Meteors and Star Trailing

So I started my day at 3:30am. I had picked my spot, set up my tripod and made all the adjustments to my camera. I put it in bulb mode, set the iso at 100, wb on auto and hooked up the remote trigger that Rick made for me. Next, set my alarm for 3:30am and get my butt to bed!

I did it!!

Got up before the alarm went off, made my coffee and headed outside to get my camera mounted. Flipped the remote to open the shutter and came back in to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the show. I sat on the back porch in the dark for a peaceful morning watching and waiting. After leaving my shutter open for an hour I flipped the remote back to close. Now wait again, see if you take a 60 minute shot you have to wait that long for the shutter to fully close and walla....... my star trails and meteor shower. The moon was not cooperating as it was pretty bright and the fog was rolling in pretty fast so not a great shot. Tonight I should do better. The brightest streak down in the lower right hand corner may be a meteor but again it could be just a bright star. I will shoot near the barn tonight.

I copied this from an article on Yahoo News. Full article here - http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090811/sc_space/strongmeteorshowerexpectedtonight

Viewing tips
The best location is far from city and suburban lights. Ideally, find a structure, mountain or tree to block the moon. Then scan as much of the sky as possible. The meteors can appear anywhere, heading in any direction. If you trace their paths backward, they'll all point to the constellation Perseus.
People in locations where any chill might occur should dress warmer than they think necessary to allow for prolonged viewing.
Seasoned skywatchers advise using a blanket or lounge chair for comfort, so you can lie back and look up for long periods. Allow at least 15 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to the darkness. Then expect meteors to be sporadic: You might see two in a row, or several minutes could go by between shooting stars.
Avid meteor watchers might want to try scanning the northeastern horizon from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time (your local time, wherever you are) for Perseids that graze the horizon.
"Earthgrazers are meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond," Cooke explained. "They are long, slow and colorful – among the most beautiful of meteors." He notes that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

Yes I will be back at it tonight, I think I will go for a shot from 10-11. That means a late night tomorrow.

Summertime - Mud Runs- Backdrops-and more .....

SUMMERTIME - means a very busy time for me. This is the reason I have not posted in a while. I spend alot of the sunny weather working in the yard. OK - and some of it in the pool BUT - since my liner ripped and I am waiting for a new one to get here - I have been working in the my flowers ,playing with Harley and practicing some long exposure photography.

Since the price of tobacco is outrageous I have started growing my own. Just kidding, I brought a few plants back from Tennessee ( thanks to my step mom- Judy, for finding me some ) It is not growing as well as it should be. By now this plant should be about 3-4' tall. Oh well I need to quit anyway :) Rick says we are going to smoke it when it gets ready. I don't think he really knows how bad that's going to taste.
Here's a picture that I took on the West side of the new Convention Center in Fairfield. This mural cost around 28,000.00!! I thought it was cool how the storm was rolling in and the painters were busting butt to try get it done. The other picture here is one of my newest tries, star trailing ! This is long exposure photography. I had to leave my camera ,shutter opened ( thanks to Rick for making me a gadget we found online) outside for almost an hour to get this shot. I will keep practicing to see if I can get a better one. Although I was impressed with this one as it is only my second try. all the lines you see are the stars against the revolving atmosphere. Pretty cool,huh ?

Here are two fine ladies ! On the left his MaryAnn ( Rick's mom ) and the right is Aunt Ruby ( MaryAnn's sister) These ladies are a piece of work let me tell you. They painted these two backdrops for me to use with an airbrush. I can't wait to use them for some photo shoots ! Thanks very much mom and Aunt Ruby for the hard work,sweat,and swearing that you put into making these. I was like a kid at Christmas time when my package arrived. I applaud you !!

Now for a catch up of Rick and the Willy's. He entered the mud run in St. Francisville ,Missouri and won first place. Great job but wow, was that jeep dirty.We figured by the time he paid for his fuel over ( diesel is at 4.50/gal ) gas to play ,water to wash the jeep, pain from the sunburn after 8 hours of washing ( without a shirt ) that he came out a little in the hole but, man did he have fun.


The first place trophy !!!

I got this rainbow at a weird time. No rain what-so-ever ! I think there was enough moisture up high in the sky that it produced this lovely rainbow.

Later that night the sunset was amazing. Here I go setting up the tripod on the back porch to get a good shot at it. What do you think ? It reminded me of a desert scene.

Well that is all for now- I need to read up some more on long exposure photography. Stay tuned to see what comes up next on my blog- I have a list of fun filled things going on in the next few months - beginning with a trip to Chicago next weekend !!

A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into. ~Ansel Adams

Be sure to check out my Flickr page to see more photos ! www.flickr.com/harleypass