Part-time prevaricator
“And yet it moves,” as Galileo is alleged to have said, though the story is probably apocryphal.
The star trails in the photo and the videos all involve 70 frames, 30 seconds each, at 11mm, f/2.8, ISO 1600. The Milky Way is faint, but it’s there.
I took a couple pictures of the Milky Way tonight, as is my wont, and decided to present you with how it looked coming fresh out of my camera, and how it looks once I’ve cleaned it up. Enjoy!
We got to the farm last night in the dark, and the skies were clear and starry. So, after visiting for a bit, I took my camera and tripod out in the lane.
Wednesday:
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.