Part-time prevaricator
Taken on a side road just off Highway #10, about 15 minutes south of my house, at about 1:30 AM.
14 photos, each 25 seconds, 3200 ISO, 11mm, f/2.8. Stitched with Hugin.
96 images in the timelapse above, each one 25 seconds @ 11mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200. The video took almost an hour to shoot, and, at 10 frames per second, lasts about 10 seconds.
I went out last night, since it was clear, and visited my friend Tim, who’s camping this weekend at Wasagaming. I snapped some star trails at his campsite (my battery, almost dead, managed 80 shots at 10 seconds each).
On the way home, I pulled off the highway about ½ a mile down a gravel road, and tried out a panoramic photo of the Milky Way. I set my camera up in portrait mode and shot 5 photos, 45 seconds each, tilting the camera up after each shot. The camera started out aimed at the horizon and the last shot was pointed straight up at the zenith.
I stitched the photos together using Hugin, which did a very good job of automatically orienting the photos and finding the matches. I didn’t have to massage anything manually.
Le voilà:
Last night was clear, at least until I got to my shooting spot, about 15 minutes south of town. Even with the clouds sliding across the sky, I still managed to get a few decent shots of the galaxy.
Continue reading “The Milky Way on a cloudy night”
As is rapidly becoming tradition, I spent most of the last week of July in a friend’s cabin up at Minnedosa. (Thanks, Karen & Ed!) My goals for the week are posted here, and here’s how it went:
I have a complete outline for the POV’s arc, which is the most critical as it’s narrated in the first person.
Also, I had a major epiphany about the POV character, one that will shake up the last ⅔ of the book.
I wrote 12,500 words in Translations, the bulk of it written as I sat on the deck, pretty much all alone in the cottage area.
Yeah, that turned out okay.
Having access to a car this year really helped me get to the dark places (literally) so that I could get some great photos of the night sky.
Also, I sold a print of one of my photos to a friend. (Thanks, Brianne!) Does that mean I’m a pro now?
Well. My bike’s left pedal arm has been coming loose more and more frequently. It’s got to go into the shop. On my first ride in Minnedosa, I had to stop twice to tighten the pedal arm, both times on my way up a hill. So after that, feh to bike riding. (At least, my bike in its current condition.)
Fortunately, I had access to a kayak (thanks, Carla!), so I put in about 15 km of paddling time, going up and down the lake.
I read James S. A. Corey’s amazing Leviathan Wakes, courtesy of my public library’s e‑book program. I’m now hooked, and need to read the rest of the Expanse saga.
I also re-read the first ⅔ of Gene Wolfe’s subtle and mysterious The Fifth Head of Cerberus, which, I’m not gonna lie, probably had at least a little bit to do with my aforementioned epiphany. (It’s also the first Wolfe novel I’ve re-read, and it’s amazing how much less confusion I feel, how much more I’m picking up.)
And we bought a second car, which is why I could have a vehicle to go gallivantin’ around the countryside, looking for dark locations to get photos like this:
I think that went well.
Sometimes it’s absolutely worth it to stay up past your bedtime.