Welcome Scorpio

We're in April, Orion is leaving us after sunset and Scorpio is well visible very late at night.
In this shot the Milky Way with the Galactic Center is visible.
Can you identify the Scorpio Constellation ?
Take the central tree, go up to the middle of the frame.Antares is the orange, brightest star slight to the right of the tree.
On Apr, 04th, a nice little Moon, just 2 degrees above the western horizon, made the sunset more special.



Canon 5D + EF17-40L at 20mm, f4.5 , 1250 ISO, + tripod. Total of 19 images of 8s each (152sec total) stacked with IRIS5.59



Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 100mm, f5.6 , 1250 ISO, 4s + tripod

The shadow

Today, I wanted my shadow to be present so you can imagine how these pictures costed to me in terms of COLD !.
After a snow fall, those were the first sun rays in this chilly afternoon (-15C or 4F).
Unfortunately I forgot the gloves....









Above: Canon 5D + EF17-40L at 17mm, f11.0 , 125 ISO, 1/320s
Below: Canon 5D + EF17-40L at 26mm, f11.0 , 100 ISO, 1/10s + tripod

Burnt

First shot of 2011 ;-)
Pretty nice sunset today.
The burnt trees at Mt.Graham and the snow on the mountain made the scene more intense.

The highest peaks in the far background (on the left) are the Chiricahua Mountains.

Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 70mm, f13.0 , 100 ISO, 1/6s + tripod

From Horizon to Horizon

Well, let me show you what you see when you walk the road up to the LBT from the VATT and the SMT at night.
This panoramic view has been realized without any tracking mount.
It took 5 positions with the 20mm focal length to cover the entire sky from horizon to horizon.
At each position, four 9s images were taken for a total of 36s exposure time.
Grand total, 20 exposures.

Software: IRIS5.59 (free) + Hugin Panorama Photo Sticher (free)

Canon 5D + EF17-40L at 20mm, f4.0 , 3200 ISO, 4 x 9.0s + tripod

Spying Kitt Peak from Mt.Graham?

I wanted to try this shot since a long time ago, despite I only a have a 200mm lens.
Today we had a very clear sunset, visibility was really good.
So how far we can see with a simple 200mm lens looking down to the horizon?
Well, judge by yourself. From the Mt.Graham Observatory, the Kitt Peak Observatory is 113 miles (181 Km) away!!
In the inset you may recognize from right to left:
The 4 mt Mayall telescope, the 2.3mt telescope, the 3.5mt WIYN telescope, the 0.9m, the 2.1mt telescope and the Mac-Math Pierce Solar Telescope.













Canon 5D + EF17-40L at 17mm, f11.0 , 100 ISO, 1/20s








Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 200mm, f5.6 , 160 ISO, 0.3s


Check this out: http://www.noao.edu/outreach/kptour/aerial.html

Time Lapse Experiment - Twelve Hours Observing at Night

This a sequence of 146 exposures taken every 5 minutes through all the night from Sunset to Sunrise while we were observing.

Canon 5D - 17-40mm at 17mm

Sedona - Red Rock - AZ

Some of the amazing red Rocks near Sedona- AZ

























All pictures taken with Canon 5D + EF17-40L at f13 , 100 ISO + B+W Circular Polarizer

Chichén Itzá Ruins - One of the seven wonders of the World

Some shots of this wonderful ancient city. Acoustic around the building is impressive too.
Unfortunately that was the worse light for a photographer since it was around noon....






















































































































All pictures taken with Canon 5D + EF17-40L at f7.1 , 125 ISO + B+W Circular polarizer

Venus and a little bit of Moon (again)

Again the Moon and Venus, three months after the last shot.
Different geometry, same amazing show.




Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 200mm, f5.6 , 400 ISO, 1.6s

The lovable Pecos

Some example of Pecos or Round-Tailed Ground Squirrels.
They are very active these days in Southern Arizona.

Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 200mm, f5.0 , 100 ISO, 1/200s



Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 200mm, f5.0 , 100 ISO, 1/250s



Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 200mm, f5.0 , 100 ISO, 1/1600s



Canon 5D + EF70-200L at 200mm, f5.0 , 100 ISO, 1/250s