Verna and Bob's Weblog

Nerdliness

Gun-Shaped Cloud Hole

Gun-Shaped Cloud Hole

Verna looked out the front window today and saw this hole in the clouds that appeared to resemble a semi-automatic pistol. I went out front and took this photo of the phenomenon.

Recalling from an article we posted about eighteen months ago:

Pareidolia

Pareidolia (parr-i-DOH-lee-uh) is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant, a form of apophenia. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon or the Moon rabbit, and hearing hidden messages on records when played in reverse.

July 4, 2015 by Nerdliness Photography Weirdness

Sunspot 2297

Sunspot 2297

I read that a large sunspot was transiting the solar globe, so I went out to the courtyard and shot a few images of the sun with the Canon SL1 and my cheapie Rainbow Symphony Solar Filter. While I can’t match the resolution of fancier equipment or space-borne solar observation platforms, I did manage to resolve the spot well enough to perceive the shadowy smaller parts of the group.

The camera settings were as follows: F8.0, focal length 300mm, 1/2500 sec., ISO 6400, Manual Program. Photo taken 2015-03-10 09:27:42 MST. The image has been derotated to an angle where ecliptic north is approximately up. Click on the image to enlarge.

March 11, 2015 by Nerdliness Photography Something Shiny

Trailer Awning in 3D

Trailer Awning in 3D

A couple of weekends ago I grilled a Santa Maria Tri Tip Roast for dinner. Before that, I set up the awning on the trailer to provide shade for the grill and me. After getting it set up, I stood by the patio door and snapped an image pair which I later processed into the 3D image seen above.

You will need your free pair of 3D glasses to view the image (click image to enlarge). As usual, I have posted the 2D image here.

February 3, 2015 by Bob's 3D Stuff Nerdliness

Solar Pix

Solarpix

Sunspot 2259 is resolved in this image I took of the solar disk today. I used the new Canon SL1 camera with a modified Rainbow Symphony Solar Filter to get this shot. I used settings of 1/1250 second exposure, F8 aperture and ISO 3200 film speed. I use the fast shutter speed and fast film settings to minimize the jitter or motion that may result from shooting with a hand held camera without a tripod.

No longer needing the old SX40 camera, I sent it to our granddaughter so she could get some pix of our great grandson as he grows up. Thus, I lost the platform for taking solar pix and had to learn the settings for the new camera.

The sunspot is not particularly large, nor is it as awesome as a solar eclipse, but it shows that I can resolve surface features with the new camera. We look forward to seeing the great solar eclipse of August 2017 in Wyoming with the new rig. Click on the image to enlarge.

January 14, 2015 by Nerdliness Photography Something Shiny

Avalon 1998

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