Out of my way!

I thought this was funny just after a near collision during a dress rehearsal of the Pride of Arizona on the practice field last Wednesday. This image was taken at 55mm focal length with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/14, ISO 3200. And Dave, if you want to know why I was shooting at ISO 3200, well, it was just a mistake. Or wait, I decided to play with grainy pictures. Yeah, that's it.

Pom Line

The Pom line of the Pride of Arizona stands at attention on the last day of Band Camp. This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/1250 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100.

Band Camp

Half of the colorguard for the Pride of Arizona rehearses their set on the last day of Band Camp last week. This image was taken at 70mm focal length with an exposure of 1/100 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

Band Gear

The instruments and other gear of members of the Pride of Arizona marching band of the University of Arizona lay in the field where they participated in the grueling band camp learning their show for the coming fall. This image was taken at 149mm focal length with an exposure of 1/80 seconds at f/5, ISO 100. Converted to B&W with a green filter in Picasa.

Gone Batty

This little guy was hanging out (quite literally) just outside the entrance to the school in Pinon AZ where my wife was leading a workshop. It was a cool, dim area for him to spend the day. He was still there 7 hours later when we left. This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/60 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400.

Wildcats

This statue is near McHale Center on the UofA campus. This was converted to B&W in Picasa with a red filter. The image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/320 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400.

Stormy weather on Kitt Peak

There is plenty of stormy weather on Kitt Peak during the summer monsoon season where thunder storms and rain are a common sight all over southern Arizona. This view north shows a small break in the dark storm clouds along with the Bok and Mayall telescopes. This image was taken at 25mm focal length with an exposure of 1/320 seconds at f/11, ISO 100.

The view north

Before taking the previous pictures, I started a panorama with this shot of the Steward Observatory 90 inch Bok Telescope and the KPNO 4 meter Mayall Telescope. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/11, ISO 100.

I get a charge out of thunderstorms

...but hopefully not too much charge. I took this self portrait moments before realizing that the hair on my head and arms was standing on end. I was standing on the top of our Spacewatch 36 inch dome watching and photographing the storm some 30 miles to the southeast. You won't see someone move much faster than I did (even in the sprints at the Olympics in the coming days!) to get off the top of the dome once I realized the charge had built up so much. This shot was taken with my A570is at arms length with the many domes on the mountain in the background as well as the dark clouds of the approaching storm.

The stroke of lightning

I got this shot by using manual exposure, with the lens at 18mm focal length and ISO 100, I set the f-stop to f/18 to lengthen the exposure to 1/25 seconds and then pressed the shutter button half way and waited to see a stroke of lightning, then pressing the shutter to try and capture one of the later strokes at the same location as often happens. Out of about 30 tries, I only got this one - looks like I need more practice. On the lower right is the Spacewatch 1.8-m dome, above and left of it is the McMath solar telescope on Kitt Peak. I took this image from the top of the Spacewatch 36 inch dome.

Rainstorm

I was biking home the other night when it started raining - then pouring. I pulled into a Circle K and hid there for a while. The wind blew rain into the area I was seeking shelter when it was coming down the hardest. I had one of my A570s handy, so I pulled it out and took a couple shots.

Lightning over Tucson

This picture of a lightning storm over Tucson was taken from Kitt Peak. The orange color is due to the city lights. Three different bolts of lightning are visible in this 30 second exposure. This image was taken at 70mm focal length with an exposure of 30 seconds at f/4, ISO 400.

Water #7

The parabolic sheet is starting to regain its shape all around now. This image was taken at190mm focal length with an exposure of 1/6400 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600.

Water #6

The far side is starting to regain its shape in the 6th frame. This image was taken at 190mm focal length with an exposure of 1/6400 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600.

Water #5

The 5th picture in the sequence. Water is splashing off to the left now with hardly any of the roughly parabolic sheet intact. This image was taken at 190mm focal length with an exposure of 1/6400 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600.

Water #4

Chaos ensues. The wind has blown the sheet of water totally off to the left. This image was taken at 190mm focal length with an exposure of 1/6400 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600.

Water #3

The 3rd image shows the water flow disrupted by teh wind. Part of the sheet of water is still intact, but most of it has flown off to the left. This image was zoomed in slightly from the first 2, taken at 190mm focal length with an exposure of 1/6400 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600.

Water #2

Here's the 2nd in the sequence. The thin sheet of water, roughly in a parabolic shape is being distorted by the wind, being pushed to the left. This image was taken at 168mm focal length with an exposure of 1/6400 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600.