I was out barbequing some chicken when I looked to the south and saw this cool celestial scene. These are just handheld so not as good as I would like but by the time I was done eating, the show was over. Fun to see though.
Red sun on the Colorado plains
Kind of a cool shot from this morning. Haze from wildfires continues to impact us and partly cloudy skies further limited the sun’s rays. Our sun was cast in red as it rose above the sunrise and those clouds really made it look crazy cool.
No special filters needed due to the inhibited light, just a bit of darkening in post processing. I really loved the hints of red glow on the surrounding clouds.
Flashback: One year ago Comet NEOWISE lights up the sky
I was recently flipping through pictures from last year and came across the images of this interstellar visitor. Over a two-week period starting one year ago today I photographed the comet multiple times and was absolutely thrilled each and every chance I got.
A comet! How often do you get a chance to see and photograph one of those? It may never happen again in my lifetime and I count myself lucky to have had the experience. These three captures are ones that I haven’t shared previously.
Early morning waning gibbous moon
Let’s call it #MoonMonday. 😉
Taken this past Saturday, the sun was just starting to cast a glow on the horizon. I was patiently sitting at my photo destination, enjoying the quiet pre-dawn hours. As I sat there, I looked up at our only natural satellite and was quite taken by its beauty – which of course required a picture to be taken.
Daytime waning gibbous moon
Let’s call it Moon Monday.
Much of yesterday morning was spent either waiting for a photo subject to do something or driving around just trying to find a photo subject. Getting bored waiting for an elk herd to decide if they were going to move closer or not, I pointed my camera up to the gorgeous moon hovering above.
I know the full moon gets all the press but it is the earlier / later stages that truly make it shine. The slightly offset light really help to bring out the depth of the craters and other features on the surface.
Taken in Boulder County, Colorado.
Winter solstice moon
While out taking pictures of yesterday’s “Great Conjunction”, I also pointed my camera toward Earth’s only natural satellite. The waxing gibbous moon looked absolutely awesome high above.
As I have mentioned before, I much prefer taking pics of the moon at stages other than the full moon as the shadows from side-lighting really help bring out the detail.
The Great Conjunction
I am the first to admit that I kinda suck at astrophotography. I just really struggle making things work and look the way I want and tonight wasn’t really any different.
My chosen location didn’t provide for any unique compositions and without going crazy in Photoshop (which I refuse to do), things pretty much looked like bright lights in the sky. Haha!
Having said that, it was pretty neat. I captured Jupiter and three of its moons and was able to get Saturn and its rings. At least that is somewhat different and something I haven’t done before.
Tonight’s celestial show – the crescent moon and Jupiter and Saturn!
Tonight’s celestial show – the crescent moon and #Jupiter and Saturn! Oh, and if you look close, you can see a couple of Jupiter’s moons too. All of this gearing up for next week’s “Christmas star” show when Jupiter and Saturn will be in conjunction. Be sure to click for the full view.
Thank you to my friend, David, providing a heads up to get outside with my camera right away.
Setting Halloween full moon at sunrise
I don’t usually take pics of the full moon as I find early and later stages provide for better pics. However, yesterday morning I was on my way to my photo destination as the sun was creeping up toward the horizon. A cloud near our only natural satellite was painted red and made for a nice scene requiring me to stop.
The Halloween full moon is actually a bit of a rarity with the last one having happened in 1944 and the next one not going to occur until 2039.
The fire moon
Taken early in the morning, the moon over the Denver, Colorado area was insanely red. The only time I have ever seen it this color with it this high in the sky is during a lunar eclipse. Sadly, that was not the reason this time. Instead, it was smoke from wildfires burning in Colorado and Wyoming causing the display – and the smell.