Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Starry, starry night....


Late, late Sunday (August 12 or 13) I stayed awake for 25 hours and joined 7 fellow members of my Photo Group on a dark (very dark) boardwalk in a marsh, to  take photos of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. 




I hope the others in the group did better than I. My shots were of the starry, starry sky but none showing shooting stars, meteors, comets, satellites or other streaks of celestial light in motion.

OK, of course I know the stars were moving (or we were) and they rose higher and higher above the marsh horizon. I did shoot the "Big Dipper" the only galaxy cluster I recognized.

We had gathered in a Wal-Mart shopping center at 2:45am Monday morning and then drove in a convoy 22 miles to a national forest, Cape Romaine, parked and then hiked 1/3 mile ( it seemed much longer) along a path in dense woods, teeming with skeeters, ticks and - possibly - lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

Eight people with flashlights strung out on the wooded path, backpacks filled with snacks, bottled water, bug spray, several cameras, timing devices to snap continuous 30-second photos for hours and large tripods. 

I had my usual Point & Shoot small Canon S90 digital camera. Two of them actually, just in case one malfunctioned at 4 am a long, long way from civilization.

The bugs were not as fierce as we had been told to expect. I was more concerned with ominous Critter sounds coming from beneath the wooden boardwalk where we had set up. 

What does an alligator sound like in the dark? Or an upset possum? I was told that even shrimp make noises. Good grief.

I'm assuming sensible snakes were asleep at this hour.

I came home around 7am, took a shower and dropped my sweaty shirt and jeans into the washer to kill all the ticks I'm sure hitch-hiked home with me. 

The cat was confused with these new activities at strange hours. She left me alone as I adjusted my sleep mask, put in earplugs and started snoring close to 7:45.

I slept till noon and then uploaded what I had shot.

I did see a lot of streaks but found that I had not caught any with my camera. 

They either flashed overhead right after my shutter closed on a 15-second exposure.

Or I saw them to my left or right of where I was aimed. 

I was taking single shots. 

Others were automated, snapping hundreds of pictures that they could layer together with post-production software.


I had enjoyed a night out with friends, savoring the darkness, the conversations and the humid setting.
I smiled as I remembered the policeman who had quietly glided up to our several cars  gathered in the
otherwise deserted Wal-Mart lot around 2:30 am. 

I explained who we were and why we were there. He seemed relieved!

Will post some more of the pictures soon if I see something really different. 

Right now, I'm thinking another nap would be good. 

The cat seems resigned to this disruption of her routine.. 

She's a sweet kitty. And very quiet while I sleep.

(Click on the pictures for more details.)

Others will be uploading their photos of  the star chase that evening/ early morning.

Go to the Photography Group site to see some actual star trails and meteors.

Some were stymied by clouds or excessive light "pollution" at other locations.

If nothing else, our leader Alistair Nicol knew where to take us and showed us how to enjoy snapping in a pitch black setting. He's posted a time-lapse view of the morning.

Thanks Alistair and members of the Photo Group.

These meteors come around every year.

I better let the cops know to expect us.


Labels: , , , , , , ,

posted by chuckography @ 3:25 PM 1 Comments

Friday, December 21, 2012

..A little of this and a bit of that ......

The year is winding down and there are pictures and topics I haven't included in this blog.

The world didn't end today, so I have more time to do some postings.

The Christmas lights on Marion Square caught my eye a few nights ago so I walked around a bit.

Inside the main lighted  "tree" I bumped into a couple who were trying to hold their camera at arm's length for a shot.

I asked if they wanted me to take their picture?

"Yes," they answered, pleased that I had offered.

I raised my camera and they looked stunned.

"Oh," I said, "you want me to use YOUR camera." I like to mess with people's minds a lot.

Speaking of photos, a friend of mine,  Alistair Nicol,  had a special show of his landscape photos in Mt. Pleasant at the Troubador Coffee.

It was also the first anniversary of the cozy spot so quite a crowd gathered and saw his work.

Two were printed on "metal" surfaced paper and the shiny effect was, well, dazzling.

At one of our recent Photo Group meetings, a fellow member put his camera on his tripod, extended the legs fully and then raised it high over his head.

He had set the timer so a few seconds later, it snapped a photo looking down.

Try this sometime.

It is a surprising high angle view.

I see my multiple chins disappear when I'm looking up like that.

Closer to home, I had my handyman come by to fix my dryer vent problem.

We all know a build up of lint could be a fire hazard. He said I had a hazard-in-the-works.

No matter how carefully I attached the flexible 4" hose, it crimped when I pushed the dryer back into place. He said the vinyl tube is illegal.

I described the situation and he picked up a solution on his way over.

Had never seen a metal "periscope vent" contraption like that but it was cut to size and slipped together. Inside, all smooth metal.

He attached one end to the dryer and the other to the outside opening and lint now flies out the vent like a miniature snow storm. 

Sometimes you can't get right in front of the stage with your camera.

Maybe it's too crowded or maybe one person is taking up a LOT of room so you hang back a bit.

This guy appeared to be the biggest fan for Popa Chubby at the Pour House.

Popa stopped playing to remark "You have a lot of stamina, don't you?"

I've seen him before in the audience and his energy level is very, very high.
He reminds me that usually I am the oldest person there. 

And probably the only one wearing protective ear plugs.

Another night I was enjoying Blair Crimmins and the Hookers at the PoHo. 
They play a great sound of jazzy 1920s and the pace is outrageous. 

A local Swing Dancers club always shows up when Blaire comes to town.

This night I decided that a black and white, grainy photograph would capture the tone and tempo of the evening.

(Please click on the photo for more details.)

I hate when I let pictures and events pile up. 

That's when the world would end.

Whew.

Enjoy.

*This is my 598th posting since March 2006. The number of hits is about to reach 100,000. Yikes. This has been a LOT of fun so far. Thanks for stopping by.

Labels: , , , , , ,

posted by chuckography @ 1:54 PM 0 Comments