Dippin' Into The Trees

The Big Dipper, the familiar asterism of the constellation Ursa Major, stands out starkly in the northwest sky despite competition from a half moon around 8:19 PM, Friday, September 21, 2012. This image, shot from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a six-second exposure at f/6.3, 3200 ISO and 34mm focal length. The three bright stars of the dipper's "handle" are, from left: Alkaid, Mizar (with dimmer companion Alcor) and Alioth. The top two "pan" stars are, from left: Megrez and Dubhe. The bottom two stars are: Phecda and Merak. All are from 78-121 light years from Earth.

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Billowing To Life

The most active and dynamic storm cell of its group is shown as its updraft (cone shaped structure at upper center) soars to about 55,000 feet on the evening of Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Photo was taken around 5:52 PM from about four miles north of Center Point, Iowa and looks northeast. The updraft, about 65 miles distant, was located near the town of Volney in Allamakee County. A brief tornado was produced from these severe storm cells in Grant County, Wisconsin.

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Long Tall Self Portrait

With a clear night sky facing west as a backdrop, this 3-second exposure at f/3.5, 1000 ISO and 18mm focal length is my shadow lengthened by parking lot lights at Christ Community United Methodist Church in Marion, Iowa. The time was just before 10:00 PM, Tuesday, September 4, 2012. I had just finished photographing a distant isolated storm cell in the north sky and was preparing to get back in my car when this opportunity presented itself. Also seen is the shadow of a leg of my camera's tripod at center and the shadow of my vehicle at right. I am holding a shutter remote switch in my left hand to allow for the "both hands up" appearance.

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Billions And Billions Of Stars

There was a lot to see in this view of the northeast sky just before 1:30 AM, Tuesday, September 11, 2012. The ultra-clear sky featured the constellation Perseus (upper left), the star cluster Pleiades (right center), the "head" of Taurus the Bull (partially hidden behind the roof-mounted weather station), the -2.39 magnitude planet Jupiter (left of the station) and the 0.06 magnitude star Capella in the constellation Auriga (left center). This image was taken from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and is a 30-second exposure at f/3.5, 400 ISO and 18mm focal length.

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Night Sky At The DAEC

The top image is one of 118 images used to create the "stacked" image below.  The images look northeast over the Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) about two miles north of Palo, Iowa, seen from an open area just off Power Plant Road, which leads into the facility. Each image was a 30-second exposure at f/4.5, 320 ISO and 18mm focal length. Total time to create the bottom image (using StarStaX software) was from 10:33-11:39 PM, Sunday, September 9, 2012. The DAEC, which became operational in 1974, is Iowa's only nuclear power plant.

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Mini Chase For A Better Shot

Standing out like a sore thumb as I got off work, this isolated storm cell in the northeast sky was bad weather in an all clear sky. I "chased" it as far as four miles north of Center Point, Iowa to get a better vantage point for my camera. The storm cell was located more than 60 miles away in northeast Iowa, in Allamakee and Clayton counties. Hail over two inches in diameter was reported with these severe storms along with localized wind gusts ranging from 60 to 75 mph. As the high-based storms moved into southwest Wisconsin, at least one tornado formed in northwest Grant County. This view from the County Home Road overpass at Exit 28 of Interstate 380 near Toddville, Iowa was taken around 6:10 PM, Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Note the prominent bright updraft of the storm at center.

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9-11 Anniversary Morning

The -4.17 magnitude planet

Venus and a crescent moon

accentuate the display of

the American flag in the 

morning sky, a nice patriotic 

reminder of the 11th 

anniversary of the terrorist

attacks on the U.S. This

image, looking east around

6:17 AM, Tuesday, September

11, 2012, was captured from

our front porch on Brentwood

Drive NE in Cedar Rapids,

Iowa.

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