When this is the first thing you see on your computer screen in the morning, the day is probably not going to go that well.
There were highlights every here and there, things did get fixed, and it was in the mid 70’s and wonderfully warm and toasty out in the Sun, but I was fixing computers and doing finance crap and answering emails and not allowed at all to go take a nap in the Sun out in the back yard like a cat. It sucks not being a cat.
Filed under Paul, Photography
It’s “simple” because it’s just one of my Canon DSLR cameras with a 75-300mm telephoto lens on a tripod. Not a dedicated astrophotography camera, not on my telescope, not a 600mm or 800mm lens, not on an equitorial mount. It’s recognizeable, but there’s a LOT of room for improvement.
As always, focus is an issue, in part because the Moon’s high enough so that pointing the camera almost straight up requires almost an Olympic gymnast’s contortion abilities to be able to see through the eyepiece, and also because I had an eye exam today and my eyes are still dilated so my vision isn’t hitting on all cylinders to begin with.
It was a test to see what came out. I give it a “C,” maybe a “C-.”
I got up this morning, started going through my social media, and had a WTF moment. Or, more precisely, a “that doesn’t look right, did *I* do that?” moment. Yes, yes I did. My thanks to everyone for completely ignoring the fact that I can’s spell “deuce” to save my life, and in fact can blissfully misspell it twice, once in the title and once in bold, italic, fluorescent pink CAPS.
Filed under Astronomy, Photography
Today’s February 22nd, or 2/22, and at one point about forty minutes ago I was looking at the digital clock on my desk just as it said 22:22:22. DUECES WILD!!! I don’t know if that was a magical moment, but I made a wish anyway.
So far no one seems to have meet a painful, horrible, screaming death due to my 2/22 22:22:22 appeal to the Universe, but maybe these things just take a little bit. Maybe my wish is just a nudge that’s granted and it acts like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings in Hong Kong that leads to a catastrophic hurricane that decimates the Carribean. It takes a while for the dominos to start falling.
You’re welcome!
Filed under Panorama, Paul, Photography
It might not have been one of those mind blowing sunsets that you get in the tropics almost every day and you get here every few years, but it was definitely signficantly above average. Lots of nice color.
A few contrails lit up in nice shades of pink and purplish-orange.
And rising even further away from the Sun, but still close enough to get into the picture with the proper iPhone camera settings, the Moon is now four days past new and 23% illuminated.
All together, it doesn’t suck. Most days that’s about the best you can ask for.
Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Sunsets
Not bad for a handheld photo on an iPhone in freezing cold (literally) and 30 knot winds.
Even the 8x telephoto is reasonably crisp.
You’ve probably seen a lot of these types of photos in the last couple of days on social media. Two days ago the Moon was right next to Mercury, and tonight it was near Saturn. A lot of folks have been noticing.
Filed under Astronomy, Photography, Sunsets
No snow. Not unexpected in the end.
However, when the rain was starting to taper off I noticed that it had gotten a little bit sunny. I scrambled to check.
Never saw the full rainbow, must have been some cloud blocking the middle part above us and back behind us. But I got the two ends.
Individually they were nice and bright.
It was however, COLD. Never even got into the 40’s, and the wind was howling.
Filed under Photography, Weather, Forever Home
After this latest storm, I can assume that Mt San Antonio is well covered in snow – all of the roads heading up there are closed, so that’s your first sign. I haven’t been able to see the mountain in the last three or four days due to all of the clouds.
What I could see today were the mountains to the east. Mt Butler was well covered, way off in the distance, but we’ve seen that before.
What was new, this being the coldest storm so far since we’ve moved in, was the snow on The Pinnacles just at the east end of Victor Valley.
The Pinnacles go up to 5,646 feet and we, out in the valley floor, are at about 3,585 feet, so with the snow line being about a third of the way down, I’m guessing it’s at about 4,100 to 4,200 feet.
Even some of the peaks and ridges off to the side of The Pinnacles had some snow on their tops.
We’re at 34°F now, and all mention of flurries or snow has disappeared from tomorrow’s forecast, so while there may be more snow up on the peaks, I have doubts that we’ll get any down here on the valley floor. I’ll be watching, but I think this snow storm crapped out for us.
I’ll still be waiting…
Filed under Forever Home, Photography, Weather
Between yesterday’s downpours and todays, there were a few minutes this morning with partial clearing, some blue skies and sunshine, two squirrels back in the yard, light showers overhead, and a tiny little sliver of rainbow. I ran outside with my phone, spooking the squirrels. (Sorry, guys!)
I missed. All of the elements (Sun, rain, alignment) were all still there, along with a howling wind, but the colors that had been there ten seconds earlier were gone and never returned.
The clouds, however, were spectacular!
I guess that was the prize for getting out there right at that moment. A half hour later (and all afternoon) it’s been grey, windy, and wet.
The forecast for some snow flurries keeps getting pushed back and getting to be less and less likely, but I’ve got my new snow shovel at the ready, just in case!
Filed under Forever Home, Photography, Weather
The rain has paused for the moment but there was a single odd-looking, weirdly illuminated cloud off over the horizon.
Normally on a longer exposure photo with my iPhone I would rest it on top of the backyard wall, but that wall isn’t cinder block, it’s that pre-fabricated vinyl stuff and with the wind howling it was moving all over the place. In addition, it’s cold, as cold as I’ve seen it here in the almost seven months we’ve been here. 38°F and falling.
There’s still a slim chance of some snow on Thursday they say – I’m skeptical, but in a secretly child-like hopeful way!
(Image from Wunderground app)
Filed under Forever Home, Photography, Weather
As I am wont to do (you can search and find similiar posts at least a couple of years in the past) I like to take long exposures (5-10 seconds seems to work best) of Christmas lights while swinging or moving the camera. You need to use a DSLR or film for this to work – a “smart” camera assumes you don’t know what you’re doing and tries to “correct” the image to compensate for the motion. That isn’t Artificial Intelligence, that’s Natural Stupidity!
The lights got shut off and came down weeks ago, but I grabbed some photos beforehand:
One thing that really stands out in these photos is the color temperature and brightness differences between the incancescent lights and the LEDs. There are a lot of things I like about the LEDs, but those factors are not two of them.
Filed under Art, Christmas Lights, Photography
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We Love The Stars Too Fondly 