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Forum: Post Your Photos!
05-14-2013, 06:05 PM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-04-2014, 11:46 AM
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You didn't miss much. But I did catch one bright meteor:
Bright Camelopardalid by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Here's some more shots with the lens here Flickr
I've only had the lens 2 weeks but it's already enabled to get some shots that I would have missed otherwise. If I only had my 14mm lens I would have missed that meteor and not been able to capture the entire storm in the link above.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-22-2014, 10:40 PM
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I ordered the last Pentax mount lens from Beach Camera and I got it in only 3 days. Compared to the Samyang 14mm, f2.8, the 10mm is just slightly longer and heavier. Here are a couple sample images from yesterday.
Decaying Thunderstorm by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Growing Season by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
I'll have a few hundred shots of the night sky (and hopefully meteors) after tomorrow night.
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Forum: Pentax K-5 & K-5 II
10-24-2013, 12:41 AM
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Here's a short time lapse I shot yesterday morning of the stars rising above swirling fog
You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_vYVN8r5pm8?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Tomorrow I should get the Ioptron Skytracker that I ordered. I'm looking forward to testing it out this weekend.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
03-17-2013, 08:37 PM
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In between the lousy weather we've been having this past week, there was one beautiful day on the 13th. I had been seeing lots of cool pictures of Comet Panstarrs and I wanted to get some of my own. I decided since I had the day off I would drive up to a place I went last October called Gibraltar Rock in Lodi, Wisconsin. It is a 400 foot bluff with steep cliffs over 2 hours away. It's an amazing place that I think few people know about, I haven't seen anyone else there either time. But since the view faces west, I knew it would be ideal for shooting the comet. I also just bought a K-5 a couple weeks ago, so I was excited to use it for the first time. As many of you know, the K-5 excels in high iso shots of the night sky. I got there in time to shoot the sunset and the soft golden light it cast on the cliffs. About 30 minutes after sunset, the comet became visible. I saw it in 10x50 binoculars, but couldn't make it out naked eye. It was 10 degrees under the crescent moon, making it a little easier to find. After shooting the comet and making a short time lapse of it setting, astronomical twilight ended which means it was completely dark. Except for a faint band of light extending up from the horizon along the ecliptic known as the zodiacal light. This was the first time I've seen it, the sky was just barely dark enough. For more info about the zodiacal light and how to see it, go here: Earth Sky
It was a long day and kind of cold, but worth it.
Gibraltar View by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Living on the Edge by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Golden Cliffs by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Gibraltar Rock Sunset by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Following the Sun by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Comet Panstarrs Setting by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Time Lapse Video
Zodiacal Light: Moon to Jupiter by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Zodiacal Light Above Gibraltar Rock by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
There are a few more photos from the day on Flickr.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
02-04-2013, 04:43 PM
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About a month ago I was getting tired of the sparse snowfall around here (about an inch on the ground). So I drove an hour north to the Kettle Moraine state forest where there was nearly 5 inches of snow. It's an area of hilly terrain left behind by glaciers. I started off hiking at Bald Bluff, a 200 foot hill. I wasn't aware of the history until after I read the brochure there. In July of 1832 during the Black Hawk War, General Atkinson camped very close to here along with Abraham Lincoln, Zachary Taylor, and 3,500 cavalry. The Potawatami Indians also used this hill to make smoke signals that could be seen for hundreds of miles. After hiking for 5 miles and warming up in my car, I went back up there after sunset to shoot startrails.
Well Worn Path by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Up the Ridge by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Stone Elephant by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Bald Bluff Hillside by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Last Light at Bald Bluff by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Snow Under Starlight by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Orion Rising by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
The Trails of Orion by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
22 Minutes to the West by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
For the last two pictures I used the device in this blog post to hold my shutter down and let me stack startrail pictures. Votes are appreciated for the contest :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-24-2012, 06:21 PM
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For months I had been planning to get out to some dark skies away from the light pollution of Chicago. Since it's so flat around here, the light pollution stretches out really far and I had to drive 3 hours to get to a dark place called Green River State Wildlife Management Area. I finally went last weekend and rented a Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 lens from cameralensrentals.com. Anyway here are the resulting pictures.
(Votes are appreciated on this one) :)
Galaxy Road by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Without Light Pollution by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Green River Startrails by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Jupiter, Pleades, and Meteor by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Lagoon and Trifid 2 by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Green River Sunrise by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Road to the Fog by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Low Lying Fog by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Gold and Fog by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-15-2012, 06:56 PM
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Forum: Lens Clubs
12-15-2012, 06:50 PM
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-15-2012, 07:47 PM
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Nice shots. The milky way sure is fun to photograph, I'm looking forward to seeing it more next spring. You might want to try increasing the iso even more, the k-5 can handle it.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-16-2012, 07:19 AM
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I've shot it a couple times. I think for the milky way you want the widest fastest lens you can get. I've tried several lenses, and I currently use a Samyang 14mm f2.8, but I will probably trade that in for the recently announced Samyang 10mm f2.8. The goal is to capture the most light without letting the stars trail. So settings of 30 seconds, f2.8, iso 3200 and up usually work well. But I still have a lot to learn, I've only been to truly dark skies once.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
09-25-2012, 04:06 PM
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I recently had a chance to spend a night along the largest river on the continent. I got to the Illinois side of the river just before sunset and stayed up most of the night taking pictures of the stars and observing through my telescope. Then before sunrise I drove across the river and shot the sunrise at Bellevue State Park in Iowa. The weather wasn't the best, but it was still a beautiful area. It was a crazy 22 hour trip with 8 hours of driving, 4 stops, 2 miles of hiking and only 2 hours of sleep. I also got to test out my new Bower 14mm f2.8 lens.
Mississippi Sunset by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Across the River by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
River Above, River Below by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Mississippi Startrails by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Barge Lights by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Maquoketa and Mississippi by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Blue Mist by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Bellevue and the Mississippi by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Mississippi Sunrise by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
Cloudy Mississippi River by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-24-2012, 06:56 PM
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Thanks everyone, it was amazing to see just how much of the night sky light pollution was hiding. Even though I brought my telescope, I spent most of the night just gazing at the milky way and taking pictures, I can't wait to go back.
Yeah, I used a flashlight to light up the road. These are all taken with an ordinary tripod at 30 seconds or less to avoid trailing. But I pushed the K-x to the limit with very high iso's and used several PP techniques to bring out faint stars and details. Sometimes I stack pictures of the stars, but these are all single exposures.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-24-2012, 06:38 PM
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Last night a little before 10 pm I noticed the auroras were visible. It's only the 2nd time I've ever seen the northern lights. I drove and found a dark roadside to shoot some pictures. The auroras really didn't move or change much so I used the opportunity to shoot a 26 minute startrail image. It's made up of 94 pictures shot at 15 seconds, F3.5, iso 800. At the bottom right in the cloud is an iridium flare I believe. I had to clone out all the annoying plane trails but I left that.
Aurora and Startrails by kevin-palmer, on Flickr
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
02-11-2012, 06:02 PM
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
01-02-2012, 11:06 PM
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Wow there's a lot of great shots here so far.
Here's my 4:
1. I like this one because I've wanted to see the aurora since I was a little kid. There was only a slight chance of seeing the aurora this night, but I was so excited when I stayed at this forest preserve after sunset and I first saw it. I also remember how I didn't have a warm enough jacket and there were coyotes nearby. But it was worth it.
2. This was actually taken a few hours earlier in the same forest preserve. It is definitely one of my favorite spots to take pictures and I've been here a lot in the past year.
3. This was taken in my backyard during the craziest thunderstorm I've ever seen. I like how powerful and close the bolt is. It looks as if it's reaching down to the houses but there's something stopping it.
4. I took this last week in California. I've been to this beach many times, but this was the first time since I got my DSLR. I didn't even plan on photographing the Moon and Venus, but there they were.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
12-28-2011, 12:20 PM
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It was a beautiful evening last night with the the crescent moon and venus above the ocean. The 1st and 3rd pictures are HDR.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
10-25-2011, 11:51 PM
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I have wanted to see the northern lights for a very long time. I've been watching out for geomagnetic storms and usually they happen during the day or when it's cloudy and I never see them here in Illinois. But last night, finally the conditions were just right. One minute I could just see a little green on the northern horizon. Then a wave of red shot up on the eastern edge. Then suddenly over half the sky lit up in bright red, green, and purple. It was amazing watching all the patterns move across the sky. The bright colors slowly faded out 10-15 minutes later. There were reports of people seeing them as far south as Alabama. Did anybody else on the forum see them? It was most intense at 8:30 pm central time.
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
10-22-2011, 06:57 PM
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I love taking pictures at night. It's peaceful, there's usually no one around, and I can mess around with long exposures. I love making startrail pictures. Right now there's a meteor shower and low lying fog, and it's clear and relatively warm which make me want to get out and take some cool pictures. The problem is, there's nowhere I can go to do this. The best place would be a park with no lights, where I can find a good composition of trees, water for a reflection, etc. But all the parks close at sunset. And no matter where I go, I'll be seen as 'suspicious'. A couple of weeks ago I went to take some pictures of moonlit fog under the stars in a forest preserve that was technically closed. I got a call from the police and I had to walk back to the car. I was patted down, received a parking ticket and was told I was lucky not to get a ticket for trespassing. The officer was mean and asked me why I was nervous, assuming I was high or drunk. She didn't even know who owned the park and she tried to make me pay $75 instead of $25 for the parking ticket even though there wasn't a 'no parking' sign. All this for wanting to get some pictures like this:
This was my 10 minute picture before I was called by the police. Even getting pictures of a sunrise or sunset is challenging with these dumb 'sunrise to sunset' park hours. Anyways I just wanted to vent my frustration.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
06-09-2011, 10:34 AM
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Last night I watched and photographed an amazing thunderstorm. It lasted a good 7-8 hours. There was so much lightning, it was hard to narrow it down to 10 pictures to post here.
1. This is a combination of pictures number 6-8.
2. I don't know how windy it really was but the Severe Thunderstorm Warning said 100+ mph winds.
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7. This one is my favorite. It's so close but there's no blown highlights.
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10. Looking out the window.
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
04-04-2011, 06:49 PM
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
02-11-2011, 04:41 PM
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