Tag: Moon

Whatever Weds. Total Lunar Eclipse 11.8.2022

Posted in Astro Photography, Moon, Photography, Total Lunar Eclipse, Whatever Wednesday, Wide Field Astro-photographyTagged , , , , , , , 52 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

I didn’t think I’d be able to see the Lunar Eclipse this time around because snow and cloud cover was predicted in the forecast. I set my alarm anyway and thought I’d just photograph Totality since it was in the middle of the night and cold.

When I got up and looked out the window I couldn’t believe it, it was clear and barely a breeze blowing!

It was just a few minutes after 2:00 A.M. PST…(I think that’s the time we’re in now? 🤷‍♀️ ), when I started taking my test shot.

Totality began at 2:16A.M here and I was ready for it. This image was made at 2:221A.M

The next Total Lunar eclipse to be visible in the USA won’t be until March 14, 2025. Until then my mind will be shifting from the

Moon to the Sun as there is an Annular Solar Eclipse in October 2023. The last time I photographed an Annular Solar Eclipse was back in 2012. You can see that post here . I’m hoping I can get to the sweet spot to photograph it again.

It snowed here all day yesterday and is looking magical and very much like Winter is here.

I hope you’re all having a good week, and are staying warm and safe.

Nikon D810| Nikkor 300mm f/4| PS CC 24.0.0

more to come…

Whatever Weds. The Blue Angels Came to Town!

Posted in Aerial Views, Event Photography, Fairs Festivals Events, Fuji X-T3, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , 65 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

On Thursday I heard them practicing and went to sit out back on my patio and watch them. I saw they were in camera range so grabbed my camera and made rather a lot of images. Here’s just one from my patio.

Blue Angels Over Minden, NV

On Friday I went to a secret spot and photographed them practicing for the week-end show. Here’s one of my favorite shots. An upside down Lunar Flyby.

Blue Angels Lunar Flyby

Flying in Moon image is #1 Capt. Brian C. Kesselring, USN, in #3 is Lt. Scott Goossens, USN, in #7 is LCDR Griffin Stangel, USN, and in #2 is LCDR Chris Kapuschansky, USN.

They’re so much fun to watch! I have oodles of images, because I went back to the secret spot on Saturday, and photographed some more. Hoping to pick up some shots I missed. So, you may be seeing images of from these 3 days for awhile.

Fuji X-T3| Fuji 100-400mm| PS CC 23.5.0

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Lunar Eclipse and Flowers

Posted in Astro Photography, Cultivated Flowers, Lunar Eclipse, Nature Photography, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , 75 Comments

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Last week-end we went down to SoCal to visit Big Baby Boy and the Dark Haired Beauty for several days. It was lovely walking on the beach and in the canyon with them and just hanging out. We talked about their upcoming wedding a bunch, and how that’s going. It’s coming up so fast! Less than 8 weeks to go now! I’ve got my dress and hat and He-Man’s good to go suit wise too, So far everything is falling into place so, it should be beautiful.

I also passed a milestone last Thursday…I turned 65 years young. There are many days my body feels 65 but, not my spirit! I’m still a kid inside. 😀

There were lots of cultivated flowers in late stages of their bloom around Big Baby Boy’s, some I’ve missed because they just don’t grow where we live. Here are a few;

Hibiscus

Bird of Paradise

? I don’t know what this is called

Sunday we had heavy clouds predicted and strong winds and sure enough they rolled in all day just in time for the Lunar Eclipse. I hoped there would a pocket or two of clear sky in the Moon’s path so I could see and photograph just one frame. There was a nice pocket along the mountain tops so I quickly made a few images of the Moon as it crested the mountains. It was already in Totality by then as well. It was very different from last year’s May Lunar Eclipse when there was a clear sky.

Totality Lunar Eclipse May 15, 2022

It quickly rose into the clouds and I didn’t see it again that night.

We’re going to see Baby Girl and the boys later this week to celebrate her birthday, my birthday, and Mother’s Day. I’m looking forward to that.

The weather has definitely warmed up here. It was 81 degrees yesterday and just as warm today, so I put out the patio cushions and spent a lovely hour out back chatting with the neighbor. How’s the weather where you are? Ready for summer?

I hope you’re having a good week!

Nikon D810| Fuji X-T-3| PS CC 23.2.2

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Conjunctions

Posted in Astro Conjunctions, Astrophotography, Moon, Moonrise, Nikon, Photography, PlanetsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 64 Comments

Copyright ©2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I’ve still got my head in the clouds or tilted upward toward the sky.  This week there is a 3 planet and Moon conjunction going on in the wee hours before dawn and I’ve been up to see it two of the three mornings it’s visible.

Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars are all lined up beside or above the Moon.

Here’s how it appeared in my frame on April 14th, 2020.  All three planets were rising behind the Last Quarter Moon.  I caught a shooting star and a couple of satellites in my image too.   They did look a bit bigger with my eyes but look smaller when photographed.

Moon Jupiter Saturn Mars Shooting Star

Here’s how it looked this morning with all three planets rising above the Waning Crescent Moon (44%).  Jupiter is the brightest planet above and to the right of Saturn which is above the Moon, and Mars is following behind.  It looks like I caught a satellite just left and lower than the Moon again this morning.

Jupiter Saturn Mars and the Moon Apr 15 2020

It’s supposed to start raining tomorrow and cloud up, but if by chance it’s clear tomorrow morning I’ll be up to photograph it.  Tomorrow is the last day to observe them when they’re lined up so nicely then Mars will begin marching further eastward and be pulling further away from the other planets.

 

If you’re up an hour before sunrise on the 16th look southwest or look for the rising moon you can see the conjunction with your eyes no special gear required. Mars will be above and slightly right of the Moon with Saturn and Jupiter above Mars.

By the time first light appears in the morning sky before 6AM for me- dim Saturn and Mars are lost in the light and only Jupiter still burns bright above the moon.

I hope you’re all having a good week, and your spirits are up and you’re busy and well!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 35mm| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 21.1.1

more to come…

UPDATE!  April 16, 2020 -It was clear this morning and the moon’s light shining in my bedroom window woke me up so I got up and photographed this line up too.  As you see Mars is moving further away from the other two planets. I won’t be getting up and photographing this one again this month. There are other things I have planned this month though. 😀

Waning Crescent Moon Mars Saturn Jupiter

Nikon D810| Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G| PS CC 21.1.1

more to come…

 

 

 

 

Whatever Weds. Looking up

Posted in Fuji X-T3, Night Sky Imaging, Nikon, Photography, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , , , , 39 Comments

Copyright © 2020 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The end of March and through yesterday has been for me, a time of looking up to the night sky.  Starting at the end of March I was looking up to see the Moon, Venus and the elusive star cluster called the Pleiades in conjunction.  This was a practice shot because the night I was hoping to see Venus and the Pleiades closer together on April 3rd we had rain and snow so the sky was too cloudy to see them.  That was a once-in-an-eight year event! I’m just glad I  practiced so I saw this conjunction.

Moon Venus Pleiades ConjunctionNikon D810| Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G|f/2.8|2.8s|ISO 400| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 21.0.3

Last night was the Supermoon. It appears just a bit larger than normal because the Moon comes the closest to Earth in its elliptic orbit called perigee.

We’ve been having light rain and snow and it was overcast all day but, we got lucky last night and the sky to the east was clear! I went down to the golf course with my next-door neighbor to photograph the Supermoon rise over the Pinenut Mountains.

Supermoon April 7 2020

Nikon D810| 24-120mm at 70mm|f/10|1/6s|ISO 250| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 21.0.3

Then I switched cameras and made an image of just the Moon.  Our moon looked more golden than pink, but the Belt of Venus wasn’t very deep in color around us either so…golden.

Supermoon April 7 2020

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon XF100-400mm LM OIS at 386mm| f/11| 1/100s| ISO 250| SunDisk Digital Film|PS CC 21.0.3

More things that are looking up is that we’ve had 8 people who had the Covid-19 virus move to the recovered side of life! There are still 17 active cases in our Quad county region. There have been no deaths yet. Knocking on wood that continues and that all move to the recovered column soon!

I hope you’re doing well and keeping busy.

I’ll leave you this thought today.

““Bad stuff does happen sometimes, always remember that but remember that you have to move on somehow. You just pick your head up and stare at something beautiful like the sky or the ocean and you move the hell on.”
― James Patterson, Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas

more to come…