Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Photography

Telescope Adapter Kit

Telescope Adapter

The kit for adapting the Canon camera to the Meade telescope arrived in the mail today. I tried it out and found that it basically works but I still have some issues on stability because the moment arm of the camera is large compared to just an eyepiece. I experimented with objects across the hollow from our house, including the neighbors electric meter, just to get a feel for what I am up against. I am yet to be satisfied with the first attempts, but I’m sure it will get better.

We won’t be doing any experimenting tonight, but we will go out and see the celestial triangle of the gibbous moon, Mars and Saturn. We plan to continue experimenting next week since our plans don’t include astrophotography until then.

14 Jul 2016 by Arizona Astronomy Photography

Astrophotography Practice

Waxing Gibbous

It is only 404 days until the Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017. I have started thinking about what sort of equipment we will need to record the events associated with a solar eclipse.

Last night, I took the photo of the moon, seen above, with my Canon SL1 and a 300mm lens. That’s the bare minimum needed (along with a solar filter) to capture sun images. It did a pretty good image (without the filter) of the waxing gibbous moon last night just before 10PM Arizona time. The settings were: 1/4000 sec exposure, F-8, ISO 6400 and 300mm focal length.

The image above is satisfactory, but not as good as it could be. So, to facilitate further experimenting with the camera and astrophotography, I ordered a telescope adapter kit which offers several good interface options between my DSLR camera and my older Meade ETX90 five inch telescope.

The full moon will be next week and I’m hoping to have the camera/adapter/telescope interface figured out by then. More experimentation to come.

12 Jul 2016 by Astronomy Photography

Tiny Pink Cactus Flower

Tiny Pink Cactus Flower

This is the little Mammillaria yaquensis fishhook cactus that our friend Crotalus presented to us last fall when we met in Palm Desert. The cactus had this flower open yesterday and there are two more buds that may open soon.

This cactus and the other two Crotalus brought to the RV campground now reside in the courtyard in front of our house. There are several other cacti out there plus some tomatoes, squash and basil that we hope to be able to use in the kitchen.

Click on the image to enlarge.

08 Jul 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Red Bird Close-Up

Red Bird Close-Up

All three of my Caesalpinia pulcherrima shrubs in the courtyard are now producing flowers. I took this close-up of one of the flowers this afternoon.

The individual flowers only last a day or two, but the racemes have dozens of flower pods opening from bottom to top which gives the appearance of having perpetual orange, red and yellow flowers in the courtyard. We have the colors all summer and into the fall.

Click on the image to enlarge.

05 Jul 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Monsoon Sky

Monsoon Sky

Damsel took this photo of the mountains to the north of town on our way home from the optometrist today. This view is of a giant cumulonimbus buildup over the Weaver Range between here and Prescott. Click on the image to enlarge.

Monsoon season is here. We have had several minor rain showers over the past week with lightning shows and the works. We enjoyed a brief rain shower this evening to wet the dust down a bit. The shower wasn’t particularly heavy, but it did block the satellite TV feed for a couple of minutes. It is still hot and sticky outside – feels like 80% humid, but that’s probably an over estimation.

We’re expecting more of this weather through Saturday (20-30% chance of showers), but it should clear for Sunday and Independence Day – we’re planning to cook out of doors all weekend. The cooking will involve the smoker, the steamer and the grill, all of which keep the heat and humidity OUTSIDE of the house where it belongs.

29 Jun 2016 by Arizona Environment Photography

The Last Two Saguaro Flower Buds

Saguaro Flower Buds

Of all the dozens of spring flowers on our big saguaro out front, these appear to be the last two unopened buds. Sometime in the next few days, they will open, get pollinated and then wither while the stems swell to become saguaro fruit, just like the dozens of other flowers that preceded these two flower buds.

The fruit on this saguaro and the last big cactus that sat in this spot never amounted to much, since the birds peck on the fruit to extract the nutrients inside. It’s all part of the desert life cycle and we like it. Click on the image to enlarge.

24 Jun 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Astrophytum Cactus Flowers

Astrophytum Cactus Flowers

When we returned home yesterday, this pair of flowers greeted me when I went into the courtyard to water the plants that had been neglected for a few days. I say neglected because we weren’t here to water them, but we see evidence that there was at least one moderate rain shower while we were away – tell tale pockmarks on the soil suggested a fairly good shower albeit with no evidence of flooding or running water.

As for these flowers, they are the second batch of buds that showed up on this cactus this spring. Last year, this cactus had flowers opening most of the spring and summer. We are eagerly anticipating a repeat performance this year. Click on the image to enlarge.

14 Jun 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

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