Witt’s End

Well, before the heat wave is able to melt my camera gear, I thought I’d better take advantage of a relatively clear sky last night. I’m currently training myself with the gear I plan to use for upcoming road trips where weight restrictions (the gear, not me) will limit what goes. So last night I worked on aligning my new Star Adventure tracker and mounted the Nikkor 28-300 mm lens. This moon shot is a stack of what started to be nearly 1000 images. I removed the photobombing by planes and satellites and whittled it down to about 750. My stacking program whittled it even more to 647 in selecting the best images. I’m pleased with the results even if it was a bit of overkill. The tracker holds the camera steady as a rock over long periods of time. 300mm, f5.6, 1/250 X647.

And this shot, over the roof of the Big Dipper, is a composite of 35 images. It started out with 150 images but was cut way down to improve the quality. Stacking improved the vast number of stars that are out there, to the point where the dipper is tough to find. I love it! (You might have to double click on the image to see all the stars. 28mm, f5.6, 5 seconds X 35.

For an uncountable number of weeks and days we (meaning me, mostly) have focused our eyes on the cosmos. The big show, the Total Eclipse, has come and gone. We have plenty of pictures to show and, unless you an astrophysicist, not much to think about. What, in the end did we get out of the eclipse other than some great memories–and you can’t eat those? Just after the eclipse I took a walk in the neighborhood to decompress from the excitement. I found myself standing next to a blossoming tree that was humming with excitement. As I got closer I realized the tree was covered with honey bees, all working like crazy on something that will last long after the memories have faded.

The memories of the Great American Eclipse will be gone far too soon, adding another item to the list of things that once were. The efforts of the honey bees, however, will endure.