Moon Photo

Last year (2011) the moon made its closest approach in decades.

I thought it would be a good time to experiment with my new Canon Power Shot SX 30 IS camera with 35x zoom.

(The newer version of the camera is the SX 40)

It is kind of eerie to look upon another planet/moon so close.

The photo was cropped and a touch of Photo Shop and Topaz added to enhance the contrast.

There may be some noise, but it is hard to distinguish noise from the small craters.

Taken March 19, 2011

F 5.8
Shutter 1/200 sec
ISO 100
Tripod with self timer shutter release

Keep your lens clean

Linwood "Lin" Wickett

HDR Experiment

The Worm Hole

There I was, 20 feet above sea level, at a Photo Discussion Group meeting at the gallery in Portsmouth, NH. As my photography skills and knowledge are quite shallow, I was trying to hide my usual blank stare during the technical discussions. Then one of the geeks in the room started talking about his HDR, whatever that means. It was "HDR this and HDR that!". Like my father, who was as deaf as a fence post, I bobbled my head in agreement, pretending I had a clue about he was talking about. When I got home, I went to bed and tossed and turned wondering "What the heck is HDR?" After 5 seconds of this thought, I fell asleep. The next day, or the day after the next day, I tried to find out what HDR was so I would not look so foolish at the next meeting. The best answer I found, that I could understand, was it was a combination of multiple pictures and snag the best of each to combine into one picture. My ADD wouldn't allow me to search any further for a while, but I thought I would try an experiment with my foggy new knowledge.

So, I got out 3 of my best cameras, mounted them on a tripod from the attic with my best red duct tape, and got the HDR experiment ready for a night shot. (See the first picture for my camera set up, taken with my trusty 110 film camera.) By the way, if anyone has any better way to connect a camera to my tripod, I would appreciate the knowledge.

Anyway, I toddled up to York Maine and set my HDR equipment in action. Then I took the pictures to a local photo processing place and asked them to make an HDR photo out of the three pictures. "What's HDR?" they asked. I had no answer, so, I asked them to just send them pictures off with a note to combine the pictures and see what happens.

Ninety-five dollars later, I got my picture, which I call "Through the Worm Hole." It isn't like the worm hole that the crows and robins peck into in my back yard, but more like the science fiction type. Although, from what I understand about worm holes in space, going through one would be like a person drawn through one like worms use.

Okay, Nancy is calling me for lunch, so..

Keep your lens clean,

Linwood "Lin" Wickett

 

 

Nubble Light Windy Night

Nancy stayed in Maine with her family for a few days after Christmas, but I hit the road early to get home to NH and twiddle my thumbs. It was now the evening she was coming home, but it was also a relatively warm night. So I decided to drop into Portsmouth for another Night On The Town (photographically speaking). I thought I had better get my last night pictures of the Memorial Bridge before they closed it to foot traffic, permanently. (It's being torn down, doncha know!) Then came a thought of brilliance, "Maybe it would be a good time to toddle up to Nubble Light in Cape Neddick, Maine." I got there, got out of my car with camera in hand, and realized I didn't have my tripod camera attachment.

Okay, home was only 40 minutes away, give or take 6.5 minutes, so I thought this might be my last chance to catch the Nubble holiday lights. After the round trip, and two cups of coffee, I arrived to the clear night at Nubble Light, once again. The temperature may have been relatively warm, but the wind was howling and produced a severe wind chill. After setting up my camera and tripod, part of my anatomy, that I don't usually see in the mirror, froze off and landed in the parking lot. With a slow shutter speed, the wind, and my falling body part, The picture got a little skewed.

Luckily, I got one okay picture by sitting in the back seat with my tripod and camera. Nancy had left the dog's pillow bed in my car, so it helped relieve the backside pain. I swear the picture is not an Etch-A-Sketch! Also, as it was a clear night, the beacon was not operating.

My cell phone rang. It was Nancy. "Where are you?" she yelled. "I have suppah ready and it is getting cold. (Suppah? She is from Maine) Get your butt home, now!"

"Just one more picture," I begged, as I reached back to the parking lot to fetch my fallen body part.

Cell phone still in hand, I tried to grab one more picture and heard her say "NOW!"

All I remember is a very dizzy feeling and suddenly I was back in my driveway, still in the back seat with the camera and tripod.

Was it a dream? I thought so, until I took a look at my pictures, especially the last one.

Keep your lens clean,

Linwood "Lin" Wickett