Sunday, December 23, 2012

12/13/12 Geminid Meteor Shower/Star Trails

Taking-in the starlight and meteor shower in
rural-Stark County, IL southeast of Kewanee, IL 

On December 13th, I was able to view the Geminid Meteor Shower as I traveled to rural-Stark County, IL to escape the city lights/light pollution of Peoria, IL. Early-on some pesky high-level cirrus clouds I had to deal with through the evening, but it quickly cleared out by 9:00pm. Their were nearly perfect viewing conditions thereafter for the meteor shower with no moonlight to be concerned with. I saw a few nice "fireball" meteors and also a few small ones as well throughout the night. I really only caught "one" on a long-exposure that darted across the northern sky in front of a small lighthouse just before I was about to "kill" the long exposure I was taking. Despite the chilly conditions I was happy with a long night of photography shooting several shots of star trails. I've added several photos from the night below:

A lighthouse providing a stellar photo-op...
High-level cirrus mixed in after sunset
providing an interesting orange-hue to the sky!
Cirrus clouds moving off to the northeast allowing
the stars to show themselves the rest of the night...
Polaris (north-star) can be used to your advantage
to create some dramatic photos!
City lights sneaking into the
background of this shot...
Out chasing some more starlight!
"I'll be up waiting, counting the stars"
Having fun with some evergreen trees now...
 Another cool shot! (looking north)
Similar photo I shot about a month ago, but I'm
not sure which one I like better yet...
Let me light up the sky, light it up for you...
I shot this similar photo last year, but
I like this one better...
"Stairway to heaven"!
One last photo as I call it a night...

That wraps up this post. The lack of winter weather in this area has been quite annoying thus far this month. We did finally get our first snowfall however. 2012 will sure go down as one of the weirdest years of weather in recent memory. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for 2013 already...

Thursday, December 20, 2012

12/06/12 December Sunrise & Sunsets

Sunrise a few weeks ago along the
eastern horizon outside Peoria, IL

Earlier this month, I managed to do a little bit of photography during a hectic work schedule photographing a couple nice sunrises and sunsets. I usually find these last two months of the year very busy as I usually am working long hours and don't have much in the way of free time. Every now and then though I manage to sneak a little bit of time into my day for some photography. I've added a few photos I shot this month below:

A beautiful December sunset!
The geese were still here just before
we ended the "snow-drought"...
A local cemetery outside of town and a fiery sunset...

Stay tuned for another post at a later date. I ended up shooting some cool photos a week or two ago as I was out doing some night photography once again. I'll update at some point with that post as well...

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

11/15/12 Chasing Your Starlight: Star Trails

Star trails this past Thursday on a chilly November
evening outside Kewanee, IL

Thursday, I ventured out during the early evening as the skies cleared to shoot some star trails outside Kewanee, IL. It was nearly a perfect night for this type of photography. Clear skies, low humidity, and very little moonlight helped to create some beautiful photography. My only regret was that I didn't have more time to visit a few more locations which I have scoped out in the local-area. I haven't done much photography of this kind of sort over the last few years and frankly I would love to do more. It may be a little boring at first, but it's pretty cool the crazy photos you can achieve by taking the time to look up at the stars. Well worth the time and effort. Most of the star trails I shot below were short exposures due to time constraints. I have added a few of my favorites below:

Cool shot with the stars above our
outdoor pool enclosure...
 Animated.gif of the stars as the Earth spins
on its axis creating the "trails" (above)
Click to enlarge...
Warp speed Captain Kirk!
One of my favorites!
Another cool shot! (looking north)
Star trails above the house!
Definitely another favorite from the evening
using the star Polaris in the northern sky...
Wind farms in the distance with
star trails in the southern horizon...

That's all for now. I'll be pretty quiet on here for the short term as we head into the Christmas holiday retail season which tends to take up most of my time on an annual basis this time of year. Should be quite a busy month for myself, but I'll enjoy the extra $$$ to afford some new toys I'm already looking into for next spring. The weather has been very dull around here as of late. Hopefully, we will get some winter weather soon here in central Illinois. I wouldn't be surprised to see something of "note" within the first two weeks of December around these parts. Maybe Old Man Winter will show himself soon...

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

10/20/12 Notre Dame Fall Foliage: 2012

Fall foliage peaking at the campus of
Notre Dame in South Bend, IN

On October 20th, I visited the campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN as the family and I had tickets to the football game that Saturday afternoon against BYU. The last time I visited was back in 2010 which wasn't as enjoyable due to the weather conditions and brief stay. Anyhow, after the long 5-hour drive the day before I ventured out quite early on Saturday morning to capture some fall foliage on campus. The campus to my liking seemed deserted at this time before 70,000+ people packed into the campus for the game later that afternoon. It worked out quite well for photography purposes. I spent all morning taking photos before the big game started during the early afternoon. I can't complain at all because the colors were absolutely beautiful on campus thanks to cloudy skies and damp conditions from recent rainfall. In other words, it was a perfect morning for photography as both my DSLR cameras got some heavy use. I've added many of my favorite photos I shot on campus below:

A golden-yellow canopy of fall foliage!
Oh, when I saw the making of
this shot I was quite happy...
Insanely vibrant red fall foliage on this morning!
The Golden Dome amidst the fall foliage...
Beautiful statue with the fall colors in abundance!
I love this perspective along this fall path!
Stunning fall colors...
The previous night's rainfall made for
some stellar photography...
Picturesque scenes everywhere you look!
One of the first shots I took on this morning
and I knew quickly it would be a good day!
A shot of the Golden Dome ahead! (wide-angle)
Vibrant red's and orange's on this day...
Beautiful rose bush providing a photo-op!
Fall colors along this path to the Golden Dome...
Burning red!
A beautiful campus to say the least!
An enjoyable walk...
Absolutely one of my favorite fall photos this year!
Standing water providing a fall reflection. Nice!
I was quite happy with the fall colors to say the least...
The football stadium!
The sun would later come out around noon...
A sweet panoramic shot of the stadium! (iPhone 5)
Click to enlarge...
Crazy colors!
I thought this was an interesting shot with
 the sun trying to peak out (left)...
And another of the Golden Dome...
The stadium once again however from a distance!
"Touchdown Jesus" with a reflecting pool!
The sun pops out providing more colorful photos...
I thought this was a cool shot with
the staircase in shadow (left)...
One last photo as I head to the football game!

That's all for now. Notre Dame did get the W by a final score of (17-14) over BYU, but it was a nail-bitter for a time. It was a very productive day and enjoyable game. We headed home arriving back in Peoria, IL around 1:00am. I'll be doing more photography over the next few months. Stay tuned for more posts over the winter months.