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.