Ahh, what a beautiful day. The clouds are out, no work in sight, camera
by my side, wildlife all around...and a nice comfortable 2 degree temp
to add to the fun! This was even colder than the last entry I made. The
winds were around 15-20mph off of the river which made it absolutely
impossible to step out of the vehicle. I found out the hard way. I had
NO gloves, NO hat, and only jeans, sweatshirt, and my coat. I thought
"hey, I can just make a quick run down to the dam before the cold
starts to get to me". WRONG. I walked down there pretty fast, but by
the time I made it, my entire hands were turning color and I literally
couldn't feel anything I was touching. I sprinted back to the truck
without getting one picture off. That was pretty stupid of me. But, I
was determined to make it down to the actual dam so I drove back home
and dressed accordingly. I should have taken a picture of myself
bundled up, I'm sure I looked pretty stupid.
Anyway, made it back to the dam and the wind/cold didn't bother me
anymore. I was now much closer to the eagles which allowed me to get
some much better shots. This time, some actually turned out IN FOCUS.
I can't remember if this guy was
calling to another bird or if he was
angry. At one point there were three chasing each other around.
This one is by far the most clear shot I have yet. I guess that piece
of junk lens CAN take a halfway decent shot once in a while. I am
debating on whether or not to rent the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4L USM next
weekend or not. It's only $30/day and I just really want to see how bad
I want to get rid of this one.
I just wanted to post all of the
halfway decent shots I have. It's a rarity to get anything this clear
with that lens. The autofocus is HORRIBLE.
So, after spending a little over an
hour in that weather, I took about 78 shots. Yep, this is all that came
out. Oh well, at least it was a beautiful day.
The following Monday
"This is a great week to see the two
planets together. Mercury reaches its maximum elongation (apparent
distance) from the sun on Feb. 7th, making it unusually easy to see and
a charming companion for always-bright Venus." (from
SpaceWeather)
I am now trying to get something for every bit of space weather that I
can. It is one of the most interesting things to me and what better way
than to look back on the occurrences with photographs. Venus is
EXTREMELY bright in this crisp, clear air. Tonight, Mercury accompanied
just to the southeast of the bright planet. From the ground, it just
looks like two stars that are shining before any of the other, more
distant stars start to come out.
Here is a chart on
where to find if (if anyone is interested, that is)
And my own
illustration......if the chart isn't blantently obvious enough.
Once again the camera took on
a TON of noise. I rolled down the window, turned the heat OFF,
assembled the window mount, and sat for about 10 minutes letting the
camera get exposed to the cold air in hopes of decreasing the problem.
Nope, didn't work. So I ended up freezing my you-know-what off for
apparently nothing.
Bored yet? Hang on, there's
more...
One last picture. I can't wait
for spring!
Soooo.....what may look like stars to most people is actually....well,
stars, but there are a few planets up there also. I think I just might
be getting bored with the same old, same old. I really need something
else. This cold is just adding insult to injury. Ahh, just another
month and a half and everything should be just fine.
