ZapperZ's Great Outdoors Photo Contest

[Andy Resnick]

I've been very pleased- with an 85mm lens, I could easily image M42 (Orion nebula). I don't have enough 'room', but on vacation I hope to take some star-trail images with the ultrawide.

 

[drizzle]

Nice shots people.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Went for a stroll with the ultrawide today- this time I tried to pay attention (!) to what I was photographing- either an interesting texture:

[PLAIN]http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/9656/dsc7723f.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/337/dsc7724.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/8827/dsc7731.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6299/dsc7747l.jpg

or if there was a 'story' I wanted the image to tell:

[PLAIN]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6038/dsc7737n.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/443/dsc7728.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/9966/dsc7742.jpg

And finally, a 'trick' photo- the original problem was how to prevent under- or oversaturation of the building or sky. In the end, I duplicated the image- one was used for the sky and the other for the building, and both combined in ImageJ with "transparent- zero" to provide this:

[PLAIN]http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6003/resultofdsc7749.jpg

It looks a little sloppy around the edges, which could be helped by doing a blur or smoothing operation on the combined image.

 

[Borek]

It looks a little sloppy around the edges, which could be helped by doing a blur or smoothing operation on the combined image.

Why not use some HDR software?

Speaking of wide lens - my latest contest entry (meatballs) was done with a wide lens, to get a large DOF.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Why not use some HDR software?

I tried an HDR plugin and wasn't that excited with the results. I'm not really sure what I was expecting for this image-it looks very unnatural. Not exactly a failure, but not something worth printing.

Speaking of wide lens - my latest contest entry (meatballs) was done with a wide lens, to get a large DOF.

That's what I figured :) I have to admit, shooting the ultrawide is really fun- everything looks really dramatic and over-the-top.

 

[Andy Resnick]

bad day at work + nice weather = leave early. Today I wandered around downtown Cleveland with the ultrawide, which presented very different challenges than 'the backwoods'.

For me, the biggest challenge was to prevent images from looking like this:

[PLAIN]http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/6408/dsc7834.jpg

Personally, I can't abide the perspective distortion. Buildings and streets consist of parallel lines, and those lines *have* to be carefully controlled, otherwise everything looks off-kilter (to me).

Here's another example of poorly-controlled perspective distortion:

[PLAIN]http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/8832/dsc7814u.jpg

I got the horizon line level (or close to it), but the railroad tracks are not parallel to the horizon line. If I had moved to my left a few feet while rotating to keep the Rock Hall and Browns Stadium in the frame, I would have rotated the tracks into alignment.

Sometimes I got lucky- everything lined up:

[PLAIN]http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/2449/dsc7830.jpg

And more, the perspective distortion made the image *better* (IMO) by making the cars smaller, so the focus is on the buildings and sidewalk instead.

I can also use the perspective distortion to my advantage, by making sculptures look gigantic:

[PLAIN]http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/8606/dsc7821.jpg

I can also make buildings look enormous:

[PLAIN]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/791/dsc7808.jpg

An image like this really needs to be printed at full size (poster-sized) to be appreciated- here's a 1:1 crop from the very upper left corner, showing the amount of detail that is captured:

[PLAIN]http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/8310/unledsxo.jpg

But my favorite image today was one I took of a construction site- ground was broken for a huge "medical mart" complex recently, and I was able to skulk around the screened barrier until I found a spot for a clear photo:

[PLAIN]http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/7573/dsc7816.jpg

It may not look like much, but the amount of detail captured in this shot is *amazing*- here are a bunch of 1:1 crops from around the frame:

[PLAIN]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/5382/94104576.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img860.imageshack.us/img860/986/21028016.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/3791/14281369.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/636/72233415.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8675/57798099.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/1345/41323114.jpg

[PLAIN]http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1033/22098768.jpg

 

[Borek]

Dirty sensor? You have a dark spot visible in the left upper corner on some pictures (look on the blue sky) - best visible on the construction site picture, just right to the cloud.

Distortions are a funny thing. I am more than sure my meatballs are heavily distorted, but somehow it is hard to spot

 

[Andy Resnick]

Dirty sensor? You have a dark spot visible in the left upper corner on some pictures (look on the blue sky) - best visible on the construction site picture, just right to the cloud.

Probably dust on the lens; dust on the sensor is usually very sharp and in-focus.

 

[Borek]

Probably dust on the lens; dust on the sensor is usually very sharp and in-focus.

Not necessarily:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyciorr/5556044355/in/photostream/

Magnify and look at the (coincidence) upper left corner. There are two spots there (there are more in different places as well, these two are pretty easy to spot). I know for sure it was some kind of dirt on the sensor.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Not necessarily:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wyciorr/5556044355/in/photostream/

Magnify and look at the (coincidence) upper left corner. There are two spots there (there are more in different places as well, these two are pretty easy to spot). I know for sure it was some kind of dirt on the sensor.

Does that mean you are wyciorr (no real name given)? :)

When I have a dirty sensor, it looks like this (1:1 crops of a Rogue's gallery of dirt):

[PLAIN]http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/5115/unleduaa.jpg

But the blobs on the image look like this (also 1:1):

[PLAIN]http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/3566/unled2yy.jpg

The different appearance (e.g. well-defined edges on the upper collection), combined with the observations that 1) I blew a bunch of dust off the lens this morning and 2) those blobs appear only with that particular lens, provide additional evidence that the lens needs some light cleaning.

 

[Borek]

Does that mean you are wyciorr (no real name given)? :)

No, these are not my pictures, but I have a first hand information

 

[Andy Resnick]

Change of pace- here's some spots on a star:

[PLAIN]http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/4422/dsc7842p.jpg

I've been unable to get a UV image (so far)...

 

[Andre]

Talking about staying on topic, the sun, this is how it set today

closing in a bit:

Ah, there it is..

see you tomorrow

Nowadays our sunsets are incredibly crisp and sharp, so much better than 30 years ago with all the air pollution.

Anyway, at Montcru you can't see the sun set, but sometimes the clouds are giving a hint that it's happening:

 

[Andy Resnick]

First successful (for me) UV image of the sun:

[PLAIN]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/364/dsc7868j.jpg

This was full aperture (800mm, f/5.6) with a polarizer + OD 2 ND filter inserted (needed to align and focus using a blue filter), ISO 6400 and 1/4 second exposure through a 365 +/- 12 nm filter.

The filter is close to the calcium line, but I can't see any detail- I may try a 380 nm filter next time. This was more of an exercise to determine if the sensor is UV sensitive.

I also tracked down (I think) the origin of that spot on my 15mm images. Shining a light through the back of the lens illuminated all the dust/scratches/etc. There's a blob of something located deep inside the lens:

[PLAIN]http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/8503/dsc7860h.jpg

I've 'highlighted' the blob. From another angle, shadows cast by the blob are visible, and there's also a small scratch (also well in the interior) visible:

[PLAIN]http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/2681/dsc7862f.jpg

I have the tools to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the lens, but not the nerve. Plus, I'm not sure the location of those defects correlate with the spot in the images. So for now I'll just live with it- if we get a long stretch of bad weather I may send it out for repair.

 

[Andy Resnick]

A montage of shots taken during this evening's ISS fly-by:

[PLAIN]http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/408/montagec.jpg

The first two images are Saturn, then the images follow the ISS as it rose in the NW, reaching 52 degrees and set into the SE. Images taken at 400mm f/4, 1/100 s shutter (no mirror lockup), and the ISO 400. There's clearly motion blur- I was not locking down the tripod to more easily track the object, but there's a few really clear shots, and the sequence clearly shows the major components of the station (two solar panels and the main truss) and how it rotates (relative to me) as it passes.

 

[Borek]

Out of this world for me.

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Me too!

 

[Astronuc]

Some views of Earth and mountains.

 

[Andy Resnick]

I was able to return to the spot where I took this:

[PLAIN]http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/8832/dsc7814u.jpg

I got the horizon line level (or close to it), but the railroad tracks are not parallel to the horizon line. If I had moved to my left a few feet while rotating to keep the Rock Hall and Browns Stadium in the frame, I would have rotated the tracks into alignment.

And tried to follow my own advice. This is the result:

[PLAIN]http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/2014/dsc8232l.jpg

I think it looks much better, even though I couldn't move far enough to get all three buildings in the frame. The horizontal lines now contribute to the overall composition, rather than distract from it.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Good seeing conditions tonight: 1:1 image section featuring the terminus

[PLAIN]http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/3051/topab.jpg
[PLAIN]http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1130/bottomvt.jpg

 

[ViewsofMars]

The moon looks lovely tonight. Such a peaceful place. Calm and serine. No cares in the world. Andy, can you get a closeup shot of the Mare Nubium region?

 

[sourlemon]

Andy, both are such great picture. I agree with your comment, the second one looks better, much more aligned. I have to pay more attention to those things

 

[Andy Resnick]

The moon looks lovely tonight. Such a peaceful place. Calm and serine. No cares in the world. Andy, can you get a closeup shot of the Mare Nubium region?

Andy, both are such great picture. I agree with your comment, the second one looks better, much more aligned. I have to pay more attention to those things

Thanks! I'm still learning to navigate around with http://www.google.com/moon/- I think that region comes into view shortly; I'll post any decent shot.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Here's a shot I took last night , zooming into (I believe) Mare Nubium (I do take requests! : first, a shot of the whole moon:

[PLAIN]http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/3267/dsc83481.jpg

Then a 1:1 crop of the region:

[PLAIN]http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/3553/dsc83482.jpg

Last, a 2x zoom with some processing for sharpness:

[PLAIN]http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9743/dsc83483.jpg

It was a little hazy, but this was the best shot of the night. Enjoy!

 

[Andre]

So today I visited the biotope of the beautiful demoiselle again (see photography thread), it certainly qualifies as outdoors:

However as seen in the back the banks of the creek were covered with 7 ft tall weeds, where it hid. No way to approach it secretly.

Luckily the banded demoiselle is less bound to the water and this female was happy to play model in a meadow close by.

Several other bugs cooperated. I wonder why this butterfly has hair on its eyes?

 

[Andy Resnick]

Several other bugs cooperated. I wonder why this butterfly has hair on its eyes?

Many insects have those features (setae):

http://ourbugscope.wikispaces.com/Worker+Honey+Bee

It appears to be a mechanosensor, but the name also refers to a number of (superficially) similar structures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seta

It's not clear how much genetic work has been done to differentiate the various structures and their functions.(nice pics, btw!)

 

[Andy Resnick]

Another excellent night:

[PLAIN]http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/244/dsc83822.jpg

and a 1:1 crop:

[PLAIN]http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2663/dsc8382.jpg

The image is so sharp, I can actually enlarge the image further by taking advantage of the difference between a professional-quality print at 200 dpi and typical display resolutions of 72-80 dpi. I enlarged the images 3x using interpolation (smoothing), and then applied a sharpen filter to get this:

[PLAIN]http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9544/dsc83821.jpg

 

[ViewsofMars]

Spectacular! I've fallen in love with the moon! Incrediable images thanks
to you, Andy. I'd like to know what equipment you are using. Also, you might like
to send off to the "BBC Pictures of the Day" some of your images.
I'm getting my easal from the attic and grabbing a canvas so I can paint that moon.
I wish there was a section in Cosmology where you and other people could post this stuff.

Both great links to explore and learn more about the moon:
Regarding the Mare Nubium:
Mare Nubium "Sea of Clouds"
Lat 21.3S
Long 16.6W
Dia 715.0
http://lunar.ksc.nasa.gov/science/geography_items/mare.html

Geography from The Major Lunar Mare no. 5 shows the exact location of the Mare Nubium.
http://lunar.ksc.nasa.gov/science/geography_items/maria/maria.html

My new desktop is now . . .
[URL]http://www.lpi.usra.edu/nlsi/gallery/wallpaper/as11_44_6548.jpg[/URL]

My next request is an image of Saturn. I can't recall exactly, but I thought
I read there was a ring of fire that's been raging on there. (lol)

 

[Andy Resnick]

Spectacular! I've fallen in love with the moon! Incrediable images thanks
to you, Andy. I'd like to know what equipment you are using. <snip>

My next request is an image of Saturn. I can't recall exactly, but I thought
I read there was a ring of fire that's been raging on there. (lol)

Thanks- for the praise and the links!

Equipment: Sony a850 camera, Nikon 400mm f/2.8 w/ 2x teleconverter. Image was acquired at full aperture (that is, 800mm f/5.6), 1/60 s exposure ISO 100.

As it happens, Saturn has been in the *perfect* location for the past few months, I'll post a montage of images shortly...

 

[Andy Resnick]

This is a collection of images taken over the past few months: all but two were taken at 800mm f/5.6

[PLAIN]http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8157/montagepe.jpg

The large one is an (intentionally) overexposed image (1/10 s, ISO 6400) to see Titan (the small dot on the left), and the smaller version on the lower right is also intentionally overexposed (1 s exposure, ISO 6400) to pull out another moon from the background- not sure which one it is.

Going clockwise from upper left are three images of Saturn at 'good' exposures (1/100 s, ISO 100)) and show the shadow of the ring across the face. The final two were taken at 400mm f/2.8 of the Space Station as it passed overhead on 7/3/11 (1/100 s, ISO 100). There's motion blur on one, but in a 'good' direction (lucky!).

I'm patiently waiting for good viewing of Mars and Jupiter...

 

[Andy Resnick]

Managed to get this just as the clouds started rolling in:

[PLAIN]http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/4392/dsc8390.jpg

The contrast is much higher than usual: the lunar surface is nearly Lambertian, which is why it does not look like a round sphere but a flat disk. Put another way, the brightness is very 'flat', resulting in a low-contrast image. However, since during a full moon there's no terminus to worry about, I can stretch the contrast out a lot more than usual, and this image is the result.

This one's going in the portfolio...

 

[ViewsofMars]

Managed to get this just as the clouds started rolling in:

[PLAIN]http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/4392/dsc8390.jpg

The contrast is much higher than usual: the lunar surface is nearly Lambertian, which is why it does not look like a round sphere but a flat disk. Put another way, the brightness is very 'flat', resulting in a low-contrast image. However, since during a full moon there's no terminus to worry about, I can stretch the contrast out a lot more than usual, and this image is the result.

This one's going in the portfolio...

Andy, tears flow everytime I have looked at the image. It's as if I have escaped to gaze adrift
in a captured moment of time. I will sleep as a reflection in the shadow of this moon.

Thank you. So very kind of you to share it.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Andy, tears flow everytime I have looked at the image. It's as if I have escaped to gaze adrift
in a captured moment of time. I will sleep as a reflection in the shadow of this moon.

Thank you. So very kind of you to share it.

Those are very kind words- thank you.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Couldn't sleep last night- too hot.

Fortunately, even though there was light haze and clouds, I was still able to take a nice shot of the moon (at 3am...):

[PLAIN]http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8360/48313414.jpg

A lot of cameras and image processing programs have 'sharpen' filters which are based on something called an 'unsharp mask'- basically, the image is slightly blurred, and then the blurred image is kinda-sorta subtracted from the original, which has the effect of amplifying regions of high contrast (edges, for example).

An alternate method of processing is 'deconvolution', which essentially divides the (blurry) image by the point spread function. Here's the results I got deconvolving the above image. I took a small region and blew it up 400% to more clearly see the improvement. Here's the original-

[PLAIN]http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5696/22crop.jpg

And the same region after deconvolving:

[PLAIN]http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/3834/deconvoluted22crop.jpg

There's a clear increase in contrast, even through the two small craters on the upper left seem to be slightly more 'rounded'. That small isolated projection is about 5 miles across and 1 mile high (according to google's moon map), which also gives an idea of the angle of sunlight-I estimate 10 degrees, the sun is very low on the moon's horizon.

Edit: Here's the effect of 'sharpen'/unsharp mask

[PLAIN]http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/236/22sharpen.jpg

This looks awful- the jpg compression artifacts are amplified, resulting in a harsh, blocky image (IMO).

 

[Gokul43201]

Spent a few days backpacking and peakbagging in the beautiful Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. This is sunset from camp #2 by Island Lake:

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Beautiful!

 

[turbo]

I'd love to camp there! It might be hard to get me to leave.

 

[Andy Resnick]

This is the result after a full lunar cycle:

[PLAIN]http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1682/topyp.jpg

There are still a few gaps, but I have to wait until the sun sets earlier and rises later in order to fill them in- hopefully October and November will have decent weather.

This image is about 50 MP, and the 5 x 5 and 6 x 6 montages (I haven't decided which will look better) will be 80+ MP, large enough for a 4' x 4' 300 dpi print.

http://www.largeformatposters.com/

Stay tuned...

 

[ViewsofMars]

Wow! I love it! Andy, I've got to buy a camera like you have.
Everytime I look at those moon images . . . I feel like I'm drifting in
space. There's a wave of "Ah, I'm at peace in the world" ~ something
like that. Perhaps it's the black and white that is calming with the
unfolding of the moon. This series of yours is spectacular! Thanks.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Thanks! As for the camera, the secret is the *lens*- there's lots of people here who can help you pick a lens that most suits your needs/desires.

One thing I've learned is that 80% of the cost of equipment is driven by the final 20% of performance. The converse is true as well- if you are willing to give up 20% of performance (for this lens it was autofocusing, very-high-order aberration correction, and some vignetting), you can save 80% of the cost.

To be sure, I personally didn't pay for my imaging equipment. I'm fortunate that this is part of my job, and I've been able to assemble a first-rate imaging lab primarily with startup funds, donated/scavenged components, and patience. Hopefully by the Spring everything will be in place for students to start working with these tools.

 

[Andre]

Alternately, you might want to explore what digiscoping is.

 

[ViewsofMars]

Thanks- for the praise and the links!
Equipment: Sony a850 camera, Nikon 400mm f/2.8 w/ 2x teleconverter. Image was acquired at full aperture (that is, 800mm f/5.6), 1/60 s exposure ISO 100.

and

Alternately, you might want to explore what digiscoping is.

Thanks Andy and Andre for a wealth of information.
I’m thinking about participating in
“The International Observe the Moon Night!”
The 2011 event is on October 8th.
http://observethemoonnight.org/

I often frequent a local observatory to take a peek at that old moon.

I thought I'd share this with you and other members:
Why the Moon is important for Solar System Science
Submitted to
The Inner Planets Panel, NRC Decadal Survey for the Planetary Sciences Division,
Science Mission Directorate, NASA.
http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/pdf/WhytheMoon.pdf

 

[Borek]

Having a great time

 

[Andre]

Nice Borek, good to see you back. Croatia?

 

[Borek]

Yes, Croatia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrboska) - but we are not back yet We should be in Warsaw around mid August. I may be able to post some pictures in a few days, on our way back we are spending three days in Budapest and we should have WiFi in the room.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Having a great time

Nice!

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Yes, Croatia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrboska) - but we are not back yet We should be in Warsaw around mid August. I may be able to post some pictures in a few days, on our way back we are spending three days in Budapest and we should have WiFi in the room.

Lovely! Where St Mary's is? ( an old landmark)

I really like the lunar cycle and the building in the other thread, too, Andy.

 

[Andy Resnick]

I really like the lunar cycle and the building in the other thread, too, Andy.

Thanks! When the lunar cycle montage is complete, I'll make the full-size image available (somehow...)

 

[Andy Resnick]

[PLAIN]http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3907/ocean1b.jpg

 

[Andy Resnick]

[PLAIN]http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/8480/dsc9246y.jpg