Perseids – Meteor Shower

Last year August (2020), together with Nancy, David, and Friedhelm we drove high up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, along Hwy 108 in California. We settled at Donnells View Point, close to the Sonora Pass. I employed two cameras. One was pointed towards the “right side” of the Perseus Constellation, including the Andromeda Galaxy. I hoped to get longer meteoroid light streaks that way. The second camera was pointed about 180 degrees away, towards the South, including Saturn and Jupiter as well as the Milky Way. Here, I hoped to get even longer light streaks.

When tiny meteorites spin off the Swift-Tuttle Comet, those meteorites flying into our earth’s atmosphere, mostly Mesosphere, ionize air molecules generating positively charged ions that quickly grab a nearby free electron to neutralize itself. By doing so, excess energy is released as recombination glow that we then can see as light streak or “meteor shower”.

I took hundreds of photo over the course of a couple hours. But, last year my skills handling Photoshop was still evolving and I was not yet up to overlaying the photos properly. Well, this year I am much more advanced using Photoshop. And because this year (2021) there is so much smoke in the air from the Dixie Fire, hardly any meteor showers are visible and so I can finally show what I got from 2020.

First Photo: Perseids – Meteor Shower – to the “Right” of the Perseus Constellation

Perseids Meteor Shower

Second Photo: Perseids – Meteor Shower – towards the South, towards Saturn & Jupiter and Milky Way

Perseids Meteor Shower – Saturn&Jupiter and Milky Way

Shaped by the Elements

I photographed this tree at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. The tree was shaped by the elements and depends totally on the elements. I converted the image to black and white to create more drama. In addition I used the natural and imaginary lines to emphasize the tree trunk. Enjoy!

This is the colored version of the image. Which image do you like better and why?

Fotomalerei

Heute gibt es mal kein “normales”Foto. Anke und ich waren ja neulich im Mühlenmuseum in Gifhorn. Dort hatte ich dieses Bild von Blumen in zwei Blumenkübeln (s. unten) vor einer Mühle aufgenommen. Ganz nett, aber wenig spektakulär. Also habe ich mir überlegt, ob man nicht doch noch etwas Interessanteres daraus machen könnte. Und hier ist das Ergebnis.

Today there is no “normal” photo. Anke and I were recently in the mill museum in Gifhorn. There I had taken this picture of flowers in two flower pots (see below) in front of a mill. Quite nice, but not very spectacular. So I thought about whether one could not make something more interesting out of it. And here is the result.

In Oebisfelde

Es ist wohl schon etwas länger her, dass der Besitzer dieses Fahrrades sein Eis im Burgcafé in Oebisfelde gegessen hat. Möglicherweise hat er alle Bücher aus dem Bücherschrank gelesen. 😉

It must have been a while ago that the owner of this bike ate his ice cream at the Burgcafé in Oebisfelde. Possibly he has read all the books from the bookcase. 😉

Aerospace engineer

Sometimes people are different from what you would expect at first look. At the entrance of an exposition in the Cobra Museum of art, visitors are welcomed by Albert Bruining. The comment on his performance reads: “Appearance is his creative outlet and every day is a vibrant wearable arts show. If he likes it, he’ll wear it. Masculine and feminine are irrelevant concepts for him.” But indeed, Albert is an aerospace engineer who works for the technical university in Delft. He is inspired by the artwork of the artist group “Cobra”, who were as unconventional in their art and their views as he is.

Albert Bruining

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a park of stark contrasts. It is home to the largest living species on earth by volume and some of the smallest flowers I’ve found in the Sierra Nevada. It is also a great place to hike. This first photo doesn’t do justice to just how large these trees are. At the base this tree is about 12′ across and the height a panorama of 4 photographs taken with a 12mm lens.

Sequoia National Park ist ein Park voller Kontraste. Es beherbergt die volumenmäßig größten lebenden Arten der Erde und einige der kleinsten Blumen, die ich in der Sierra Nevada gefunden habe. Es ist auch ein großartiger Ort zum Wandern. Dieses erste Foto wird der Größe dieser Bäume nicht gerecht. An der Basis hat dieser Baum einen Durchmesser von etwa 12′ und die Höhe ein Panorama von 4 Fotos, die mit einem 12-mm-Objektiv aufgenommen wurden.

This flower on the other hand is smaller than the fingernail on my little finger. And found just below these giants.

Diese Blume hingegen ist kleiner als der Fingernagel an meinem kleinen Finger. Und direkt unter diesen Riesen gefunden.