The Rainbow

 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13

Sunday evening my wife and I attended a southern gospel concert held at a local church featuring Jeff & Sheri Easter.  The uplifting music of the evening was the perfect backdrop for what was to come... A stunning Rainbow gracing the eastern sky upon our arrival home moments after sunset.

After soaking in its splendor for a few minutes it dawned on me that I must in some way try to capture the scene.  If you have ever tried shooting a full rainbow I'm sure you understand the issues.  Typically a normal lens is not sufficiently wide to capture the entire rainbow and if a wide angle lens is used the rainbow can be rendered too small to truly capture its beauty.

Knowing that I didn't have long to work I hurriedly set up the tripod mounting the camera with a 24mm lens to shoot vertical and composed a series of five overlapping images.  These images were then combined in Photoshop CS5, cropped and adjusted into this final image.

I'm not sure if shooting pano's in the vertical format was a tip I picked up from reading Scott Kelby or if it came from Moose Peterson's book Captured.  Regardless of where the tip came from it worked splendidly!   

  

Clearing Skies

With rain today, heavy rain forecast for tonight through tomorrow and lowland flooding possible I am looking forward to clearing skies.

I captured this image as the skies began to clear near sundown after our Thanksgiving day storm.

Deer season is in full swing here.  So far I have not heard of any hunting accidents in our area.  I don't ever remember a first day with as little gunfire as I heard Monday, even on stormy days, and Monday was picture perfect weather! 

Storm Clouds Gathering

Friday afternoon I spent some time on the nearby lake as ominous storm clouds darkened an already cloudy sky. Having spent the early morning in the woodland I decided to spend the afternoon fishing only to have my outing cut short when a steady rain began to fall.

While watching the clouds swirl in I knew that soon I would have to beat a hasty retreat but not before pausing to capture some images of the pending storm. Upon reviewing the images my impression was that the camera had not captured the celestial drama I had observed. Loading the image in Photoshop and after applying some tweaking its impact is now greater than what nature created in the first place.

SkyWatch Friday, Touching the Water

As the sky cleared a single low cloud swept over the mountain top, dropping down until the bottom of it touched the lake surface; vapor touching liquid.

Skywatch Friday, Tropical Sunset

Strolling about my IL’s development I was busy looking for a presentable Florida Sunset shot. Trying to remain somewhat true to my blog name I did not want to show the multitudes of houses which grace the streets.

By aiming a little high and using a 105mm lens I was able to exclude the dwellings and with a F10 I obtained enough DOF for pleasing results.

Eclipse Questions

Viewing this photograph brought questions to my mind. Questions such as why does the moon have a place for a stem, such as a fruit? Why does it have lines radiating out from this spot like the sections of a cantaloupe? Why is the Earth’s shadow so ragged and uneven?

The “stem” apparently is a crater but the longitude lines certainly do puzzle me. As for the Earth’s ragged shadow I would surmise that it is caused by our polluted atmosphere. But still one question remains;

Where is the Man in the Moon? :)

Photo captured with a Canon 30D, 400mm lens, F11 @ 1/125 sec. ISO200

SkyWatch Friday, Eclipse

Perhaps the Total Lunar Eclipse will be the most frequently posted subject today but I will risk being showed up by those of you who are more accomplished shutter bugs.

With a brisk wind blowing and the thermometer hovering at 18deg F (-8C) I was very pleased to capture this image.

I am extremely pleased to have had this photographic opportunity. It snowed here all day and I felt certain that this event would transpire behind a cover of clouds. Thankfully the skies began to clear at dusk and by 9:00pm this moon was shining brightly in a cloudless sky, perfect for the approaching show!

Skywatch Friday, Valentine Sky

After the sun set and darkness began to envelop the countryside, the western sky took on a beautiful red hue. The perfect end for a cold Valentine’s Day!

Sky Watch Friday, Heavens Aglow

As the storm moved by,
The clouds glowed beautifully during the morning sunrise

The sky quickly returned to a leaden gray and remained dreary until late afternoon.

A moment in time captured digitally; otherwise this moment of color would only have been a memory, soon to be lost among the clutter of my rapidly aging mind.

Sky Watch Friday, Looking West at Sunrise

Once again I turned my camera away from the rising sun to capture this image. The promise of a beautiful sunrise was thwarted by a heavy cloud formation in the east. As the hidden sun rose, the band of clear sky to the west began to glow with subtle yet beautiful colors.

Soon the entire sky was clouded and the day took on the somber tones of a cold dreary winter day. Thanks to the western sky, my morning shoot was not a total loss.

Sky Watch Friday, A Frontal Change

The dramatic display of a rapidly moving cold front

This image was the result of following the advice of many of you, my blogger friends, to always keep a camera handy.

Now that I have graduated to shooting a DSLR for my serious work, I keep my little Canon S2 IS handy in my work car. Although most commutes are uneventful; on this evening as I was returning home, the sky became awesomely beautiful. As scenes such as this do not last long ,I quickly wheeled into a side road and continued on to the nearest hilltop which provided visibility without interfering power lines.

Sometimes photographs can be planned afore time, but when dealing with nature it always pays to be prepared.

Heavenly Fire

It rained all day Sunday but as the day came to a close the sun peaked through. My wife who was sitting facing the window commented upon how beautiful the sky had become. Amy (Ash) grabbed her camera and headed for the front door. My little Canon S2 was handy so I scooped it up and followed.

This image was made with the exposure compensation set at -1 stop.