against the background of trailed stars in this 30 second exposure. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom lens at 70mm focal length. The 30 second exposure was at f/4, ISO 1600. Posted by Picasa

Friday, December 16, 2005

Thorny Silhouette

 
This silhouette of a Saguaro cactus was taken during my hike out by Signal Hill. The image was taken with the 70-300mm zoom on my Canon 20D set to 70mm focal length. The sun is directly behind the main stalk of the cactus. The exposure was 1/6400 seconds at f/4, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Saguaro

 
The view up the side of a Saguaro Cactus. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoon at 70mm focal length. The exposure was 1/640 seconds at f/11, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Parade of Lights III

 
Ok, one last Downtown Parade of Lights image. This one shows the Squad 51 paramedic truck from "Emergency!" and one of those ladder trucks that even had the guy riding in the back steering. The exposure was 5 seconds at f/8, ISO 100. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

H-Alpha sun

 
Along with astronauts, Novaspace Galleries had a 6 inch refracter from Starizona set up with an H-Alpha filter looking at the Sun. I used eyepiece projection, aligning my camera with the eyepiece, to take this image of the sun and some flares and prominances on its limb. The circular spot in the middle on the left is just a reflection from the optics. You can also see a little granulation on the surface of the sun itself. This image was take with the kit lens on my Canon 20D, the exposure was 1/200 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 12, 2005

Parade of Lights II

 
Here is a 2nd image from Tucson's Downtown Parade of Lights. The image was taken with my 24mm lens on my 20D. The exposure was 5 seconds at f/8, ISO 100. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Downtown Parade of Lights

 
We went to the Downtown Parade of Lights in Tucson last night (my son was in the parade...). Near the end of the parade were several old fire engines (including the Squad 51 paramedic truck from the TV show Emergency!). This one parked in front of me to wait for the vehicles in front to move along and just after I started this exposure it started moving. This image was taken with the 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 5 seconds at f/8, ISO 100. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Buzz Aldrin

 
I got to meet one of my childhood heroes today when Buzz Aldrin - the 2nd man to leave his bootprints on the Moon - was at the Novaspace Galleries here in town autographing his new childrens book. Buzz paid particular attention to the many kids who stood in line with their folks to get his autograph. Here he is talking to one of the children, trying to spread his honest enthusiasm for space to the youngest generation. This image was taken with the kit lens on my Canon 20D set to 55mm focal length. The exposure was 1/200 at f/5.6, ISO 400. The color balance was a challenge as he was sitting in a sunlit tent that was red and white and produced a redish tinge to the image. Posted by Picasa

Friday, December 09, 2005

Growing Arms...

 
Another image from our hike near Signal Hill on Tuesday. This is a closeup of a Saguaro cactus and the beginnings of some arms. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 300mm focal length. The exposure was 1/1250 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Saguaro Forest

 
The view from the trail up Signal Hill shows a sea of Saguaro cacti. This shot was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 300mm focal length on my Canon 20D. The exposure was 1/800 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

More Petroglyphs

 
Here are some more Petroglyphs from Signal Hill. Unfortunately, there are is a fair amount of modern graffiti mixed in with the ancient rock art. This image was from along the trail up the hill, taken with my 70-300mm zoom lens at 300mm focal length. The exposure was 1/1000 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400. Posted by Picasa