Scattered Thoughts . . .

I had previously written about doing some practice shooting of the Milky Way from our backyard.  I had some trees and clouds in the way though so I was thinking that I should attempt another nighttime photo session from a different location...  from our rooftop!  This would allow me to get up toward a better height to see beyond most of the trees. My photo of the Milky Way was looking pretty good last night but I wanted to get a bit more practice in before our trip and the weather was cooperating tonight so I ventured outside to the nighttime land of the skunks and bears.  The area reeked terribly of fresh skunk spray but I was safe up on the rooftop (yet another good reason to climb up onto the roof!). I climbed up our ladder onto our rooftop...  used my cellphone to turn off all our outside lights...  then shot a few quick photos.   First, I was pointed south...  this is where the galactic core of the Milky Way is partially visible from ou...

W e're getting ready to go on another cross-country trip by rail, from coast to coast, so the past few days have been very busy.  We still have a few loose ends to tie up, mostly related to medical stuff, but other than packing we're just about ready. Part of this stage of preparation has been getting my photography gear in order.  Well...  first, I needed to decide which photography gear I want to carry across the country.   We had some exceptionally heavy bags with us on our last cross-country trip with two of the grandchildren so I've been hoping to travel a bit lighter this time.  Unfortunately, this trip is a bit longer and the weather a little cooler so we'll need some additional clothing and some of that clothing will be slightly bulky outerwear.  I want to limit my photography gear because that is, without a doubt, the heaviest thing in my bag(s).   I've narrowed this down for the most part but I still might make some last minute chan...