Astrophotography II

A few "honorable mentions".

This image was an interesting one, probably the shortest of the evening (and most likely snapped by accident...). The ISO here was an ISO-100, which normally for this kind of photography I've seen at least ISO-400 recommended (and sometimes suggestions to push the ISO as high as it will go.) The exposure time was 6 seconds.

There was a comet that was supposed to be present in the sky, but not really visible to the naked eye. Perhaps the off-color splotch in this photo was it? (It's also in the image above.)

Orion was my friend that evening. He was easy to find.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my pictures! :)

Astrophotography

A while back, there was a meteor shower and a chance of seeing a comet. The pictures weren't all that impressive to look at on my little camera screen, but they looked more impressive as I tried to process them on AuroraHDR. I think I let my exposures go too long, as the HDR process really seems to be able to pull the light out of the stars in the dark images, and the longer exposures leave streaking stars (which make me a little dizzy to look at them.) Here's what I came up with. Thanks for stopping by and looking at my pictures! :)

This was a quick picture, which appeared nearly completely black in the RAW image:

This one definitely had something moving across the upper right corner, whether it was the meteor I was looking for, or a passing plane, I couldn't say.

This image has a straight-line (looks like a scratch) in the middle of the image, to the right of Orion.

Dragonfly (Graphic Novel filter)

I've seen (and heard) all sorts of birds lately - chickadees, robins, finches, etc. I haven't seen any dragonflies, yet. This one comes from a couple of years back, edited with the Graphic Novel filter. Thanks for stopping by!

Closing Time (Graphic Novel filter)

Looking back through my pictures, this is a graphic novel redo of an HDR image that I made from a scene at the Mall of America after hours. I liked the rows of chairs all lined up on top of the tables. I again like what the graphic novel filter did with the wood grain on the chairs. Thanks for stopping by!

Stuffed Face Chipmunk (Graphic Novel filter)

It's been a while since I left seeds out on my deck (this picture is from a few years ago.) I was hoping to attract the birds, but I attracted... squirrels and chipmunks instead. Having acquired a bird feeder, I stopped leaving the seed on my deck. Maybe there's some other accommodation I can make for the others? Thanks for stopping by!

White-throated Sparrow (Graphic Novel filter)

I edited this image (that I had posted some time ago) with the Graphic Novel filter. My earlier post lamented that I don't see these birds around so much. As with a lot of birding, it seems to be a matter of knowing where to look and when to look, as some of birds only really give you a window. I don't know if the white-throated sparrow is one of those birds, or... if I just don't know where to look. Thanks for stopping by!

Little Purple Weed Flower (Graphic Novel filter)

I'm so excited for spring to arrive, I'd even be happy to see this little purple weed flower again. Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Nuthatch with Seed (Graphic Novel filter)

This is another re-do of one of my favorite birds, the nuthatch, this time processed with the Graphic Novel filter, which I like for all of its weird lines. Thanks for stopping by and looking at my picture. :)

Memories of the Choir Loft (Graphic Novel filter)

Though I never actually sang in this particular choir loft, it did bring back memories for me of times that I had sung in choirs in the choir loft. I posted the original image (modified to HDR) a couple of years ago; for today, I modified it again as with the Graphic Novel filter. I figured that the filter would do cool things with the grain in the woodwork. Thanks for stopping by!

Island Trees and Waves (Graphic Novel filter)

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Little Island of Trees (Graphic Novel filter)

Yes, this really is a little island of trees. From the first picture (processed with the Graphic Novel filter), my first impression was that it was a little flame-ball island. The second picture (color layered in) made it a green flame-ball. They really are trees, though, and it really is an island. ;)

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Water and Trees (Graphic Novel filter)

Straight out of the box, one of the more frustrating experiences that I had with my Sony NEX cameras was a dirty sensor. When I took today's picture almost five years ago, I was on a trip and was still learning how to use the cameras. It was only later that I was really saddened to see all of these little spots on my images. (In order to try to avoid dust, I assembled the lens and the body right out of the box.) It really made me wonder how folks like Trey Ratcliff and some of these others do it, especially with all of his sunset and open sky landscape images that are prime for exposing this type of blemish.

Well, with the Graphic Novel filter, I was able to use "hard edges," which is a lighter setting, for which the sky (and my spots) were too light to pull into the image, while yet retaining enough of an image for what you see below.

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Boat on the Lake (Graphic Novel filter)

Impressionistic. I think that's the word that I'm looking for to describe these Graphic Novel filter images. (At least, that's the word I think that I'm looking for....) In these images, the trees don't look like trees, but like little swirly blobs in the background. Ok, the boat looks like a boat, and the water... But the trees are very impressionistic, right? Right?

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Meerkats at the Zoo (Graphic Novel filter)

(These images may not be reused.)

When I think of meerkats, I think of them as being social animals, always tending to hang out in groups. This may be because, when I see meerkats pictured, they're usually pictured in... groups. I would say that I singled these meerkats out for individual photos just to be different, but the real reason was that their buddy in the middle moved during the shot, rendering himself a blur. So... Here are his more stationary friends in photos of their own. Thanks for stopping by!

Rhinoceros at the Zoo (Graphic Novel filter)

Here is another zoo photo (sorry, this image may not be reused) from a trip that I took a few years back. The rhinoceros was not much interested in posing, but it was interested in eating. Here, I have processed the image with Photoshop's Graphic Novel filter. I like how all of the wrinkles are highlighted. Thanks for stopping by!

Lion at the Zoo (Graphic Novel filter)

I've decided again to post my image (sorry, this image may not be reused) at full-size so that you can see all of the details from the Graphic Novel filter. The image is a zoo lion from a number of years back, hanging out on a large rock (fooling the tourists into thinking it was lazy and harmless?)  I think one of the things that the Graphic Novel filter accomplishes is a sensory overload; it brings out details in the image that you might otherwise overlook. (At least, I might otherwise overlook.) After processing an image with the Graphic Novel filter, I find myself looking at all sorts of line details that I hadn't otherwise noticed or paid much attention to. Are these details all that important? Perhaps not, yet I still find them interesting to look at. The effect reminds me of a highly detailed coloring book. 

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Not Ready for Snow Yet

This image comes from a few years back when I thought that the snow looked pretty on the branches. (I can't say that I'm ready for snow yet this year, but I know that it's just around the corner anyway.) 

I really liked the way the black and white stamp filtered version (second image) turned out. When the images are side-by-side, you see the resemblance, but without the color (and the snow), it almost looks like a different picture.

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Processed Black and White Jelly Fish

The first is the black and white version of the image. The second is my stamp filter processed version. The third (for kicks) was the stamp filter processed version inverted. I find jelly fish interesting to look at. (Interesting to process, although, I'm still trying to find something I like.) Thanks for stopping by!

Stamping the Jellyfish (Stamp Filter)

Not everything should be subjected to a stamp filter. I think perhaps jellyfish fall into that category. Perhaps it is the dark background that doesn't make the filter work so well? 

Stingray (Stamp Filter)

Here's another image from an aquarium photo. I found it relaxing to watch the stingrays swim in the pool. What I like about the image above is the shadow that was cast beneath the stingray by the overhead lights; the tail wiggles in the shadow but is straight on the animal.

Thanks for stopping by!