Between Bears (hit "L" for this one)
"Between bears" may be descriptive of how I've been the last few months (life's getting better of late). The actual meaning here, however, is a bit different, but if you know anything about constellations, you'll figure it out. This is Bodie Island Lighthouse at North Carolina's Outer Banks... and if you'll notice, it's not quite living up to its function. The lighthouse has been going through a long overdue series of renovations, including structural metal repair, new paint, and polishing and restoration of the Fresnel lens and lighting system (which may have been damaged during Hurricane Irene in August of 2011). From what I've been able to understand, completion is due in April. Until that time, It makes an outstanding foreground for a myriad of stars.
One of my contacts, Kevin Dempsey, is a school teacher in the remote Ojibway Nation of Saugeen in northern Ontario. It's obviously so far back in the sticks they have to pipe in sunshine there... but the upside is that he's able to get some of the finest night sky pictures without light pollution from manmade sources... that has inspired me to find some dark, though brilliantly starlit areas here in North Carolina to put to the lens. I'm still trying to nail down exposure rates... I want to keep them at 20 seconds so the rotational effects aren't evident. I'm getting there. There's still the issue of extraneous light in this image, though here it seems to work.
Please take a look at Kevin's photostream for his impressions of Canada and those of his recent trip to Iceland, as well as his wonderful night shots of stars and aurora: my2boggan
Between Bears (hit "L" for this one)
"Between bears" may be descriptive of how I've been the last few months (life's getting better of late). The actual meaning here, however, is a bit different, but if you know anything about constellations, you'll figure it out. This is Bodie Island Lighthouse at North Carolina's Outer Banks... and if you'll notice, it's not quite living up to its function. The lighthouse has been going through a long overdue series of renovations, including structural metal repair, new paint, and polishing and restoration of the Fresnel lens and lighting system (which may have been damaged during Hurricane Irene in August of 2011). From what I've been able to understand, completion is due in April. Until that time, It makes an outstanding foreground for a myriad of stars.
One of my contacts, Kevin Dempsey, is a school teacher in the remote Ojibway Nation of Saugeen in northern Ontario. It's obviously so far back in the sticks they have to pipe in sunshine there... but the upside is that he's able to get some of the finest night sky pictures without light pollution from manmade sources... that has inspired me to find some dark, though brilliantly starlit areas here in North Carolina to put to the lens. I'm still trying to nail down exposure rates... I want to keep them at 20 seconds so the rotational effects aren't evident. I'm getting there. There's still the issue of extraneous light in this image, though here it seems to work.
Please take a look at Kevin's photostream for his impressions of Canada and those of his recent trip to Iceland, as well as his wonderful night shots of stars and aurora: my2boggan