travels to and fro
Yes, summer 2021 is here and we will be off like a herd of turtles. We have five days of one night stands and then we are onto Custer State Park for a month. I really hope to capture Mount Rushmore in all it’s glory. There will be lots of night photography and I hope to capture some animals along the way.
I am posting pictures of May’s full moon. It was extremely cloudy and due to some issues these were taken from our patio. Enjoy.
Can’t wait to hit the road.
I do not mean vampires, although I do hear the howl of coyotes when I am out at night. We decided to travel out on a night with no moon it is the best time to see my new love, The Milky Way. Roy does not need to get jealous because I need him to drive on these dates. If you are interested in finding out when the best time to go and see the milky way is check out the Photopills App Our first stop of the night was off the I10 on Box Canyon road I had a great view of the milky way but any panoramas I would attempt would not work. So plan B head up to Joshua Tree National Park, there is a parking area near the Cottonwood Campground. This is becoming my go to spot when I’m in the park. So what about those people of the Night I mention.
We pull down the road and see one other car and see he is stargazing so we think. After I get set up, and take some photographs I notice that my foreground is not quite in sharp focus. I am also working on nighttime panoramas. I have my nodel rail which keeps the horizon in line. I added a rotator that allows me to advance my camera by a certain number of degrees so it is easier to stitch the pictures together. Before I had this I had to turn on a light and make sure the camera was moved correctly. Special gadgets make life easy. I then notice my foreground wasn’t quite in focus. So I pull out the big light so Roy can illuminate a tree I can focus on. I think at this point I captured the curiosity of the Night person I hear foot steps and a voice what are you shooting? I explained the milky way and some light painting. Like every night time person I’ve met out here in the night he was very friendly and helpful. I asked him what he was doing, he said is is more into astrophotography. He mentioned his set up was to photograph nebulas. Here is his website Orion Bear Astronomy enjoy his awesome pictures. His timer went off and Roy said when you come back he wanted to know what every nebula was.
He did return with his pointer and some amazing explanations, Roy said he was only joking he just can not see the shapes in the sky. I on the other hand said please go ahead. The Picture on the right shows the Sagittarius Star Cluster I think. I was just amazed at his knowledge. Unfortunately I got a lot of information all at once and some stuff did not stick. The cluster that I always bring out the pink purple colors is called the Lagoon Nebula. I also learned a few of the constellations that surround the milky way, one of this is the scorpion it does pop out once he traced it for me. I am interested in getting a pointer not sure I am ready to upgraded my camera for an astro set-up. We did talk that I might be able to use my long lens on a tracker and get some of the Nebulas out there. I will make that a next summer project. (JK)
Just talking in between shots we looked over and were able to watch Jupiter rising. I was able to capture it just coming over the mountain.
Later in the evening I was trying to capture Cassiopeia I was not very successful I will however try that constellation later this summer. We also tried some light painting to see if that could bring more attention the the stars, that was an epic fail. I also had as you can see a plane fly through the scene. This was towards the end of the night of the night and the cold was effecting my brains. (my story).
I enjoyed meeting Anthony and was glad that he wanted to share his knowledge with me. We did call it a night and I went over to check his setup and thank him for opening my eyes to the night sky. I am now excited for the Griffith Observatory to open so I can get up close to the stars.
or should I say under remodeling. I asked a question about what and how people wanted to experience my travel blog this summer. The most common answer I got was whatever works for me. I want to make this a joint experience for you and me. I will be blogging about what we encounter and adding a few pictures in those blogs. I have also set a part of the site aside just for photographs under the menu Captured. Right now it is under A-Frame. This is a learning experience for me also.
In the coming weeks you will see some changes in the layout and featured content so as they say “Pardon the DUST”
Yes I am almost ready for May moonshot. I have a spot when I am at home that I shoot from. My secret spot until there is a super full moon that is. This month I had two other photographers join me. One even got in my shot. I was able to keep some of the foreground because we still had some sunlight when the moon was rising. This year photographing the moon I am able to stretch my limits and learn more about composition. It does help that I am involved in two night photography Facebook groups.
May full moon we will still be here so I will see if my secret spot is back to being secret.
to an amazing weekend. I have a feeling our travels this year will be filled with humor, and ‘that really happened’ blogs. I say this with a smile and a shake of the head.
I had such a great time hanging in Anza Borrego and I have photos to prove it. I am working on editing and sharing those here and on facebook. This however is too juicy not to share ahead of those posts. As you know there is always a back story and lead up so let me start.
I woke up this morning, Monday, thinking what a full couple of days time to pack up and head home. I get dressed and think what should I wear jeans tennis shoes or sandals and shorts. We have to do the black tank and that is always messy so I decided on shorts and sandals. (SMART Move). Nothing out of the ordinary occurred during the loading of the car, breakfast, finishing packing up, even getting Roy up. I am pleasantly surprised thinking we might get out of here way earlier then I thought. I have started helping with the outside when I can, today was one of those days. This is where Murphy showed up, I did invite him though unwittingly. I learned it is like saying quiet or slow in the OR. So here goes
Those are all the right steps and I’m whipping through them. I squat down with the hose in my hand and am getting ready to connect the hose. People who know me know that squatting and balance and me can be an interesting combo. I am so glad I listened to the little voice in my head that said adjust your stance and where your feet are. Roy, put a cap on the sewer pipe that had a handle so it is easier to twist off, that is what I did. As I go to turn the handle I hear a gush, I struggle to get the cap on without getting covered in poo I did. I also experienced the longest 30 seconds of my life. The only thought that went through my head was OH CRAP!! The next thought was glad I didn’t shower last night.
This could have been so much worse.
I share this for a couple of reasons: 1st it is funny, I didn’t get hurt, it wasn’t that messy. 2nd if you have full hook-ups at your campsite you should hook up the sewer hose and leave the gate handle closed when you arrive. As I am still shaking my head Roy is cleaning the site with a hose, so it doesn’t stink for the next camper. All I have to say you are not camping until you have a mess to clean up. Next up PICTURES.
On the Road with Buki-6 