Nikon – Page 29 – Circadianreflections Blog

Thunder Moon or Full Buck Moon

July 10, 2017July 9, 2017Posted in Astro Photography, Lighthouses of California, Moon, Moonrise, Nikon, Photography, Santa Cruz CATagged Full Buck Moon, Full moon, Moon, Nikon, Photography, Santa Cruz CA, Walton Lighthouse49 Comments

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.

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

July 5, 2017July 4, 2017Posted in Nikon, Oregon, Pacific Coast, Photography, Seascapes, State Parks ( U.S.A.), Wordless WednesdayTagged driftwood, Nikon, Oregon, Pacific Coast, Photography, Quotes, river meets the sea, Rumi, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, Sea Stacks, Whaleshead Beach, Wordless Wednesday20 Comments

“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…

Reblogged: How to Photograph Fireworks July 4, 2013

It was Independence Day in the United States yesterday a National Holiday for most. All over the country people were barbecuing, spending time with family and friends, or just enjoying a day off. After dinner the family and I found some high-ground to view, and photograph the fireworks.I set up my tripod and waited for the first firework closest to me to be sent up then triggered my shutter release. I focused there then set my camera/lens to manual focus.

I set up the settings this way f/10, ISO 200, and 5 second exposure, but found that too short so lengthened it to 10 seconds and the next burst took a photo. That seemed about right, at least I wasn’t blowing out the burst beyond recovery, so I went with those settings. From my vantage point I was able to see as far south as Morgan Hill and North to Fremont and perhaps a bit further.

If you want to photograph fireworks use a tripod, and a remote cable release. Use the first couple of burst as test shots to get your settings set up. I wait for the boom then depress my shutter, some people use the trails of the ascending firework as their cue. You just need an exposure long enough to capture the explosion. Give it a go. It’s a lot of fun, but I keep in my soul the knowledge that the freedom I have today to celebrate, worship, and work without the fear of persecution or tyranny wasn’t given it was earned.

I’ll end this post with the words of Lee Greenwood who says it better than I.

“And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.”
~Lee Greenwood

more to come…

Wishing you a Sunny Week-end!

June 23, 2017June 22, 2017Posted in Landscape Photography, Landscapes, Mt Shasta, Nikon, PhotographyTagged Lake Shastina, landscape, Mt Shasta, Nikon, Photography, Pine Trees, Reflections, Starburst, Sunburst38 Comments

Mt Shasta Reflected

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

more to come…

Wordless Wednesday 25/52 Nuttal’s Woodpecker

June 21, 2017June 20, 2017Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds of North America, Nikon, Photography, Santa Clara County Birding, Wordless WednesdayTagged Birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Nature, Nikon, Nuttal's Woodpecker, Photography, Santa Clara County, Woodpeckers, Wordless Wednesday23 Comments

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!

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Nikon, Photography, Santa Clara County BirdingTagged Bird Watching, Birding, Birds of North America, Fledgling, Juvenile American Eagle, Maiden Flight, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Santa Clara County Birding38 Comments

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