Sunset

I was out chasing lightning storms the other night, but the storm never really did much, happily, the sunset in the opposite direction looked much better. This view looks to the west-northwest about 20 minutes after sunset. It was quite windy as well as you can see with the blowing palo verde tree on the left side of the image. That's one nice thing about Saguaro cacti - they don't move much, even in a strong wind. This exposure was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 25 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100.

Found a gem...

I found this gem while watching our 1.8-m mirror get re-aluminized a week or so ago. This photo is taken from one of my favorite spots to take pictures of our 36 inch on Kitt Peak but it was taken in the 1960s before the 4-meter Mayall telescope and the Steward Observatory 90 inch telescope were built. You can see the site testing towers for the 4-meter on the summit of Kitt Peak behind our 36 inch prior to its construction. Click on this link to see one of my images from that location.

IR Canyon de Chelly, take 2

Here's another IR shot of Canyon de Chelly. This iamge was taken at 5.8mm focal length (37mm equivalent) with an exposure of 1.0 seconds at f/2.6, ISO 200 with a Hoya R72 filter on my Canon A570is.

IR Canyon de Chelly

This view of Canyon de Chelly was taken with my Canon A570is (not in stereo mode...) with a Hoya R72 filter. This image was taken at 5.8mm focal length (37mm equivalent in 35mm) with an exposure of 1.0 seconds at f/2.6, ISO 200.

Hummingbird again

Here's the same hummingbird from last week. I got lots of images that look a lot like this with him sitting on a branch. This one stands out a little since I used my on camera flash to brighten him up and give hima little twinkle in his eye. This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/125 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400 with fill flash at about -2/3 stop.

Space Station sunset

It was sunset time aboard the International Space Station during this photo taken on Tuesday night (June 10) from Kitt Peak. The ISS (with shuttle still docked) was moving from the upper right to the lower left as the sun set below the horizon for them. The bright local moonlit sky provides an interesting contrast. Notice how the trail of the ISS goes from white to a redish brown before disappearing completely. This image was taken at 24mm focal length with an exposure of 30 seconds at f/2.2, ISO 400. BTW, if you look at the full resolution image, you'll see a fuzzy blob almost directly below the ISS trail - that is the huge globular cluster "Omega Centauri" and the ISS is trailing through the northern part of the well known southern constellation Centaurus.

Hummingbird in action

I caught this hummingbird in action last week at the Krutch Cactus Garden on the UofA campus. I got lots of shots of him sitting on branches but finally caught him working on the flowers on this plant. This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400.

Spider Rock

This is the Spider Rock formation in Canyon de Chelly. This image was taken at 30mm focal length with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 100.

Face Rock overlook ruins

Here are some more archeological ruins in Canyon de Chelly that are visible from Face Rock overlook. This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. Converted to B&W with a red filter in Picasa.

Sliding House ruins closeup

Here's a closer view of the Sliding House ruins in Canyon de Chelly. You can see two of the sets of ruins a little better here, both are along the same level of the canyon wall where the canyon has eroded inward just above center here. This image was taken at 70mm focal ength with an exposure of 1/100 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

Sliding House ruins, Canyon de Chelly

There are 3 or maybe 4 sets of ruins visible in this image, can you find them? Oh, and there's a "Bahhhd" herd of sheep in the picture too.... This image was taken at 43mm focal length with an exposure of 1/30 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

Canyon de Chelly Native

Found this little guy not far from the canyon walls during out visit to Canyon de Chelly. This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/640 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

Watching the first images from Phoenix

Just 2 hours after landing, we got to see the very first pictures downloaded from the Phoenix Lander on Mars. Here, Alfred McEwen, leader of the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, examines one of the first images. This image was taken at 50mm focal length with an exposure of 1/60 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800.

Awaiting word from Mars

This is the atrium at the Lunar and Planetary Lab in Tucson where I work. In this image an anxious crowd awaits word from the Phoenix Lander as it descended through the Martian atmosphere on its way to a successful landing yesterday. If you haven't seen the first pictures from this new place on Mars, check out the Phoenix Lander home page. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/30 seconds at f/3.5, ISO 400.

Cross-bedding

There were so many excellent examples of crossbedding in the canyon walls - here you can see the layering cutting across each other and can even imagine the dunes that would have been here as the material was layed down. This image was taken at 238mm focal length with an exposure of 1/1600 seconds at f/8, ISO 400.

White House ruins - Canyon de Chelly

Here's a view across the canyon to the White House ruins to show you the context of the previous photo - can you find the ruins? One hint: they are at the base of the canyon wall and near the center of the picture. There are actually about 3 different archeological sites that I could find while scanning the canyon from this vantage with telephoto and binoculars. It would be nearly impossible to pick them out in this wide angle view, however. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/80 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

White House ruins - Canyon de Chelly

These are the White House ruins in Canyon de Chelly (not to be confused with the White House in Washington D.C.). At their peak, they were occupied by about 100 people in about 60 rooms. This image was taken at 263mm focal length with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 100.

View across the canyon

This telephoto shot across the canyon shows the river and canyon walls as well as all the plant life on the canyon floor. This image was taken at 70mm focal length with an exposure of 1/1000 seconds at f/11, ISO 400.

Tse'yi' - Canyon de Chelly

This is the Tse'yi' overlook along the south drive in Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona. Many Navajo live in the canyon which is Arizona's second largest. Farmland is visible in this view with the river meandering around the 600 foot canyon walls. Jeep trails criss-cross the river through the length of the canyon and many folks take the daily tours here. Many ancient ruins can be found throughout the canyon. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/11, ISO 100.

Salt River Canyon

We're traveling this weekend to one of Karri's workshops in Pinon and stopped for a few minutes at the bottom of the Salt River Canyon where I took this photo. This image was taken at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/1250 seconds at f'/3.5, ISO 100.