M13 Globular Cluster

We rented a lens for the upcoming weddings Lisa has in September and I put it to use, pointed skyward. This was pretty exciting for me as this is the best I have been able to do on a deep sky object. Messier Object 13 is not visible to the naked eye but was quickly visible when I saw the first shots. This Globular Cluster contains several hundred thousand stars. This is really amazing because in the picture it looks like one bright object. The below images were created by a composite of over 50 total images (17 "Light" Images) stacked with Deep Sky Stacker to remove noise. The actual picture frames were 3 second exposures, f2, ISO 1600, 135mm.

Isaac's First Kubota Ride

Hummingbird

We have been enjoying at least 3 hummingbirds in the past week. It is amazing how fast they are and how agile they are in midair. I recently discovered how to use our camera tethered to my Dad's laptop to take a series of shots unattended. For these I set the computer to take 99 shots every 5 seconds. The majority of the pictures came up with nothing. Here is a sample of the dozen or so that caught hummingbirds. I am hoping for another go at it as I saw today what I think is a male with red feathers on his throat.

His lightnings light up the world Psa 97:4a

We have an hour drive home from church but last night it was worth it. The storm we witnessed on the way home was one of the better electrical storms I have seen in a long time. By the time we got home, the storm was generally over. This was the best picture I was able to get. It is very addicting sitting there, watching the sky and hoping that the next exposure is "the one".

17mm, 30 second exposure, f/11, ISO 400.

Isaac's Birth Announcement

Our John Wayne wannabe