Faceoff

 
Faceoff at the start of the 3rd period. The referee is about to drop the puck to start the 3rd and final period of the Coyotes-Rangers game last Saturday night. The exposure was 1/400 seconds, f/5.0, 214mm, ISO 800. 

Breakaway

 
After stealing the puck from Ranger star Jaromir Jagr in the Rangers zone, Phoenix Coyote Patrick Fischer (#12) slides the puck past the outstretched leg of Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist on a breakaway to make the score 6-2 in a game dominated by the Rangers who won 7-3. This image was made at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/640 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800. 

2 Minutes for Charging

 
Ranger Ryan Hollweg (#44) checks Coyote Dave Scatchard (#38) into the boards early in the 2nd period. Hollweg was penalized 2 minutes for charging after this check and got an additional 2 minutes for unsportamanlike conduct as well at 5:23 of the 2nd period. It's funny to look at the faces of the fans in the rink-side seats reacting as Scatchard is slammed into the boards. Exposure was 214mm focal length, 1/400 seconds at f/5, ISO 800. 

Rangers-Coyotes

 
I went to an NHL game last night up in the Phoenix area with my folks between the New York Rangers (or old favorites) and the Phoenix Coyotes. It was an exciting game with the Rangers winning by a final score of 7-3. Here, Matt Cullen (#5) shoots on net to score the first goal in the 2nd period giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead - a lead which they would never give up. This image was taken at 100mm focal length with an exposure of 1/800 seconds at f/4, ISO 800. 

In the fog

 
My last night on Kitt Peak this run was a foggy one. Thi simage was taken just before heading for dinner as it started to rain a little. The fog came and went all night and the humidity never dropped below 100%. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 48mm focal length with an exposure of 1/650 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 400. 

Tucson Arizona

 
I often think of Obiwan Kenobi's line from Star Wars, modified slightly when I see this view of my favorite city: "Tucson Arizona, You'll not find a more retched hive of scum and villainy. We must be careful." This was taken just as twilight cracked on my first cloudy night of the run on Tuesday morning. You can see the Tucson Mountains silhouetted in the foreground and Ajo road (highway 86) snaking its way southwest towards us just past the hulking silhouette of Cat Mountain. Sharp eyes can even make out the Santa Catalina mountains behind town and perhaps other specific well lit places in town. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 70mm focal lenght on my 20D with an exposure of 15 seconds at f/11, ISO 800. 

The crack of sunrise.

 
This image was taken right after sunrise 2 mornings ago. I always like to say that if I'm up at that hour, it's because I'm still up and that was the case after a night of observing.... This image was taken with the 24mm lens on my 20D with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/8, ISO 800. 

Satellite over Andromeda

 
A satellite passes over the Andromeda Galaxy as morning twilight brightens the sky over Kitt Peak. The dome at right is that of the Spacewatch 36 inch telescope. THis image was taken with a 24mm lens with an exposure of 30 sseconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. 

Twilight fades

 
Fading twilight on Kitt Peak finds a satellite flying over the Spacewatch 36 inch dome, the Steward Observatory 90 inch Bok telescope dome and the Kitt Peak 4-meter Mayall dome (as viewed from left to right). If you look carefully, you'll see the Big Dipper just above and right of the Spacewatch Dome. This image was taken with my Sigma 24mm lens on my 20D with an exposure of 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. 

Orionid Fireball

 
This time exposure includes an image of an Orionid fireball streaking past the North American Nebula in the Milky Way of Cygnus. This little dust particle was once part of Comet Halley before becoming one of the newest bits of Planet Earth. This image was taken with my 24mm lens with an exposure of 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. 

UFO?

 
...Well, only in that I don't know what kind of Military jet is actually making the bright arc of light above the dome of our Spacewatch 36 inch telescope. The jet is flying over the Goldwater Gunnery range and can be seen in several frames along with other planes and flares and so on in the time lapse sequence. My goal was to image comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) which is just barely visible if you know where to look (but it won't look like a comet, just a star). This image was taken with my Sigma 24mm lens on my 20D with an exposure of 30 seconds at f/1.8, ISO 800. 

Redtailed Hawk - yet another cropping

 
Here's another slightly different crop of my Redtailed Hawk picture. I think I like this one the best yet. 

Redtailed Hawk - alternate cropping

 
Here is the same image, but cropped differently. I think I like this crop better. 

Redtailed Hawk

 
I was walking back from lunch when I saw this hawk swoop out of the sky and into an olive tree, chasing out a flock of pigeons (the trailing pigeon with the hawk literally on its tail looked like it was sweating as it fluttered too and fro trying to get away!). I ran into my office and grabbed my camera and came back out, not really expecting to see the hawk still in the araea, but here he was, on top of a lamp in front of the Flandrau Planetarium. He was looking around (for more pigeons?) but didn't seem to care that I was working my way closer to him until I was on the sidewalk right in front of the lamp. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/400 seconds at f/8, ISO 200. This was cropped tight around the bird in Picasa. 

Upsun Cholla & Cat Mountain

 
Cat Mountain appears in the distance with backlit Cholla Cacti in the foreground. You don't want to have a runin with these cacti, also call Jumping Cactus (all it takes is to catch one of the cholla droppings on your shoe and then you can flick it into the air where it can land in your calf or in your friends calf.... Ouch!). This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 18mm focal length with a polarizer. The exposure was 1/640 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. 

More Moon over Saguaro

 
The Saguaro cacti on this rugged hill seem quite at home as the Moon appears overhead. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 28mm focal length with a polarizer to darken the skies. The exposure was 1/800 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. 

Moon over Saguaro

 
The Moon slowly sets into the west over the arm of a Saguaro. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 48mm focal length with a polarizing filter. The exposure was 1/640 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. 

The Shadow of a Saguaro

 
Standing in the shadow of a Saguaro Cactus on a hill in Tucson Mountain Park that I've nicknamed "Cholla Hill" (for rather obvious reasons). This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 18mm focal length using an exposure of 1/1250 seconds at f/8, ISO 400. 

Tucson Downtown Airport - Fire damage

 
Part of the western hanger has been damaged by a fire. This image was taken with the kit lens at 18mm focal length on my 20D with an exposure of 1/2500 seconds at f/4, ISO 400. 

Tucson Downtown Airport - The Flying Dutchman Air Service

 
Stenciling on the walls inside the eastern hanger shows indications of this buildings original use as a hanger. There are other signs in empty offices and on a blackboard of that earlier activity. Too bad some of this can't be preserved as a reminder of our past. This image was taken with the kit lens at 33mm focal length on my 20D with an exposure of 1/500 seconds at f/11, ISO 400. 

Tucson Downtown Airport - main runway

 
This is the view west across the main runway (11 or 12?) of the Tucson Downtown Airport from roughly due south of the two abandoned hangers. The runways are still visible in aerial photos but are over-run with small bushes as they are slowly being reclaimed by the desert. This image was taken with the kit lens at 18mm focal length on my 20D with an exposure of 1/500 seconds at f/11, ISO 400. 

Hanger - Tucson Downtown Airport

 
This is the eastern of the two hangers remaining at the Tucson Downtown Airport. After the airport closed, this area was occupied by the owners, but after it was recently sold, it was partly demolished. Now, it is occupied by some homeless folks and I found some artifacts including bedding and lanterns inside. I wonder what sort of airplanes once resided in these hangers? This image was taken with the kit lens at 18mm focal length on my 20D with an exposure of 1/500 seconds at f/11, ISO 400. 

Tucson Downtown Airport

 
The abandoned hangers of the Tucson Downtown airport have been partly demolished, but still preserve some interesting history. This airfield is just north of I-10 and between Kino Blvd and Park Avenue in Tucson and was last active in the early 1960s. The pile of concrete rubble in the foreground used to be part of the fuel tank and had an NGS (National Geodetic Survey) marker embedded in it which I was looking for (unsuccessfully - but I did find another NGS marker that was on another part of the old airport property). The runways are still visible in aerial photos, though they are overgrown with desert plants and there are plans for some developement here which may start within a couple years. This image was taken with the kit lens on my 20D at 18mm focal length with an exposure of 1/500 seconds at f/11, ISO 400. 

Tucson Sidewinders

 
The Tucson Sidewinders won the AAA championship last month after a fantastic season of baseball. This image is of Diamondback Minor League player of the year Alberto Callaspo taking a ball inside during game 2 of the PCL championship series. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 108mm focal length with an exposure of 1/320 seconds at f/4, ISO 1600. 

High flying hawk

 
This hawk was flying with a 2nd hawk and a turkey vulture high over Kitt Peak during my last observing run. This image was taken with my 70-300mm zoom at 300mm focal length on my 20D with an exposure of 1/3200 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600. Heavily cropped.