Afternoon sun

Leaving work, the late afternoon sun filtered through the trees.  I don't know what to call this tall grass - I always jokingly called it pampas grass but it grows in wet areas around here.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Transit of Venus 2012

By now, most everyone's heard about the 2012 transit of Venus.  Like most astronomical events, I got clouded out for a large piece. Then of course, the sun set before it was even a third over.  But still, it was fun to watch with my little one.  I have an old telescope called an Edmund Astroscan, and I set it up so that the eyepiece pointed sideways, then focussed the image on a piece of white paper I taped to a bit of cardboard.  The technique is called eyepiece projection, and it's an easy way to let a group of people see the Sun safely.  Venus is the round dot at the upper left side.  Other blotches are sunspots.

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/640
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	125
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

This was the very beginning; I saw a break in the clouds and grabbed the telescope and got a shot off as quickly as I could.

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	39.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 78.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/2000
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

The setup looks like this.  The telescope is the tube sticking out of the red bag.  I used the lens case to hold up the cardboard and the eyepiece is pointing at that.  This way, it's virtually impossible for someone to accidentally peek into the eyepiece and get hurt.

I'm off at a ham radio contest - post is on auto-pilot.

Skywatch Friday

It's almost Spring, and that means... rain!  And rain means clouds.  But the sun is not so easily dissuaded, and despite the clouds, insists on making an appearance.

A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

 

F Number	11.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/640
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	800
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

The sun tries to make an appearance through the hazy clouds.  The days are getting longer, the sun will win this struggle... eventually.

A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

 

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	40.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 80.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/800
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Lana enjoys the sun

This is Lana.  She's a German Shepherd Dog, a rescue.  It's been cold here of late, and she enjoys the sun coming in through the window after a walk outside.  I do, too!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/60
Exposure Program	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Twilight's last gleaming

The sky was so clear last night that I was able to see the sun all the way down. Well, sort of. We're in the Mohawk River valley, and the valley walls block the sun before it has set, but when conditions are right, the sun's rays skim over the tops of the trees and shine on our little hilltop.

Skywatch Friday

It's January, so we see a fair amount of cloudy days here. Some days though, we get a reminder that our nearest star is still hard at work. Some days the clouds work harder!

It's Skywatch Friday! Click the link to see photos from round the world.

Morning sun

It seems as if the skies have been a solid, leaden grey for a long, long time - it's so good to see the sun in the morning for a change! After Christmas, when the lights are no longer turned on, the amount of colour goes way down. Everything seems to be grey or brown. Even the snow is grey after a short while. Dust and dirt, I suppose.

Seeing a bright flag like this is like a jolt of caffeine for the eyes. Once I got past that, I rather liked the textures of the side-lit planter boxes (can one call a concrete planter a box?) and the shadow of the hibernating trailing plant.

Theme day - Yellow

It's the first of the month and that means Theme Day at the City Daily Photo blogs. This month's theme is yellow. Be sure to visit the other participants; they are an incredible, creative group! Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

I took a classic close-up of yellow crocuses, but I'm guessing that will be somewhat popular, this being early spring in the northern hemisphere. So I tried something a bit different. You'll have to use your imagination a little bit.

This is my cat Huck sitting in the window. Actually, he's sitting on the radiator in front of the window. He loves this spot. He sometimes pushes his head between the slats of the blinds so he can get a better view. He can peer out, watch the birds and squirrels and enjoy the warm, yellow sun. It's so warm and so yellow, when it reflects off him it even lights up the wood window frame with a golden glow. Not too shabby for a domestic short hair tiger tabby!