(I couldn’t resist the opportunity to have ‘shooting’ and ‘gasm’ in the same sentence. I can’t really call it a ‘meteorgasm’ for obvious reasons. Say it out loud… go on… Loud enough for anyone nearby to overhear you.)
Bit of a smorgasbord of photos this week. It’s winter, so everything happens really quickly — when the sun’s out, it’s beautiful, but five minutes later it can be dismal and grey and rainy. The sun is setting at 3:50pm or something crazy — when you wake up between 12 and 1pm, that makes the apparent length of days very short. Fortunately I have these blog-writing sessions to add structure to my life, otherwise I might hibernate or something…
I’ve been listening to Marvin Gaye again, almost non-stop. I think it’s turning into some kind of addiction, some kind of need – I haven’t put a song on ‘repeat’ since I was 16, but I must’ve listened to ‘Please Stay‘ 25 times in the last few days. It has only avoided tonight’s playlist because I’ve discovered another great album by Gaye called Here, My Dear. But I digress… as I alluded to yesterday, I should have a (dare I say it) photo shoot with a cute girl at the end of the week. Little does she know just how easy these photos are going to be, because she’s stupendously beautiful and photogenic. But hey, I need the confidence-boost, the ego-stroking, so that in the future I can take photos of ugly people!
Big mish-mash of photos today then: the meteor shower of December 12-14 (Geminids), an ‘out-take’ from 52 weeks, and a couple of ‘geometric experiments’. I’ve been trying to catch meteors for a few years now, but it’s hard here in south England. Lots of light pollution (I have an airport very close by). Then there’s the matter of clouds and full moons and all that jazz — this year was meant to be the best ever for Geminid sightings, but I was still hampered by cloud and sub-zero temperatures.
Yes, I stood outside for about three hours, and all I got was three photos. I couldn’t feel my toes for about two hours after I came back inside (it was the coldest night of the year so far… brr! ice on my boots!) They’re not even that great photos, but I’ve included a couple in today’s Shooting Stargasm.
The geometric photos are just… experiments. I liked the light, and I’m fast learning that I should just TAKE PHOTOS when there’s any kind of light to be had, otherwise I might not get another chance before another Tuesday Photogasm comes around. I’m also coming to terms with the fact that I might be a very good ‘available light’ photographer. It’s dawning on me that this may indeed be the case… (buy my photos, because I have a nagging sensation that they’ll double in price by this time next year).
Enjoy the photos! Think of me freezing my rapidly-gangrenous nuts outside just for the art.
As always, hover over each image for specific notes.
(Admire Canis Major on the far left! Two stars of Orion’s Belt are just visible)
Phew! That was a rather eclectic mix. Now I’m going to shave off my Hitler beard and think of something disturbing for Thursday.
Mister Beep!
Dec 15, 2009
Your Geminides meteorgasm (haha!) shoots are in fact amazing! Considering what a frosty night does to both the photographer and his equipment…
I’ve never tried to catch meteors but I used to do quite a lot of available light photos on film, years ago, mostly in black and white.
So did you whisper a few wishes when the shooting stars fizzed around you?
Have a good day.
sebastian
Dec 15, 2009
I wasn’t sure how bad the cold would be on my camera — I mean, the lenses felt cold, and they took hours to warm up when I came indoors (solid metal I guess…) — but there doesn’t seem to be any damage.
If I recall, heat/moisture is usually more dangerous to equipment, but I’ll have to look up the operating temperature for the lenses/camera — I think the range is usually a lot larger than most people expect (like -20/+60).
I did whisper a few wishes!
Available light on film was my first love. Spool upon reel of black & white.
Ed Adams
Dec 15, 2009
Awesome pics, dude.
IngerMaaike
Dec 15, 2009
It is meteorgasmically beautiful to behold but next time come visit here…no lightpollution!
sebastian
Dec 15, 2009
Ja ja…! I wish!
I could probably do it from Scotland or something — but the chances of GETTING a meteor are really slim. I don’t want to travel somewhere (somewhere really COLD) and then fail to catch the meteors.
Maybe when I am older and richer… and have a private jet…
Stephen K
Dec 15, 2009
Dude, where in South England are you? Because I haven’t seen anything that cool in the sky since that stupid little glimpse of Halley’s Comet WAY back when and even that needed a freakin’ telescope. Great photos as ALWAYS. I need to buy an SLR and learn how to take real, non-postcard-y, non-point-and-click photos.
(That could totally go on my Life list…)
sebastian
Dec 15, 2009
Sussex — the light pollution you see is from Gatwick airport (though, from what I can tell, they did turn their lights out eventually… so maybe it’s more like ambient pollution from Crawley, not sure).
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30278229 — the colour here is also from Gatwick.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a comet! Isn’t one of the big meteor showers caused by the trail of Halley’s Comet?
Glad you like ‘em. Definitely worth getting a DSLR — for Christmas! They’re getting very cheap now. Can’t go far wrong with a 450 or 500D… but you will need to spend some money on some lenses, if you want to go beyond ‘hobby’ or ‘learning’.
floreta
Dec 15, 2009
amazing! my favorite is the first.
Jaime
Dec 15, 2009
I’ve never seen the sky look like it does in those first two pictures. Ever.
Kevin
Dec 15, 2009
That first pic is wonderful. Until you mentioned it was light pollution from the airport, I would have guessed the Northern Lights. Just wondering, what kind of exposures were you using for the meteorgasm shots? If the weather wouldn’t have been so lousy here the past couple of days I was thinking about trying to get some myself, but alas it was not to be.
The geometric pics are also pretty neat. I’ll have to open my eyes a bit more in the future to see all of the opportunities surrounding me.
sebastian
Dec 15, 2009
I almost whacked the slider over to ‘green’, Kevin, to make it look like the Northern Lights. I was VERY tempted! But I live in England, and we can’t see them here — gotta be nearer the Arctic Circle
30 seconds on most of them (i.e. there are a lot that I haven’t put up), but I think 15 seconds on the ‘greyer’ underexposed shot. I have one other which is nice, very creepy, may put it up on Flickr later in the week.
Glad ya like the windows, I wasn’t sure how they would work out.
Jaime — it’s the magic of long-exposure photography. In reality, that’s just some vaguely-orange clouds moving across the sky.
Thanks, Flor!
prkl
Dec 15, 2009
nice stargasm! i waited the leonids the another month but was all cloudy, all week.
now it’s minus15degreesC so no can do. candyass would freeze off, me figures.
blog give-a-way @ http://pwtcooking.blogspot.com/2009/12/givin-is-receivin.html
please, check it out. i think you may have a half a change.
being such fluent wit da words n’ such.
Eleni
Dec 16, 2009
Ooh, I love shooting stars. Saw a couple on the North Shore last weekend. Shame it’s not darker where you are, but they’re nice photos anyway.
Unrelated to photos but somewhat related to your intro… I just had a slice of ice cream cake at a local ice cream place called Bubbies where most of the special desserts have very suggestive names. Some, however, aren’t suggestive but are just totally blatant. The one I ordered had layers of Oreo, espresso, and chocolate ice creams, an Oreo crumb crust and a fudge topping–delicious. Unfortunately (fortunately?), the dessert is called a “multiple orgasm.” Seriously. So an hour ago, I had to walk up to a complete stranger (the guy at the cash register)–in public with other people standing in line–and ask, “Could I have a multiple orgasm?” I wonder if the people working there ever suffer from unprofessional fits of giggles. Imagine some customer walking up to you and saying, “I’d like a ‘functioning prostate’, please.” Fun job.
sebastian
Dec 16, 2009
I was pointing towards the brightest point in the sky for those photos (the clouds — reflected light from clouds is much brighter than anything else in the night sky, except a full moon). I took a lot of photos of the darkest spots in the sky, and there are some beautiful stars, but only one with a meteor in. I guess I could go and fish it out…!
I’m sure, whoever names such things, has your embarrassment foremost in their mind. Cocktails are pretty bad too (there’s the Screaming Orgasm, I think… and Sex on the Beach of course…)
Maybe it has a code name, amongst regulars, so that they don’t have to embarrass themselves every time they order. ‘MO’ maybe… (a cool codename, all things considered…)
sebastian
Dec 16, 2009
Btw, multiple orgasms > functioning prostate (probably)
Candace
Dec 16, 2009
I love the second photo. It’s absolutely stunning!!!