More from the edge

A shot of Messier 45, Messier 33 and Messier 31 taken with the same equipment as last night.







Below - the Orion complex taken with an 85mm F/1.2L @ F/2.0 and ISO 800. A light Fog filter was used in front of the lens during the Five 2 minute exposures that were then median combined in MaximDL. Edited in PSCS3.

North America

The North American Nebula in Cygnus. Ten - 3 minute exposures median combined in MaximDL. Obtained with my 400mm F/2.8L lens @ F/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Canon EOS 5D. Taken from Kitt Peak National Observatory under clear moonless skies.

Temples of Deterrence

Spent the day on a "reality field trip" with the family - a late afternoon tour of the Titan Missile Museum and San Xavier del Bac Mission. One a temple of the philosophy "walk softly and carry a big stick" - the other "thou shalt not . . ."

See if you can figure out which is which.

VATT Slack

Back at the VATT Telescope again - had time to slack off and catch a few images of the SMT, the LBT and the VATT. Here they be.

Fine Frakin' Art . . .

A couple of weeks ago I was dragged to a charity auction by my loving and beautiful wife. Not wanting to seem unsupportive and petulant, I decided to make the best of the situation and brought my camera - least I have something to occupy myself with in the event the outting proved interminable.

Not having used my lensbaby in many months I thought I could experiment with the darker side of photography - that of "Fine Art".

Now - to explain - "Fine Art" photography to me has always seemed a polite synonym for "pictures you couldn't sell to your mother." In my experience, any photographer who calls themself a fine art photographer has a perversely odd sense of subject and composition along with an over inflated sense of self-worth. In the computer programming world they are akin to "hacks".

Not wanting to be left out - here are my submissions to the "Fine Art Photography" genre . . . My photographic vision? Yeah - whatever.