Member Photos

[Anomalocaris]

Got a second hand Nikon Fisheye.  This lens design is old, dating from 1981.  But it had a good reputation, and the lens itself looks to be well taken care of and not abused.  Therefore it was disappointing that the edge sharpness ranges from poor with aperture stopped down, to abysmal with aperture wide open.  But nonetheless fisheye lenses being what they are, even a poor one can provide some interesting views.  

This is Milky Way seen from the Big Meadow in Shenandoah National Park.   The fisheye view covers half the horizon and the sky, from Cassiopeia in North by North east on the left edge of the image, to Sagitarrius in south by south west at the right edge of the picture, with Milky way stretching between them. Yellow glow on the horizon are light pollution from the general northern Virginia/Washington DC area.



Note the softness all around the edges.  I will have to get a better, more modern Fisheye.

Here is a better view of Milky way in Sagittarrius, taken from the same vantage point using a modern wide angle lens.   The core of the Milky way lies in that direction, the central bulge is the big bright lump near the horizon.  There is a supermassive black hole in it.  The dark bands are lanes of interstellar gas and dust in the spiral arms that lie between us and the central bulge.    

[Whateverist]

Damn you look good together.  Just saying.  Not that I'd ship you necessarily .. or would you like that?

The world would not be prepared for a Heeb combination of that magnitude.

Sort of like if Taurial turned away from Kili and took up with Legolas.  You don't think we could handle your pure elven spawn?

[pocaracas]

Took a photo of Venus with my phone, the other day...




(no need for fancy lenses... )

[thesummerqueen]

The world would not be prepared for a Heeb combination of that magnitude.

Sort of like if Taurial turned away from Kili and took up with Legolas.  You don't think we could handle your pure elven spawn?

There was nothing wrong with Kíli. He was of Durin's line.

[Whateverist]

So we had guests from India visit today, our nephews in-laws.  He is two years into retirement and has been making his own garden in India.  (We're invited.)  Anyhow, I spent several days readying the garden so I figured I should get some snaps of it looking spiffy.  I've arranged them to suggest the way in which one area flows into the next.  I didn't get anything decent of the front or forward area of the side yard. 


This is in the back half of the side yard.  We're looking to the side doors of our building and the driveway.  




More:

---

Gratuitous photo of Heidi walking on the driveway past that planter containing a new-for-me Solanum I picked up this spring.




I recently replaced our old, crapped out hot tub with this baby.  Had to rip out all the decking I'd built around the old round tub.  I sanded down and reused that wood do put decking and a set of stairs up to the new one.




This is shot from the backyard looking toward the gate at the end of the driveway.  The hot tub enclosure is on the left with the gazebo/deck on the right beyond the fence.  You can just see the blue chairs against the fence on the left; you can't quite see the blue fountain on the right against the fence.




The blue fountain on the right you couldn't quite see in the last photo.




Looking over the blue fountain toward the part of the back garden behind our building.




Looking in the same direction from a point further into the back garden.  The birches in the corner mark the Southeast corner of our lot.




Another shot in the same direction from a point further yet into the back garden.




Looking over the pond to the birches. Back between the trees you might be able to see the redwood bench I made from a slab of rough cut wood. This area is showing the effects of almost no rainfall. There are some plants getting water back here, but not many.




Last one. Looking out between the birches toward the pond, a gratuitous photo of the boy Smokey.

---

To be continued.

[Whateverist]

More garden photos from 8/28/16.

---

This one again for a reference point.




Now, if you turn around 180 degrees while on the deck in the last photo, you get the view in the this photo. Beyond the fence is a steep hillside down to Strawberry Creek.




If you follow that flagstone pathway you come to a gate going behind the old bird aviaries. Back here, behind the potted begonia is a concrete wall with planting pockets I'd made for the birds. Beyond you might be able to make out the shade structure. (This takes the place of a hot house here.)




This is looking through the shade structure. If you go past this entrance you come to what used to be the circle lawn. To save water this is now a circular flagstone courtyard.




A short ways past the circle courtyard is a short flight of stairs up to this small raised deck. From here you can look out on the creek below as it flows through the park and then behind our place. Our lot actually continues 15 feet more down to the creek but I have the fence set back to where the lot is level.




Coming back down the stairs you come again to the circle courtyard where we served tea today. Through the opening to the right you might be able to see the blue fountain.




If you panned to the left in that last picture you'd get this view down what I call the "back path". It goes all the way to the birches in the corner.

---

Congratulations to those of you who stayed awake through the entire tour. The rest of you need to wake up and go home.

[LadyForCamus]

So my children have become rappers. They insisted I record them and upload them to YouTube so they could become famous O_o

The lyrics in case it's hard to understand "yo mama yo daddy yo bald headed granny" o_O

https://youtu.be/4pIAHevHTbg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Me6NYYeCyWI

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g32P1IS8d4k

Omg...your kids are gorgeous! And even though they look different from each other, I can still see you in each one of them. You're little one in the middle is just freaking adorable. I want to pinch those cheeks!

[LadyForCamus]

More garden photos from 8/28/16.

---

This one again for a reference point.




Now, if you turn around 180 degrees while on the deck in the last photo, you get the view in the this photo. Beyond the fence is a steep hillside down to Strawberry Creek.




If you follow that flagstone pathway you come to a gate going behind the old bird aviaries. Back here, behind the potted begonia is a concrete wall with planting pockets I'd made for the birds. Beyond you might be able to make out the shade structure. (This takes the place of a hot house here.)




This is looking through the shade structure. If you go past this entrance you come to what used to be the circle lawn. To save water this is now a circular flagstone courtyard.




A short ways past the circle courtyard is a short flight of stairs up to this small raised deck. From here you can look out on the creek below as it flows through the park and then behind our place. Our lot actually continues 15 feet more down to the creek but I have the fence set back to where the lot is level.




Coming back down the stairs you come again to the circle courtyard where we served tea today. Through the opening to the right you might be able to see the blue fountain.




If you panned to the left in that last picture you'd get this view down what I call the "back path". It goes all the way to the birches in the corner.

---

Congratulations to those of you who stayed awake through the entire tour. The rest of you need to wake up and go home.

It must smell AMAZING at your place!

[LadyForCamus]

And since there's a 3 video limit per post

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G6NVePlJlDU

Hahahaha, omg she is SO freaking cute, I can't stand it! [emoji7]

[LadyForCamus]

Got a second hand Nikon Fisheye.  This lens design is old, dating from 1981.  But it had a good reputation, and the lens itself looks to be well taken care of and not abused.  Therefore it was disappointing that the edge sharpness ranges from poor with aperture stopped down, to abysmal with aperture wide open.  But nonetheless fisheye lenses being what they are, even a poor one can provide some interesting views.  

This is Milky Way seen from the Big Meadow in Shenandoah National Park.   The fisheye view covers half the horizon and the sky, from Cassiopeia in North by North east on the left edge of the image, to Sagitarrius in south by south west at the right edge of the picture, with Milky way stretching between them.  Yellow glow on the horizon are light pollution from the general northern Virginia/Washington DC area.



Note the softness all around the edges.  I will have to get a better, more modern Fisheye.

Here is a better view of Milky way in Sagittarrius, taken from the same vantage point using a modern wide angle lens.   The core of the Milky way lies in that direction, the central bulge is the big bright lump near the horizon.  There is a supermassive black hole in it.  The dark bands are lanes of interstellar gas and dust in the spiral arms that lie between us and the central bulge.    

Just breathtaking...  I wish I could see something like that in person.  I hate living in a city.