Harvest Moon Over Marion

A full moon rises over a farmstead along Radio Road, about .7-mile east of Highway 13 just northeast of Marion, Iowa Saturday evening, September 29, 2012. The top image was taken around 6:48 PM, the bottom, a minute later. Both images were shot with a focal length of 116mm. Technical fullness of the moon occurred at 10:19 PM, CDT Saturday. In days before farm combine vehicles with lights, harvest moons allowed farmers to reap their fields by night.

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Moon River

As a tribute to singer Andy Williams and his iconic "Moon River" song, this image shows a "river" of cirrus clouds flowing over a 3/4 moon, creating a halo around it above our house's back roof in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Williams, a native of Wall Lake, Iowa, passed away today at the age of 84. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Williams in 2008. This image, shot around 8:15 PM, Wednesday, September 26, 2012, is a three-second exposure at f/6.3, 2500 ISO, 18mm focal length and looks east. Here's to you, Andy!

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Crepuscular Ray Evening

Crepuscular rays emanate upward from behind the western horizon around 7:30 PM, Saturday, September 22, 2012 as seen from the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sunset was at 7:03 PM. Clouds near the horizon can block sunlight from reflecting off air, making columns outward from the sun appear unusually dark. These images are 1/4-second exposures at f/10, 320 ISO and 18mm focal length.

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Two Red Bodies

One a star and one a planet. The red giant star Antares is shown at left (brightest of the three grouped stars) and the red planet Mars is at right center. Antares shines at magnitude 1.03 and Mars at magnitude 1.22. A little difference in size and distance though. Antares, some 800 times larger than our sun, lies some 604 light years distant while the small planet Mars is a mere 177.6 million miles from Earth. Antares is part of the constellation Scorpius and Mars at this time lies in the constellation Libra. The tower at left background is operated by Century Communications LLC. This image looks southwest from the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and is a 2.5-second exposure at f/6.3, 2500 ISO and 40mm focal length. The last glow of twilight is at lower right.

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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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