sUAS: Sunset Over a Calm Lake

Sunset After a Rain Shower

     The cloud formations after a rain shower embellish the sunset over the lake. To the left, one can spot a Purple Martin house, its occupants out and about catching insects, while waiting for the call of migration. 

Lake Wichita in December, 2013

Brown Pelicans in Galveston

Fishing Vessel and Birds

Little Pond on a Farm

   

     Jay watches the numerous bull frogs in a little pond on a farm.

Sleeping Under the Milky Way

     After an afternoon on his SeaDoo, MyMrMallory and I settled in under the stars for an evening of meteor watching. We spotted several large meteors, all one week in advance of the peak of the Perseids. Bodes well for this weekend, if the sky is clear.

Two Trees at Sunset

iPhone photo processed with Snapseed. 

Dense Milky Way . . . Stars, Planes, Satellites

 

In my images, no meteors, but lots of satellites and airplanes criss-crossing the Milky Way.

Catamarans at Sunset

A Sailboat with Solar-powered Lights

        Intrigued by a lone sailboat, I returned to the sailing club to attempt a nice image of it. Its solar powered lights lit up the surrounding area. I wondered how it would look with the Milky Way in the background. 

      Around me, all was dark, except for the sailboat. At the top of its mast, I spotted beautiful Mars on the right, and Saturn and Antares on the left.

     

     A bit later in the evening, the cirrus clouds began to drift away. The Milky Way emerged above the bow. A meteor passed above it. Saturn, Mars, and Antares are still visible, now to the right of the mast. All these elements came together to make a lovely image.

Sunfish at Dusk

Golden hour over the Sunfish.

     The filter I placed over the lens emphasized the colors of the sunset. 

Milky Way at the Sailing Club

Golden hour over the sail boats. In the distance, a building thunderhead promises rain.

After sunset, I lit up these yachts with my spotlight, one by one, then merged the three images.

The stars began to show, Jupiter and Venus at right.

     A slightly blurry image, yet representative of what I saw as the sky darkened. The red lights at lower left show a wind turbine farm, and to their left, Saturn, Antares, and Mars emerged early in the evening. The Milky Way begins to peek along the left side of the image (if you squint hard enough you might see it).

    Ah, the Milky Way . . . and a meteor (to the left of the top mast), which was the third meteor I spotted. Indeed, the Perseids might have already begun, while the Scutids and Capricornids are under way.

     Jim Livingston said, "The magic is in the post-processing," while discussing how to best make images of the night sky. It is a difficult genre, and magical, too, and these two things compel me to return to view and photograph the night sky.

Wind Turbines Across the Playa

Compendium

Link to Ranch and Farm:

http://jalbum.net/a/1737429

Sunrise Backlighting Grasses

Sailing Club in the Sun

iPhone photos.

Golden Hour on an Escarpment

Update: Of all panoramas I found on my delightful excursion through the countryside, I prefer the ones below, both consisting of three images stitched in Photoshop. Focal length, 70mm.

Moonrise Over Cliff

Moonset Over the Wind Turbines

     At left, a full moon sets; at right, on the other side of the power line, small red lights in the distance show the wind turbines