Backlit leaf

 
I was playing with high phase angle macro shots (in English, the sun was nearly directly behind the leaf, just off frame to the left, actually) of this leaf. I used a medium depth of field at f/11 and high ISO to keep the shutter speed short since I was handholding the camera. I increased the contrast a little before uploading it. I was using my 70-300mm lens at 300mm focal length in macro mode with an exposure of 1/2500 seconds at f/11, ISO 1600. 

Kitt Peak

 
This view of Kitt Peak is from just above the turnoff from highway 86 onto 386 that winds up the mountain. The most prominant dome near center is the 4-meter Mayall telescope building. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 55mm focal length. The exposure was 1/400 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100. 

Sunset Saturday night

 
Sunset was spectacular despite the clear skies on Saturday night, especially for an Astronomer. The sun is just above the horizon with the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope almost a silhouette in this image taken with the kit lens at 18mm focal length on my 20D. The exposure was 1/250 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100. 

Father Kino

 
Along Kino Blvd, where the road transitions from Campbell Avenue in Tucson is this statue honoring Father Kino, an early explorer of the Southwest who founded a large number of missions in the area including the San Xavier del Bac mission south of town. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 55mm focal length as I waited for a traffic light to change. The exposure was 1/8000 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 1600. The image was converted to B&W in Picasa with a filtered B&W conversion in the green. 

Flowers

 
Quite a contrast between this red flower and the white flower behind it. The saturation is spectacular. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 55mm focal length. The exposure was 1/40 seconds at f/11, ISO 100. 

Graduation Day, 2006

 
My son graduated from Tucson High School Wednesday night. Congratulations class of 2006! This image was taken with the kit lens at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/100 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 1600 with the flash (camera in Av mode). 

Whatcha doin?

 
My sister-in-law's dog came by to check out what I was doing, so I took her picture. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 53mm focal length. The exposure was 1/50 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100 with a little fill flash. 

Jasper (1988-2006)

 
Our old cat Jasper (aka "The Dopey Cat") died today, so I figured I'd honor his memory with a picture taken last year of him. This image was taken with my 70-300mm lens on my 20D at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/1000 seconds at f/16, ISO 400. 

Kitt Peak Silhouette

 
Kitt Peak lines the horizon near sunset from Tucson Mountain Park. Some of the domes are quite prominant, including the largest dome on the mountain for the 4 meter Mayall telescope on the right and the distinctive McMath Solar telescope on the left. This image was taken with my 70-300mm lens at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/13 seconds at f/11, ISO 100 (with the camera on a tripod). 

Old Main MkII

 
This is the west entrance of Old Main. The image was taken with my 24mm lens on my 20D with an exposure of 1/125 seconds at f/11, ISO 100. 

Old Main

 
The center of the University of Arizona campus is the oldest building on campus - Old Main. This view is from the west end of the Student Union. This image was taken with the kit lens at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/8, ISO 100. 

Lost birds..

 
I think these aquatic birds (Great Egrets, I believe) were a little lost as they flew over my house in Tucson.... This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom last May. The lens was at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/1600 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800. 

Prickly Pear Flower

 
If you stay clear of the needles, cacti can be quite spectacular in the spring with their flowers. This image was taken with my 70-300mm lens on my 20D at 300mm focal length last spring. The exposure was 1/1000 seconds at f/11, ISO 800. 

Lizard

 
A lizard is sunning himself on a lichen covered rock in Madera Canyon. This image was taken with the kit lens on my Canon 20D at a focal length of 55mm and an exposure of 1/500 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800. 

Retro-flower...

 
Here's a flower I found in one of my favorite areas of Madera Canyon the first weekend after I got my Canon 20D last year. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 190mm focal length with an exposure of 1/1000 seconds at f/11, ISO 1600. 

A first sunset

 
I got my Canon 20D a year ago this last friday and this was part of my first sunset sequence taken with the camera. This image was taken with my 70-300mm telephoto at 300mm focal length. The exposure was 1/8000 seconds at f/32, ISO 1600. 

More sunset

 
Looking 90 degrees to the right of yesterdays sunset picture is this view of the Steward Observatory 90 inch Bok telescope with the Kitt Peak National Observatory 4 meter Mayall telescope in the background. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my 20D. The exposure was 1/25 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100. 

There goes the Sun...

 
(You have to sing the title of this blog entry to the Beatles "Here comes the Sun" to get the full effect....) The sun is moments from dipping below the horizon to start another night of observing. This one is from my last observing run a week or so ago. This image was taken with my 24mm lens with an exposure of 1/1600 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800. 

Jovert

 
The Tucson High School Steel Drum band called Jovert had their annual concert last night. My son has participated in Jovert for all 4 years that he has been at Tucson High. Each of the 4 steel drum classes played several pieces each. The group has been run by their director Khris Dodge and produces CDs of their music every year which are available on their website. This image was taken with the kit lens on my Canon 20D at 34mm focal length with an exposure of 1/100 seconds at f/4.5, ISO 800. 

Lotsa lights

 
Our last concert in the main theater at Tucson High School tonight after 8 years of concerts there with our two children suggested an abstract of the chandelier that hangs over the the theater. This image was stretched and converted to B&W in Picasa. The exposure was made with the kit lens at 54mm at 1/50 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800. 

3D Bull

 
Get out your red-blue anaglyph glasses (red over left eye) and take a look at this image of the bull from yesterdays image combined with a 2nd image as I moved. I used the freeware program Z-Anaglyph to combine the two images and cropped the image around the bull. 

A bunch of Bull

 
These two bovine specimen were resting along the road up to Kitt Peak. I slowed to a stop, took a couple pictures and after "Mooing" at them (an old tradition anytime I've seen cows...), I waved and as I accellerated off, exclaimed "Maybe I'll eat you later!"..... This image was taken with my 24mm lens with an exposure of 1/640 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100. 

36 inch at work

 
The Spacewatch 36 inch telescope at work on Kitt Peak. The telescope is lit by scattered moonlight as it surveys for asteroids. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my Canon 20D during a timelapse sequence with the camera riding the dome. The exposure was 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. 

Yours truly and a friend

 
The author of this photoblog stands next to an old friend - the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope on Kitt Peak. If I look just a bit fuzzy, I had to stand still for the duration of the 30 second exposure which was one of the first in a timelapse sequence. Twilight was still quite heavy around 25 minutes after sunset and the exposure was set for getting the moonlit telescope and stars in the sky through the slit later, so the image is a bit overexposed here and there. This image was taken with my 24mm lens on my 20D with an exposure of 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. 

Suns set

 
Another view of Wednesday night sunset. This image was taken with my 24mm lens with an exposure of 1/320 seconds at f/8, ISO 200.