Excuse me, WHAT kind of potatoes???

Sometimes when you read some pretentious nonsense on the side of a package your really have to laugh out loud. This time it was on the side of a small bag of potato chips. I LOVE potato chips. Bought a small bag because I will sit and munch non-stop on the largest family size bag of potato chips you can buy. An open bag is an empty bag. Anyway, I digress... Having enjoyed my small bag of ketchup potato chips I got to wondering what kind of spices they use to get the ketchup flavour, so started reading the list of ingredients. Now, the main ingredients are always listed first, and you can usually assume that the main ingredients in a bag of potato chips are: (insert *drum roll* ) potatoes. In THIS bag, however, we didn't have just any old potatoes. Noooo...these were "specially selected" potatoes. Not red potatoes, not Irish white potatoes, not PEI potatoes, not sweet potatoes, not yellow potatoes.... "specially selected" potatoes. I'm picturing some bespeckled guy in a white lab coat and boots, clipboard in hand, pen clutched firmly in other hand, as he steps between the furrows of a freshly plowed field specially selecting the potatoes. Just warms the cockles of my heart, and the digestion of my belly, to know that I have just eaten specially selected potatoes.

More Orion

This is how this dog sleeps. Honestly. Sometimes she rolls up against me on the bed, I wake up, all I see is feet in the air. Finally managed to grab the camera in time to catch her in the act.









I think it's obvious that Orion is my favourite constellation. While the rest of world, my dog included, were sleeping, I got up just after moonset this morning and got out the camera and tracker, knowing that this would be the last chance to photograph stars in a dark moonless sky for a while. This was the night of the Droconid meteor shower, but with the nearly full moon and the shower peaking on the other side of planet, no Draconids were seen. (I was out a couple times just after dark to check.) There is, however, a minor meteor shower, the Arietids, originating from Aries/Taurus, and I did see a few that were probably those. Lovely to the eye, too dim to show up in the photographs, in spite of high IS0 and wide apertures.



At least it was a mild night, we've been enjoying sunny warm weather this past week. There were a couple of firefly larvae lighting up lime green in the grass near my feet.


I had forgotton to put the slip of paper in my pocket that listed the time the ISS was coming over, and of course had the camera pointed in the other direction. Fortunately I looked around in time to see it coming, so didn't miss it entirely.

*sigh* The full moon is coming around, and by Wednesday we're supposed to get another rainy spell for a few days. Hopefully there will be some breaks in the clouds during the night, lovely to see the moon shining through, lighting up the clouds and reflecting in the water.

Kerrie the Merry Pup stuck her nose in my face at about 3:30 a.m., and insisted on going out. So...on with the pants, shirt, boots, coat and out we went. When my blurry eyes cleared a bit I realized that it was clear skies, moon had set, and the temperatures weren't that cold, so I got the tracker and camera bag and headed down to lake to try for some shots. Conditions were good but photography was total frustration. Could not for the life of me figure out Polaris, so couldn't set the tracker. While I was wandering along the lake shore looking for it I set the camera for a few minutes, thought I may as well get a star trails shot. Took a few 30 second shots, I'm *sure* I had set the camera for 1600 IS0 but found out later that it was set for 400 IS0, not good.

I then headed over to the dock to see what the viewing was like there. Still couldn't figure out which star was Polaris, with the field of stars turned many degrees at that time in the morning (now 4:26 a.m.) it was confusing, not a view I'm used to. It finally occurred to me to set for a star trail shot for about 3 minutes and then check the viewfinder in the camera, the one in the middle's gotta be Polaris. So, having done that, could finally set the tracker. At the far end of the dock Orion can be seen *just* above the trees at "the point". I love trees, but being down in the valley with trees on a hill, ain't good for astronomy.

Another source of frustration is the Manfrotto ballhead. It's a squat shape, the release knob is large, doesn't allow the camera to settle into the angle that I want for some shots. Again, I had set the camera for some 30 second shots at IS0 1600, was *sure* I had set the IS0, but they were on 400 IS0 where I had it set for the tracker shots.

At least the dew held off, I could see a bit of steam rising off the lake in the flashlight beam while setting up, that's usually an indication that you don't have much time before the lens fogs up.

Finally gave up around 4:45 a.m. and went back to bed.

My first Star Party

Photo taken at around 4:30 a.m. the Fall'n'Stars Star Party.

It's that time of year again when the fat mature caterpillars start showing up. Here are 2 that I photographed today.




Since 2006, Giant Swallowtail Butterflies have been seen in our area. I finally got to see several of them this summer, and recently discovered their caterpillars in the prickly ash bushes along our laneway.























When you prod these guys they suddenly sprout red tentacle-like structures called osmeterium as a form of defence. Also helps to hide in plain when you're shaped like a bird turd.

I nearly stepped on this big caterpillar, it was over 3 inches long. Closest I can figure from caterpillar book is that it may be the Great Ash Sphinx, will have to have that confirmed. It was a lively fellow, (m?f?) thrashing about excitedly when I picked it up, nearly dropped it.

Summer storms

Saturday wasn't too bad weatherwise for most of the day. Along about 11:00 p.m. the clouds came rolling in and I saw lightning coming up in the distance, so I grabbed the camera and found a dry spot to sit and take long exposures. Had fun watching the storm and shooting the lightning until it was directly overhead and pouring down rain, figured then it was time to skedaddle indoors.

Summer night skies

Haven't had much time to play with the cameras during the daytime hours, but there have been a few nights when I got out the barndoor tracker and took a few shots. These were taken just past midnight on August 2, 2011. The first on is looking southwest. Lens Sigma 10-22mm set at 10 mm, ISO 400, f 4.0, 267 seconds exposure.

The second shot is northeast to southwest, same shot settings, exposure time 249 seconds. Both shot in RAW and converted to .jpg

The Perseid meteor shower is coming up Friday night/Saturday morning, predictions are for clear skies. The only drawback will be the near full moon. Going to be interesting trying to shoot meteors with the bright moonlight.