My Photo Guides

Supernova in Galaxy M82 You may have seen the news that we can see a supernova in Galaxy M82, but did you know that you can catch that galaxy using a DSLR and a 200mm lens?  I think that's it on the left, which would make the one in the top center M81 Bode's Galaxy, and the faint one in the lower right corner NGC3077 Irregular Galaxy.  I don't see other galaxies in that area in my sky app, but the S shape of the one in the center doesn't quote look right to me.  Am I "lost in space"? Aside from the scientific value of having a newly discovered and relatively close supernova to study, one cool thing about this event is that an unusual increase in brightness was being discussed on one of Fraser Cain's Virtual Star Party hangouts here on G+ before the news was widely known.  You can see them talking about it at around the 22 minute point in the YouTube copy of the hangout:  Virtual Star Party - January 19, 2014: Jupiter, the Moon and Nebulae #SupernovaM82  

Crescent Venus at Sunrise Venus is at a point in its orbit where the sun is shining on the far side, creating a crescent shape to the sunlit part, much like a crescent moon. Canon 5D Mark III, EF 70-200mm f/4 L Series lens at 200mm Single exposure 1/50th second at f/5.6, ISO 200 Self-timer 2 seconds, mirror lockup on. Image adjusted and cropped in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Captured this morning at 6:58 am, January 20, 2014. #astrophotography   #astronomy   #science   #Canon   #Venus

Venus in Crescent Phase   I saw something sparkling in colors next to the horizon, so I got out my binoculars. It was still hard to make out, white, a bit thin and flat. But there were rainbow colors as well.  Probably just sunlight reflecting off an airplane and they shining through high altitude ice for the spectral effects. My binoculars didn't clear up the mystery, so I decided to get out more lens horsepower, putting a 200mm lens on my Canon 70D (320mm effective with the "crop sensor"). It looked like the moon!  But it was tiny.  Hmm.  Venus, as a cresent?  I added a 2X teleconverter... now I had 640mm effective zoom.  Yes, it was Venus!   I never really thought about what it must look like when it's between the sun and the earth, but there it was.   In order to catch a crisp image of Venus at this much zoom it was necessary to use the camera's self-timer and turn on "mirror lockup" to reduce vibrations. Canon EOS 70D, EF 70-200mm f/4 IS L Series le

The Catch Whether the fisherman is catching fish or not, being out on the lake with dramatic light like this is reward enough for the journey!  Fishing is a pastime, not an goal to be reached.  Sure, it's better if you catch fish, but it's not called "catching"!  The reward is in the pursuit, not in the tally at the end.  It's a bit like landscape photography in that respect... the pursuit of new photos is where the adventure lies, and the photos are a by-product of the adventure. #landscapephotography   #Nevada   #EasternSierra

Sunrise at Topaz Lake Yesterday This was one of my favorite moments during yesterday's sunrise.  In fact I loved it so much I added a little saturation, which I rarely do (blue and purple saturation were selectively decreased).  I was just in that sort of mood... hopefully I didn't over-do it! Exposure and processing details: Canon 5D Mark III with 16-35mm lens Cokin #121 GND filter Processed in   5.2 and Photomatix 5.0 White balance 5412, boosted vibrance +6, selectively decreased saturation blue -10 and purple -21 while boosting orange +5 and yellow +3 (reduce slight purple color caste in the GND filter, and reduce blue from Camera Standard color table). I also adjusted exposure, brightness, whites and shadows to get a decent image while avoiding "color puke" loss of detail in the highlights which can when trying to correct color  (a symptom of inadequate color dynamic range).   Prints:  http://jeffsullivan.smugmug.com/ #landscapephotography   #sunrise   #Nevad

More photos from the Eastern Sierra It's amazing how diverse the photographic subjects are in this area... www.JeffSullivanPhotography.com

Mono Lake Sunrise This Mono Lake sunrise image was licensed for use in the America First Credit Union's 2014 calendar.  I also have the image available for prints:  http://jeffsullivan.smugmug.com/Mono-Basin-Eastern-Sierra/i-Vmf27th Hopefully I'll be able to lead photography workshops in the Eastern Sierra this year, but I have a long, arduous permitting process to complete (separate for each region and federal agency) before I'll have clarity on dates.