View allAll Photos Tagged sky_captures_
Duffus Castle, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland, was a motte-and-bailey castle and was in use from c.1140 to 1705. During its occupation it underwent many alterations. The most fundamental was the destruction of the original wooden structure and its replacement with one of stone. At the time of its establishment, it was one of the most secure fortifications in Scotland. At the death of the 2nd Lord Duffus in 1705, the castle had become totally unsuitable as a dwelling and so was abandoned.
Ancient limestone pillars rise from wind‑sculpted golden sand at Nambung National Park’s Pinnacles Desert. Long shadows stretch across rippled dunes as scrubby native vegetation frames a surreal landscape forged over millennia. The stark contrast of ochre rock and brilliant blue sky captures both the remoteness and fragile beauty of Western Australia’s outback, inviting slow exploration and quiet wonder.
During our evening escapade to indulge in the delights of Teppanyaki, my attention was abruptly seized by a mesmerizing sight, compelling me to pause in awe. Above the Fuji Broadcasting Center, known as FCG Building, the sky transformed into a magnificent canvas, ablaze with a breathtaking palette of colors, showcasing nature's artistic prowess.
Setting out from our hotel, my senses immediately stirred as I became aware of the vibrant hues adorning the heavens. Time seemed to suspend as I retraced my steps, hastening to retrieve my camera, determined to seize the fleeting brilliance that gracefully danced across the city skyline. These vivid hues, painting the sky in an enchanting fusion of oranges, purples, and blues, held sway for a precious few minutes before transitioning into muted tones.
Designed by the visionary architect Kenzo Tange, FCG Building stands as an architectural marvel. Its iconic "HACHITAMA" Spherical Observation Room offers panoramic vistas of Tokyo's waterfront, a revered spot to behold the sprawling beauty of the city. Yet, on this extraordinary occasion, bathed in ethereal light and radiant colors, FCG Building assumed an even greater honor—it became an inspired muse, a testament to architectural brilliance amidst nature's celestial spectacle.
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A flying bird at the backdrop of dramatic sky. Captured from 3rd floor roof. It was flying quite low.
The Nokia site in Munich – circular, futuristic, focused.
Right on cue: a jet slicing through the sky, captured with the EOS R8 and the RF 24mm f/1.8.
Venus can be seen here rising in the early evening skies above Blydenburgh Park. Our sister planet was at its brightest this year on December 6th, and has recently been a fixture (around sunset) in our southwestern skies.
Captured in Blydenburgh Park, Smithtown, NY.
HDR image constructed from 3 bracketed shots - 2 stop differential between each image.
Images processed w/ Photomatix, and finished in Photoshop -- including the use of Topaz lab plugins and filters.
So after taking the landscape plunge last summer with the low cost $299 Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens mainly for night sky images, I was really struck how nice the wider view worked for many of the scenes out west. Also enjoyed it recently with the night sky captures in West Virginia.
I did have issues though with the quality of the 14mm lens. While sharp in the center, even at f/8 the corners and edges (about 1/6 of the frame) was not sharp at all. So I have been researching other 14mm primes to upgrade. I was really close to getting the Canon 14mm f/2.8, even had it ordered and shipped, but decided to cancel and research a little more (that Canon lens is not cheap).
I looked closely at the reviews of the Sigma 14mm f/1.8, and found that many felt it was as sharp as the Canon … though slightly less than a true 14mm (more like 14.8mm). Costing nearly half as much as the Canon, and 1.3 stops more of light, I ended up getting the Sigma Lens. I arrived yesterday, and after a long day at work I was still excited to play and test it into the evening for about three hours. Really checked it for sharpness at all aperture settings. The results really blew me away.
At f/8 to f/16, I found no flaws in sharpness anywhere in the frame (sharp to the corners and edges). In fact, the results even at f/4 at the corners was hands down 10 times better than the corners with my Canon 17/40mm lens at f/8 and 17mm.
As you get it down to f/1.8 though, the sharpness in the corners at infinity focus gets pretty bokehed (I think I made that word up). But playing with the live view and focusing minor adjustments, I was able to get a slight modification to the focus point at f/1.8 where the sharpness to the corners was nearly as good as in the center … SO VERY IMPRESSIVE. For night time captures where I will be using it at f/1.8, I think it will be super results.
Thinking this may soon by my staple landscape lens (getting the 150mm filters and adapter ring as well) so I can be as creative with it as I have been with the 17/40. Having both of these landscape lenses will really be nice … the 17/40 will be real handy when in the rain, and also at the beach with ocean spray. Finding a way to keep falling rain off of the open curved 14mm lens will be hard I think … unless I can make an umbrella adapter or get Mrs. Krach to hold an umbrella for me ;)
The image here was taken today while at lunch at work … 101 degrees F Summer Day … really liking the f/16 sun burst / star created with the new lens to. It is really pretty I think.
Peat laden mountaintops of the West coast, roll down to the Atlantic, Broken rock and bog is all that is here. Yet still, here Ireland shows a beauty in burgundy tones with dapples of sky captured by the hungry ground.
Shot with a 1950's 6x6 Folding Voigtlander Perkeo II and Kodak 100 film. Lab scan.
Pink flowers growing from a tree arc towards the sky in front of decorative eaves and a blue sky. Captured March 2023 in Bremen, Germany in front of Meierei restaurant in Bürgerpark.
ERIS, the Very Large Telescope’s newest infrared eye on the sky, captured this stunning image of the inner ring of the galaxy NGC 1097. This galaxy is located 45 million light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Fornax. ERIS has captured the gaseous and dusty ring that lies at the very centre of the galaxy. The bright spots in the ring are stellar nurseries, shown in unprecedented detail. The centre of this galaxy is active, with a supermassive black hole that feeds off its surroundings.
This image has been taken through four different filters by ERIS’s state-of-the-art infrared imager, the Near Infrared Camera System — or NIX. The filters have been represented here by blue, green, red and magenta, where the last one highlights the compact regions in the ring. To put NIX’s resolution in perspective, this image shows, in detail, a portion of the sky less than 0.03% the size of the full Moon.
Credit: ESO/ERIS team
Maryland ...at 100 degrees F. Summer is in full swing now.
So after taking the landscape plunge last summer with the low cost $299 Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens mainly for night sky images, I was really struck how nice the wider view worked for many of the scenes out west. Also enjoyed it recently with the night sky captures in West Virginia.
I did have issues though with the quality of the 14mm lens. While sharp in the center, even at f/8 the corners and edges (about 1/6 of the frame) was not sharp at all. So I have been researching other 14mm primes to upgrade. I was really close to getting the Canon 14mm f/2.8, even had it ordered and shipped, but decided to cancel and research a little more (that Canon lens is not cheap).
I looked closely at the reviews of the Sigma 14mm f/1.8, and found that many felt it was as sharp as the Canon … though slightly less than a true 14mm (more like 14.8mm). Costing nearly half as much as the Canon, and 1.3 stops more of light, I ended up getting the Sigma Lens. I arrived yesterday, and after a long day at work I was still excited to play and test it into the evening for about three hours. Really checked it for sharpness at all aperture settings. The results really blew me away.
At f/8 to f/16, I found no flaws in sharpness anywhere in the frame (sharp to the corners and edges). In fact, the results even at f/4 at the corners was hands down 10 times better than the corners with my Canon 17/40mm lens at f/8 and 17mm.
As you get it down to f/1.8 though, the sharpness in the corners at infinity focus gets pretty bokehed (I think I made that word up). But playing with the live view and focusing minor adjustments, I was able to get a slight modification to the focus point at f/1.8 where the sharpness to the corners was nearly as good as in the center … SO VERY IMPRESSIVE. For night time captures where I will be using it at f/1.8, I think it will be super results.
Thinking this may soon by my staple landscape lens (getting the 150mm filters and adapter ring as well) so I can be as creative with it as I have been with the 17/40. Having both of these landscape lenses will really be nice … the 17/40 will be real handy when in the rain, and also at the beach with ocean spray. Finding a way to keep falling rain off of the open curved 14mm lens will be hard I think … unless I can make an umbrella adapter or get Mrs. Krach to hold an umbrella for me ;)
The image here was taken today while at lunch at work … 101 degrees F Summer Day … really liking the f/16 sun burst / star created with the new lens to. It is really pretty I think.
Duffus Castle, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland, was a motte-and-bailey castle and was in use from c.1140 to 1705. During its occupation it underwent many alterations. The most fundamental was the destruction of the original wooden structure and its replacement with one of stone. At the time of its establishment, it was one of the most secure fortifications in Scotland. At the death of the 2nd Lord Duffus in 1705, the castle had become totally unsuitable as a dwelling and so was abandoned.
The eider is the UK's heaviest duck and its fastest flying. It is a true seaduck, rarely found away from coasts where its dependence on coastal molluscs for food has brought it into conflict with mussel farmers. Eiders are highly gregarious and usually stay close inshore, riding the swell in a sandy bay or strung out in long lines out beyond the breaking waves. It is an Amber List species because of its winter concentrations. These pictured are annual visitors to Burghead harbour, Moray.
Opua, Bay of Islands, New Zealand. This is our view. These two shots are extremely similar, right down to the fact of the car ferry just leaving with its load of cars crossing to the the other side. One photo was taken 28 August 2007, during our early days here. The other photo I took today, 2 April 2022. On every day, every hour, every minute, the atmosphere and the colours change. Over the years buildings have come and gone, trees have grown. Can you spot the differences? 🌞
Took one of my grandsons here today for a few hours. When I was a child this was known locally as Peacock Farm as the wealthy owner, Gilbert Beale, founded it to indulge his passion for collecting and breeding peacocks. Today it is very child orientated with a variety of wildlife and conservation activities and access to the nearby River Thames. This particular photograph is of a water garden which is still being developed. The magnificent willow tree in the centre and the threatening sky captured my attention.
Burghead (Scots: Burgheid or The Broch, Scottish Gaelic: Am Broch) is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a peninsula that projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on three sides. People from Burghead are called Brochers.
The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the process more than half of the site of an important Pictish hill fort. General Roy’s map shows the defences as they existed in the 18th century although he wrongly attributed them to the Romans. The fort was probably a major Pictish centre and was where carved slabs depicting bulls were found; they are known as the "Burghead Bulls". A chambered well of some considerable antiquity was discovered in 1809 and walls and a roof were later added to help preserve it. Each year on 11 January a fire festival known as the Burning of the Clavie takes place; it is thought that the festival dates back to the 17th century, although it could easily predate this by several centuries. Burghead is often known by locals as The Broch, a nickname also applied to Fraserburgh in nearby Aberdeenshire.
A recent dig just beyond the boundary of Burghead at Clarkly Hill has uncovered Iron Age circular stone houses and Pictish building foundations, as well as silver and bronze Roman coins and a gold finger ring possibly from the Baltic region. Significant evidence of large scale Iron smelting has also been found, providing evidence that iron was probably being traded from this site. The National Museum of Scotland has carried out significant exploration which leads it to believe this is a significant site of interest.