Category: Nikon

Thunder Moon or Full Buck Moon

Posted in Astro Photography, Lighthouses of California, Moon, Moonrise, Nikon, Photography, Santa Cruz CATagged , , , , , , 49 Comments

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I stayed close to home this past week-end after having been gone for two week-ends in row. It was nice hanging out with He-Man at home.  Saturday we got in a morning hike, but left later than we should have. By 9am it was already 82°.  We selected a trail that would lead us up to the Redwoods, and Oaks and shade.

We spent the rest of the afternoon indoors with air conditioning.

Saturday evening a good friend and I headed over the hill to Santa Cruz to our traditional Full Moon over the Walton Lighthouse shot.  If you’ve been following me awhile you’ll have seen this lighthouse on my blog before featuring the Moon. I shot the July Moon over this lighthouse last year. Click here.

The weather over the hill was the complete opposite of home. It was still in the 80’s when we left San Jose, but it was in mid 60’s with a breeze on the coast.  I couldn’t get into my hoodie, and wind-breaker fast enough.  I even broke out my gloves!

I set up my rig where I had plotted the Moon to line up over the Lighthouse, but was prepared to move quickly if I needed to adjust my position.  Here’s where we first spotted the Moon rising.  It was faint due to the low marine layer in the air.

Walton Lighthouse and Thunder Moon

We relocated down to the shore and soon the Moon lined up over the Lighthouse.

Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This is a two frame blended composited image.  The base image had a clear view of the water, and good Moon/lighthouse alignment, but the light wasn’t shining in the Lighthouse so, I blended in the shot right after this one which had the light on. Why not just use that shot you might be asking? Three people walked into the frame obscuring the water.  So, I took the best of both frames blending them together to make the image I wanted to make.

Friday night I went out to the backyard to photograph the Waxing 98.8% Moon.  This is slightly cropped.

July Buck Moon Waxing 98.8%

The July Moon is called Thunder Moon

“Named due to the prevalence of summer thunder storms. It’s sometimes referred to as the Full Buck Moon because at this time of the year, a buck’s antlers are fully grown.”~ https://uk.news.yahoo.com/complete-list-every-full-moon-141136773.html

Since I rarely hear the Thunder but, do see Bucks I think of it more as the Full Buck Moon.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. I won’t lie. I. Was. A. Slug. 🙂 It was too hot to do much outside although it was cooler by a few degrees.

I hope you had a lovely week-end, and you have a wonderful week!

Nikon Df| Nikkor 200-500mm| SanDisk Digital Film| PS CC 2017

more to come…

 

 

Wordless Wednesday 27/52 “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” ― Jalaluddin Rumi

Posted in Nikon, Oregon, Pacific Coast, Photography, Seascapes, State Parks ( U.S.A.), Wordless WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 20 Comments

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what yo

Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2017

more to come…

The Sky is Dark and Full of Stars!

Posted in Astro Imaging, Astro-Photography, Milky Way, Nikon, Oregon, Pacific Coast, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 35 Comments

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Last week-end a girlfriend (T) and I went to Brookings, OR to scout, and photograph seascapes, and hopefully we’d have a clear night for night sky imaging in the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor.  We looked at the weather forecast for the week-end and it looked like we’d only have one really good night for any night sky imaging. We both hoped to photograph the Milky Way, and if we found a great spot for Star Trails we’d do that too, but it wasn’t a priority like the Milky Way was.

When we were at Arch Rock for sunset we realized straight-away that wouldn’t work out so well for a Milky Way location since it was facing west, but around the path a bit closer to the parking lot was a nice sea stack that faced directly south.  We both pulled out out cell phones and summoned our night sky app called Photo Pills to double check our thoughts, and find the time when the Galactic Center would line up over the sea stack.  After determining that 1:32AM it would line up we headed out to dinner, then back to the Hotel for a nap.

I’d been up since 5AM driving from my house in Silicon Valley up to T’s two hours north east of me. From there I drove all the way to Brookings, OR.  It’s an 8 hour drive without stops.  We stopped for gas, and lunch of course. Needless to say- I needed a nap!

My alarm sounded at 12:30AM. We were ready pretty quick and headed back to Arch Rock Viewpoint to photograph the Milky Way.

We were the only people there.  We set up took our test shots, and began shooting.  Before the trip I purchased a new filter to help me get a tack sharp focus at night. It’s called  SharpStar2 from LonelySpeck  I didn’t get it to work as it should have, but determining when I was in focus was easy. A lot easier than just using Live View alone.  That cut my set up time in half!  I’m going to be practicing here at home with the filter before my next night sky shoot.  After reading the instructions again it was definitely user error. I should have practiced with it at night before the trip, but I’m happy.

Milky Way over Sea Stack

It was really quiet just us, the sea, and the sound of our camera’s shutter opening and closing.   There was very little light pollution. The cliffs blocked most of the light from Brookings. You can see a light band at the horizon entering from the left of the frame. That’s the light from Brookings.  This was a great location with a dark sky.

Saturday night the fog rolled in. I’m so glad we went out Friday night!  T’s brother and S-i-L drove up to meet us and photograph the area Saturday.  After Sunset we headed back to town for dinner but, we got sidetracked with an Industrial night shot opportunity which I posted Wednesday

So, the fog didn’t completely ruin the night.  We had a late dinner with a glass of wine. I fell into my hotel bed after midnight, and slept in Sunday.

We had breakfast and said our farewells to T’s brother, and S-i-L and T and I set off for the long drive home.  Thankfully the drive was uneventful. 🙂

I hope to get back up there one day to explore more of the park. It’s a gorgeous coastline, and sky is dark and full of stars!

I hope you all have a lovely week-end! Can you believe June is just about over already?!!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G| Hoodman Digital Film| Single Frame 20s| ISO 3200| PS CC 2017

more to come…

 

Wordless Wednesday 26/52 Industry at Night

Posted in After Dark, Architecture, Industrial Photography, Industry at Night, Nikon, Oregon, Photography, Wordless WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 36 Comments

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

South Coast Lumber Co.

Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G @ f/11| 30s|ISO 100|Hoodman Digital Film|PS CC

more to come…

 

Wordless Wednesday 25/52 Nuttal’s Woodpecker

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds of North America, Nikon, Photography, Santa Clara County Birding, Wordless WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , 23 Comments

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm @460mm| f/5.6| ISO800| 1/1600s| Hoodman Digital Film|PS CC 2017

more to come…

Juvenile American Bald Eagle’s Maiden Flight!

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Nikon, Photography, Santa Clara County BirdingTagged , , , , , , , , , 38 Comments

Copyright ©2017 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I received my long lens back from service and couldn’t wait to get out and try it, but I got that bug so, didn’t go out to try it until yesterday (Sun. June 18th).  I headed over to Milpitas to see if the American Bald Eagle Fledgling was out of the nest testing its wings.  I arrived just before 7 A.M.  I didn’t have to wait long before it started flapping its wings and hopping onto a branch outside the nest.

It sat on the branch surveying the land for a bit then turned around and did a hop/fly combo back to the nest where it tucked itself down out of sight. It remained out of sight for over an hour. As we waited the morning got hotter, and hotter. When I left just before noon, hot, sweaty, and very thirsty it was 96º degrees Fahrenheit.  The high hit a record breaking 103º F!  That broke the 1945 record of 99º F.

Myself and several other photographers, and birders were patiently waiting for one or both of the parents to return with food, and of course we wanted the Fledgling to come up out of the nest again, but quite a few people left as it began getting hot and there wasn’t anything to see.

Finally, the young Eagle got restless and called its parents to no avail then it began to jump and flap its wings again. It jumped way up and flew to the branch!  It stayed there awhile pecking at the branch and looking around then suddenly it made a leap of faith into space and FLEW!!! Its maiden flight! A Fledgling at last!

Oh, I wish you were there to see it, to feel our anxiety and hope for success, and hear our joyous cries of delight when the young Eaglet made that leap of faith and flew to a neighboring tree!

There are quite a few images today, and the story doesn’t end here! Because there are so many images I’ll share the rest of the story another day.  I hope you enjoy these first images of the young Eagle’s Maiden Flight.

Popping up to check out what’s happening…

American Bale Eagle Fledgling in the Nest

Lemme test out my take off, and wing position. I wonder…

Practicing flight

Ha! I’m outside of the nest! Okay, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

That was Easy!

Ready. Set.

American Bald Eagle Fledgling Take Off

GO!

First leap into space!

Okay, wings start flapping already!!

Oh! How do these Wings work again!

Oh, nearly there I can make it!  Talons ready, tail in position…wings open…

Okay there's a branch nearly there! Landing gear still down!

Ta Da!!! I made it, I made it! Where’s Mom? Now, how do I get back to the nest?

It's hot. How do I get back!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 200-500mm| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2017

more to come…