Tag Archives: Photography - Page 2

Shooting the LADEE Launch (The 10 Second Lesson)

Posted by on September 8, 2013 1 comment

LADEE ProbeI grew up as a space nerd.  One of my fondest memories as a kid was pouring over a book that my parents got me that covered the history of space exploration.  I think I probably destroyed it from reading it so often and yet even today I can recall the diagrams and photos and articles from it.  I was extremely sad when I heard that the shuttle was being retired because I was just entering the age and time that I could actually make it down to see it get launched.

So when I heard that there was a launch that was taking a probe to the moon, and it was happening in Virginia, I was excited.  Not, “Hey, there is a launch happening in VA” excited.  No, this was 10 year old SNES kid “HOLY CARP THEY ARE SHOOTING A ROCKET AT THE MOON FROM MY BACK YARD” excited.  Needless to say, I told Sarah we were going to see it.  (Thankfully, she is as much of a nerd as I am and there was no question about our attendance)

Rocket GardenWallops Island Flight Facility is on the very coast of VA.  The good news is that it’s only 130 miles from my house.  The bad news is that because of the roads, it’s driving 205 miles.  The plan was to leave early on Friday morning and spend the day down there getting ready for the launch.  Well, best laid plans…. Sarah ended up with an interview at noon, and I have a phone interview that popped up at 1:30pm.  So we couldn’t leave until around 4pm.  This got us there at around 8:30pm (Launch was slated for 11:30pm).  Well, parking sucked.

 

islandSarah dropped me off at a small pier on the causeway to Chincoteague island and attempted to park, but found nothing so she went to the Marina on the island (a good 20min drive from me) to watch the launch.  The location I was at was perfect, right across from the launch pad, hardly any light pollution, and not a huge crowd.  Sarah was MUCH close to the launch pad (6 miles to my 8), but it was crowded with families, and not as much place to set up to shoot.  (from what I understand, her view was amazing, just got great for what I was doing).

Back to the idea that I was going to take pictures of the launch.  This is something I had never done before. It was a nighttime launch, so I knew it was going to be bright, but not how bright.  Do I track it?  Do I take various shots as it goes up?  Do I do a long exposure?  Why hadn’t I looked this up?!?  I had NO CLUE WHAT I WAS DOING!!!  Yeah, these were all thoughts that went through my head while I was there.  I defaulted to my instincts and shot what I knew.  Did some Long Exposure of the facility and the stars.  I figured that I would just have to be quick and snap the pics as they came.  Needless to say I learned a LOT, very fast.

When shooting a launch here is what I picked up:

  • Rule #1: Launches happen VERY FAST.  Be prepared
  • Rule #2: They are VERY BRIGHT.  I was still 8 miles from the launch pad and it lit up the whole area.
  • Rule #3: Relating to rule #1, You get 1 shot at it.  It’s not like they will do another launch in 2 min.
  • Rule #4: Take a few shots, then put down the camera and admire the fact that we are launching something into space!

When the launch happened, I adjusted, fired, adjusted, fired, followed, fired, followed, fired, and then done.  I had no idea what I got.  The screen on my D600 only gave me a small hint.  I watched the rocket as it arced across the sky, watched the different stages and marveled at it’s glory.  Only after it had become a tiny speck did I feel the anxiety of “Did I get a good picture?”

I posted to Facebook and Twitter that the launch was amazing and that I hope I got a good shot.  Then all the various responses came in of “Missed the launch, can’t wait to see your pics” and “I know you got a good one, can’t wait!”  Oh god, the pressure was on now.  I know it sounds silly, but I was seriously worried.  I checked the photos transferred to my iPad while I waited for Sarah to make the traffic crazy drive back to pick me up.  The pictures were just ok, but it was dark, and the iPad screen is only so good.  Plus, I couldn’t do the level of processing to really reveal the picture behind the picture.  Did I mess up my first launch?

Sarah picked me up and we found some sleazy motel to crash in and I think I drifted off at around 2am.  The next day we spent exploring Chincoteague Island.  I didn’t get back to my PC to process until late Saturday.

I spent probably a good 2 hours working on 5 pictures.  3 Rocket shots and 2 star field shots.  The good news is…. I am happy with them.  The better news is, I know what I can do to improve for the next time.

Also, I need to stop being so hard on myself.

Enjoy:
LADEE Launch

LADEE Launch

LADEE Launch

Bang Zoom! (P365-249)

LADEE Launch

Trooper Adventures…..the strip.

Posted by on August 27, 2013 No comments

So on a whim, yesterday, I decided to try and make a comic strip.  So, I can’t draw for crap.  I have loads of talented friends who can draw so I am always jealous of them.  Occasionally I get some decent ideas on something that I think would be funny in a strip but that lack of drawing kinda puts a damper on things.  And don’t give me the whole XKCD argument, that boy can really draw.

What I can do is take pictures, and I have lots of material to use.  So I give you the first Trooper Adventure strip!
Strip (P365-238)

I am still working on formatting and such so if I do more they won’t be near as big.  Also, I may not stick with just the troopers.  It’s a work in progress.

Officially Unemployed!

Posted by on July 15, 2013 No comments

Interview Time! (P365-191)And just like that, I have officially become a burden on society. Didn’t realize it was that easy. So July 12th was my last day on record at my previous job, and as if yet I have had no offers from any of the 50 places I have submitted to. I do have one hopeful that I feel the interview went well, but we’ll see.  (If you have any leads, please feel free to e-mail me!

Fear not, Sarah and I have enough socked away to sustain us for quite some time. So, in the meantime I am catching up on my photography and writing (thus this post) and looking into other things to keep me busy. I am not going to fool myself into thinking that I am some future great novelist or think that my Photography can sustain me. Mostly it’s just things to occupy my mind so I don’t go crazy.

In other news, I broke my toe! Yeah, great segway right? On the 4th of July I became a statistic by going into the emergency room with a non-firework related injury! What happened? Well, after our little BBQ and meet and greet, when everyone else had left (except James, who got to witness this delightful event) I went to get an ice cream out of the freezer. On the way back to the family room I was walking down the stairs and slipped. My left foot shot straight into the metal railing and I fell the rest of the way down the stairs.

After screaming in pain for a good 5 minutes, I finally got around to asking Andrew to remove the sock on my left foot. I took a picture of the result, but to save your stomachs, I have decided to use this artist’s rendition of what my foot looked like. As you can see, I tried to make it a little happier. The actual foot looked much, much worse.

Mah Toe

After screaming in disgust for a good 5 minutes, everyone else in the room decided that a trip to the emergency room was in order.

Fun fact about me. In stressful situations, I use humor as a defense mechanism. Needless to say, I was pretty stressed. On the way out to the car, I made sure that Sarah grabbed my phone and my iPad (so I have them) but totally forgot about things like, my insurance card, my shoes (at least 1 of them) etc. I needed my phone because I totally needed to post a picture to Facebook and twitter, right!?

When we arrived at the hospital, we didn’t see the normal patient entrance to the emergency room, only the ambulance entrance. I rolled down the back seat window and asked one of the paramedics “Where do I go for this?” with my foot outside the window. He happily pointed us in the right direction.

Thankfully the emergency room was fairly empty and we didn’t have to wait for hours on end to be seen. The whole staff was great and dealt with my “current state” with a smile. I got dosed up on morphine and the doctor straightened out my toe (to much screaming from me).

If you are really interested in what it looked like, the x-ray can be seen here. (warning, it’s not pretty)

That’s been my July so far! My project 365 is still going strong. I think it’s really helped me work on some of techniques, as well as getting over my fear of taking pictures of other people. Turns out that the average person doesn’t mind an artistic picture taken of them!

Here is a link to my Flickr page with all of the latest pics on it!

Catch up Post!

Posted by on May 15, 2013 No comments

What a dump! (P365-122)
Of course I realize the irony of the last post I left here being that I was searching for the Highway of Death, and then I don’t post anything for a long time.  (Ok, it was a little funny for me.)  The truth is that I have had both a lot of things going on, and then too little motivation.

So, as per usual, it’s catch up time!

I got to go home for a week!!  I know, I was excited too.  I had some work to take care of back at the home office and it required me being there in person.  The downside to this was that I could not take Sarah with me.  She stayed here in Kuwait and held down the fort while I went home and gorged myself on pork and alcohol.  (It was a hard ordeal, but I think I left some pork in VA, but not much)

Things here are moving forward as per usual for this sort of work.  Lots of “hurry up and wait” which you get used to.  We do our best to keep busy and entertain ourselves. I think we have worked our way through a good number of TV shows tat we have meant to catch up on.

Desert Tree (P365-118)My Project 365 is going well.  I have not yet gotten tired of my camera and it has given me the chance to experiment with some different shooting styles.  Not to mention being able to look back on the last 134 days (so far) and see a snapshot of what my year has been like.  I may have to compile a little book once the project is done.

I know it’s not a great catch up post, but that’s what there is to tell.  I will try and post some more soon, since we have some interesting trips coming up.

Oh, and we still couldn’t find the Highway of death.  Turns out it was cleaned up a few years ago.

bummer

Camel Racing in Kuwait!

Posted by on March 10, 2013 No comments

Yesterday, Sarah and I spirited off for a small adventure in western Kuwait.  We visited the Kuwait Camel Racing Club.  So let me explain how we came to this point.

When I was slated to come to Kuwait the first time, (back in January) I did some searching around on Google Maps and Google Earth to find some things that would be interesting to go do while I am in country.  One of the things I noticed was, what looked like, a racetrack out in the middle of the desert.

Click to embiggen

I did some more digging and found that there is a huge camel population out in that region.  Putting 1 and camel together I figured out that it was a Camel racing track!  When I arrived in country, I made a point to head out there and see what it was all about.  Some of the websites I found on the subject (there aren’t many) mentioned that Saturday is the day to go.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have a free Saturday, but I thought, “What the hell, Camels!” and went anyways on a Sunday.

The area around the racetrack is mostly desert with a small village in the middle of it.  Many of the villagers have pens where they keep camels.  These camels were VERY friendly and wanted to know what this weird white guy with a camera was doing.  This resulted in my first batch of pictures from the area.

A few months later, Sarah and I arrive and I tell her about the camels.  Saturday comes around and we have some free time so, TO THE CAMEL RACES!!!  ONe of the important lessons we learned is, the place I had found that had the sign out front and was, what I thought, the location of the races…..wasn’t.  If you follow the road to it’s end you find a large building with lots of flags, which is the RIGHT building.  We entered the building and headed to the grandstand area where there were many plush seats and screens showing where the camels were.  The track was HUGE and you could just make out the trucks that were following the camels in the distance.

The great part was that I could venture right out to the track (and in some cases on it) and take pictures.  There were many different varieties of camels at the track.  Some were outfit for riding (my guess was that these were ridden in as we would drive a car in) and some were obviously the racers.  Interestingly, you will notice that the racing camels don’t have anyone riding them.  Instead there is a small robot on the back that spurs the camel on.  It’s equipped with a small whip that is remote controlled, probably by someone in one of the many trucks and cars that follow the camels around the track.

Taking the camels to the races.

Just rode in from the desert

The start of a race!

Here they come!

Close up!

Couldn’t let the post go without a little Camel Toe.

Making tracks.

I am sure we will venture back out again for more camel racing fun!

Moving right along

Posted by on February 26, 2013 No comments

Heading Home (P365-35)Sarah and I are packing up and getting ready to go!!!

That’s right, end of February marks my return to Kuwait and this time I am taking Sarah with me! (that sounds much more ominous than it is.)  For the next 10 months (roughly) She and I will be working out of the Fintas region of Kuwait. (you know, should you want to stop by if you are in the neighborhood.)

 

So what does that mean for things around here?  NOTHING!  I’ll still have internet out there (as proven from the last trip) and it should be even better than before since I am looking at upgrading our apartment with a MADA Wi-Max connection.  Pictures will still happen and fun will still be had.

And now, few words on JoCoCruiseCrazy3:JCCC3 Day 7 Concert
If you go to Thesaurus.com and type in the word “Awesome” you get the following result:

Awesome
Main Entry: awesome  [aw-suhm]
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: amazing
Synonyms: alarming, astonishing, awe-inspiring, awful, beautiful, breathtaking, daunting, dreadful, exalted, fearful, fearsome, formidable, frantic, frightening, grand, hairy*, horrible, horrifying, imposing, impressive, intimidating, magnificent, majestic, mean, mind-blowing*, moving, nervous, overwhelming, real gone, shocking, something else, striking, stunning, stupefying, terrible, terrifying, wonderful, wondrous, zero cool

These Synonyms do not even begin to describe the cruise Sarah and I went on.  We had heard of JCCC for the past few years and thought about attending, but either time or money didn’t match up and we just couldn’t do it.  Then we would see all the pictures and video from the folks who went and instantly regretted not going.  This time, we pulled the trigger and were not disappointed.

Hey it's us!I am not even kidding that each and every Synonym in that list is represented.  There were 700 other geeks and nerds to meet and a lot of times that process of reaching out and doing something that you don’t normally do is terrifying, but also wonderous! (see what I did there?)  The group we were with was so embracing and understanding, it really was like an extended family.

Each night of the cruise we sat at a different table and talked with different folks.  That alone was one of the best experiences.  Each table we approached, if they had room, welcomed us in.  I don’t want to drone about it too much (too late) but I will say that I would choose this cruise and the people on it over every DragonCon and every other convention, any day.  Don’t believe me?  Come on the next one and test that theory.

Anyways, expect more travels!  Sarah and I are planning on visiting some remote locations over the year so keep an eye out for that.  In the meantime enjoy some pictures!

The full JCCC3 Slideshow:

Get caught up on my Project 365:

Check out those wacky Trooper Adventures!

I’m On A Boat!

Posted by on February 8, 2013 No comments

OK, I am not on the boat yet, but I will be shortly.  Sarah and I are attending JoCoCruiseCrazy 3 this year and it’s going to be awesome!  This will pose some interesting #FirstWorldProblems.  The internet on the boat, while available, is very expensive.  Many folks are going without as a challenge.  I may or may not be up for this challenge.  Of course that means that uploading my P365 pictures is going to be difficult (or non-existent).  Take heart people, I will be taking and processing my photo every day, when I get back to the Internets (or possibly at a hotspot in one of the ports of call) I will upload and label them for the days they were taken.

In the meantime, enjoy this slideshow of my P365 shots to today.

Also, check out the Trooper Adventures, who will also be going with us on the cruise.

Kuwait Adventures continued!

Posted by on January 28, 2013 No comments

Crane on the beachRapidly closing in on finishing up my full month in country, I have to say I have certainly learned and seen a lot so far.  With my Project 365 task, I have tried to keep the pictures themed to what I have been doing here and some of my experiences.  I can look back at these pictures and probably tell you all about what happened that day.

 

Recently I had a great adventure when I met up with a local, Mohamed, who got in contact with me via Reddit.  I know it’s not the safest or wisest thing to do, meeting random strangers on the internet and having them take me through a foreign country, but hey, I like to live dangerously.  (Also a fan of not getting raped or stabbed, thankfully that didn’t happen)

This meetup was to show me what gaming culture was like in Kuwait.  Boy did I learn all about it too.  I don’t want to put too much into this post because the whole reason for researching this was to have some great knowledge for the next RetroNick Radio podcast.  All my findings will be there!

In the meantime, you get to catch up on my P365 photos.  Also, don’t forget to check out the Trooper Adventures!  These Lego guys are out on a tour of whatever they can find.

Blue Ring (P365-27)

Blue Ring (P365-27)
When I got here to Kuwait, it was VERY dry. Back at home I am used to higher humidity levels so I went out and bought a humidifier. I found one in a place downtown, it cost me about 18KD (close to $60) but it really is amazing. And it looks cool too.

Fighting at the White Tower (P365-26)

Fighting at the White Tower (P365-26)
This one is more of a snap shot of something I went to do today. I was guided by a great Local guy to one of Kuwaits main gaming communities. The White Tower (Facebook.com/whitetowerq8)
Here you will find the elite of the Kuwait fighting game league. It was a great glimpse into Kuwaiti gaming life. Much more about this trip will be covered on the RetroNickRadio pod cast. Www.retronick.com.

Keyboard Conundrum (P365-25)

Keyboard Conundrum (P365-25)
Spent a lot of the day working, which meant typing away on a keyboard. This one is not my regular laptop but one from a small netbook sized laptop I bought while here. I have been using it as a media PC running XBMC.
You can see from the keys that it has both english letters and arabic letters. Just in case I need to write out some letters to the locals.

Pop Pop relief. (P365-24)

Pop Pop relief. (P365-24)
I mentioned on my blog that I had a minor crisis when I left for Kuwait. I left my battery charger at home. Yeah I know! My battery normally lasts around a week, two if I conserve. You would also think I could just buy one here, but alas, no. I tried 12 places and no one had any DSLR chargers. (not even Canon ones!)
Thankfully, my lovely wife slipped my charger (and fully charged spare battery) into the mail and about a week later, it arrived. She loaded it so full of bubble wrap it was comical.
This bubble wrap may show up again. Just warning you now.

Play time is over (P365-23)

Play time is over (P365-23)
Another walkabout brought me upon this old abandoned playground. I have to imagine that there were many days of kids swinging and laughing here. On the plus side, across the street from here is a large park with a new playground that looks much safer.

Night Transit (P365-22)

Night Transit (P365-22)
Wanted to try for a long exposure night shot of the road in front of my building here. There are always cars zipping by till pretty late, and the cross road is sually pretty busy as well. My angle for the view isn’t the greatest but it gave me a chance to play around with it.

Fishing boats in the Mists (P365-21)

Fishing boats in the Mists (P365-21)
Went to the local open air market and found some of the fishing boats that supply it. The fog rolled in today so I took advantage of it.

Smug Camel is Smug (P365-20)

Smug Camel is Smug (P365-20)
We went to visit the camel breeding and trading post today. While we did not actually find the trading post, there were plenty of camels around and all of them were very friendly.

A taste of home, abroad. (P365-19)

A taste of home, abroad. (P365-19)
I love ginger beer. Back home I would find all sorts of brands to test. Here in Kuwait is almost impossible to find. Thankfully one of the stores imports Barr brand from England.
This was a backup picture I took as a “just in case”. I have started the habit of shooting a few things through out the day just to have something for later.

Chillin like a goat (P365-18)

Chillin like a goat (P365-18)
Came across this guy while I was out on a little expidition. I love the way he is staring longly at his watering hole conteplating his life……… as a goat.

Machine City during the day (P365-17)

Machine City during the day (P365-17)
The nearest large refinery looks amazing both during daytime and night time. It really does look like a giant machine city. I’ll work on getting a shot at night with all the lights.

Pocket Stuff (P365-16)

Pocket Stuff (P365-16)
At any given time I almost always have 4 things in my pocket, and my fitbit clipped to the side. Two are very basic, some lip balm (which is more for Sarah than for me), and a USB stick with some basic documents on it. The more interesting items are the 20 sided dice and the brass acorn.
Most gamers know that your dice are sacred, they have a connection to you. This one has been in my pocket for years and is very connected. Also, you never know when you may have to make a roll to resist temptation.
I always get asked about the acorn. When we started dating, Sarah and I were out for a walk and she randomly picked up an acorn and handed it to me. Not thinking much about it, I put it in my pocket. At the end of each night, I take the stuff in my pocket out and put it on the dresser, then the next morning it all goes back in my pocket. At my bachelors party, the real acorn disappeared and I was devastated. Sarah found the brass one online and gave it to me just after the wedding. It’s been in my pocket ever since.

FishEye view of the coast (P365-15)

FishEye view of the coast (P365-15)
Decided to give the DSLR a rest today and broke out my GoPro camera for a nice super wide angle view from my balcony here in Kuwait. Even in a foreign country, I still end up on the East Coast!

Old habit with new things. (P365-14)

Old habit with new things. (P365-14)
I am a big tea drinker. I had thought that coming to the Middle East would open up the types of tea I could try. Turns out that’s not the case. They are a big fan of Lipton here. I found this Red Label tea that’s not too bad, but kind of strong.
The mugs in my apartment are tiny, so I picked up this one on the base.

Trooper Adventures!

Posted by on January 18, 2013 No comments

A strange idea came upon me while I was getting ready for this trip.  I had planned out all of the photos I was using for the 365 project, but I ran across an idea for a photo that I couldn’t pass up.  I have a few Lego mini-figs and a few of the Doctor Who building block kits.  They use the same scale and interlocking system, so I thought, Why not combine them!  I thought it would be cute to have two of the Stormtroopers take off in the Tardis.

A Long Time Ago? let's test that! (P365-6-2)

With my travels, it was a great chance to take them along and take some shots of them in the Tardis in different locations and situations.  Thus, the Trooper Adventures was born.  When I get the chance to pull these guys out and let them have fun, I do.  They even brought along a friend!  Keep an eye out on the Flickr Set for more adventures.
Trooper Adventures - It looks so tall!
Trooper Adventures - Repairs to make
Trooper Adventure - Beach Landing
Trooper Adventures - The Chase

6000 Miles from home

Posted by on January 14, 2013 No comments

Trooper Adventures - It looks so tall!Howdy folks!  Live from Kuwait City It’s Satu…wait, no it’s Monday for me.  Well, I have landed and been on site for almost a week.  There is certainly a level of adjustment to living in a Middle East nation.  Things are a LOT more conservative here than back home, but for the most part, it’s not that different.  I am staying in a simple 2 Br apartment in the Fintas region.  We have Cable TV and the internet is not terrible.  Only now and then do I run across the “This Web Page is Blocked.”  The work here is good, it’s keeping me busy and most of what we are working on is done from our Apartments with the occasional trip into the Datacenter.

 

 

There are a few things I wanted to try and see/do during this trip.  Of course, one of them is to keep up with my Project 365, which I have done pretty well so far.  As an added challenge to my photography project, I managed to leave the charger for my DSLR battery at home!  Sarah mailed it to me but it can take up to a week to get anything.  I have been very sparing due to this.  You would think I could just buy a new charger out here, but I have hit, and I am not kidding, 12 different places and NONE of them carry the charger.  I did manage to buy a backup battery (because you can never have too many) so I should last until the charger arrives.  I still kept up on the pictures and I’ll add them at the end of the post.  Another is to scope out some cool places to see when Sarah comes out in March.  And the latest addition to the agenda is finding a Gaming culture.

In the Americas we have a rich gaming culture.  Be it video games, board games, card games, or dice games.  There is usually something for everyone.  Out here, it’s a little harder to find, but I think I just need to dig a little deeper.  (Not speaking arabic is a hurdle as well, but I have google translate to help me with that.)  One of the saddest things I have found here was in a park near the beach close to where I am staying.  It would appear that there is a “Fun Times” park that has an arcade, go-karts, and family fun area just across the street.  In a fenced off area near by I found this:
Arcade CabinetsYes, that is a bunch of arcade cabinets just sitting out in the elements.  I don’t know what games they are, but I can see the PCB’s and CRT’s still intact.  I cried a little.

Another thing I am working on is a project that I will detail in another post later this week, but it involves those little guys at the top of the page.

Now, for the catch up on Project 365.

Kuwait Towers (P365-13)

Kuwait Towers (P365-13)
I had been waiting for the chance to get out to the Kuwait towers, today was the day. Beautiful clear sky’s and a nice wide angle shot from below the towers.

Kuwaiti Sunrise (P365-12)

Kuwaiti Sunrise (P365-12)
The first time I have ever woke up early enough to get a sunrise picture. Normally I hate waking up early but I took advantage of the time change effect on my system.
Lesson learned from this shot, I really need to work on my landscape pictures.

Rough Ride (P365-11)

Rough Ride (P365-11)
While driving through the desert we came across this car that had been in an accident and abandoned. This is commonplace around here. You can see a bit of a dust storm off in the distance.

Reflection on conversions (P365-10)

Reflection on conversions (P365-10)
The weather today was incredibly bad. Lots of win and sand everywhere. This made any sort of outside shot despicable. So I fell back on some of my travel accessories.

Traveling Man (P365-9)

Traveling Man (P365-9)
We arrived a bit late for me to get out and see some of the local scenery so today’s picture is about the transition.

Ready for take off? (P365-8-2)

Ready for take off? (P365-8-2)
Bonus Pic! Quick shot on the plane. See you in 12 hours

Late Night Flight (P365-8)

Late Night Flight (P365-8)
in the airport looking for a good shot for today, saw the reflection in the window and thought I would play a little.