Astro-Photography Photo's

Self portrait photo by the lighthouse on Tiritiri Matangi Island at night.

[tiri lighthouse picture]

Another photograph from Tiri.
Time for another update I think. Its a photo of the Tiritiri Matangi Island Lighthouse. If you look closely you can see me standing by the door to the lighthouse. This picture was originally intended to be part of the foreground in a stacked star trail photo. However I somehow stuffed up the programming on my camera and ended up with only 6 frames. Not sure what I did there. But at least I was able to salvage this shot.

If you're able to visit Tiri and haven't been there before head straight for the lighthouse on the hill. Not only is it beside the visitor center / tea rooms, but this is where several Takahe hang out and will be easily seen. If there is only one place you go on the island on a day trip go here. Also if you are able to spend the night on Tiri. Do so. Its awesome. Little spotted kiwi are everywhere. There are Tuatara's walking about, Morepork (Ruru) around and Teal taking their ducklings (tealings?) for midnight walks. Very Cool, and so worth while. Picture taken with the D300 DSLR. About the Tiritiri Matangi Lighthouse. Tiritiri Matangi Lighthouse is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand. The Tiritiri Matangi light is the oldest lighthouse in New Zealand still in operation. Constructed in 1864 from cast iron, the light was first lit on 1 January, 1865. The light was first automated in 1925 and used an acetylene burning revolving light. Keepers returned to the light in 1947 and it remained manned until 1984 when the light was fully automated. Check out the Wikipedia page.

BTW this is the first photograph I've posted where I've used my 10mm Sigma Fisheye lens. I used the same technique here as I did for my self portrait photo on Lake Manona, Wisconsin.

Lighthouse photograph information.
Image Description:	Self portrait by lighthouse at night on, Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand.
Camera Make:	Nikon Corporation.	Camera Model:	Nikon D300 Digital SLR (DSLR).	Date:	13th April 2009.
Focal Length:	10mm	35mm Equiv Focal Length:	15mm	Aperture:	f/2.8
White Balance:	Auto.	Flash Used:	No.	Exposure Time:	30 seconds.
Light Source:	N/A	Metering Mode:	Spot.	Exposure Mode:	Manual.
ISO:	1000		Lens Used:	Sigma 10mm Fisheye DX.
Accessories Utilised:	Nikon EN-EL3e Li-ion battery pack, Nikon MB-D10 battery grip, Scandisk Extream IV CompactFlash, Manfrotto 055x Prob tripod and 486RC2 head.
Software:	Converted from RAW with Nikon Capture NX. Post editing with The Gimp 2.4.
Photo edits:	Small align and crop. Levels, then sharpen. Add border and scale.
Photographer Comments:		Another self portrait at night.
Model Credit:	Glen Webber.	Photograph Copyright: ©	Glen Webber 2009. All rights reserved.

Thats all for the moment.
Cyas,
Glen.

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Picture of a waxing gibbous Moon.

[waxing gibbous moon picture]

Its really nice when you see something, guess the settings, dial 'em in, click the shutter and get a good result. That's the case here with my photo of a waxing gibbous Moon. Tip: Now that said, when you have a simple static model (like the Moon), take the time to experiment with different setting combinations on your camera. You might be surprised at the results. I used this chance to 1:1 compare several settings, including 12 bit verses 14 bit on my Nikon D300 digital SRL. About the moon. The Moon (Latin: Luna) is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,403 km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The Moon is the only celestial body to which humans have travelled and upon which humans have performed a manned landing. The first artificial object to pass near the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 1, the first artificial object to impact the lunar surface was Luna 2, and the first photographs of the normally occluded far side of the Moon were made by Luna 3, all in 1959. The first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing was Luna 9, and the first unmanned vehicle to orbit the Moon was Luna 10, both in 1966. The United States Apollo program achieved the only manned missions to date, resulting in six landings between 1969 and 1972. Human exploration of the Moon ceased with the conclusion of the Apollo program, although a few robotic landers and orbiters have been sent to the Moon since that time. Several countries have announced plans to return humans to the surface of the Moon in the 2020s.

The first leap in lunar observation was prompted by the invention of the telescope. Galileo Galilei made good use of this new instrument and observed mountains and craters on the Moon's surface.

The Cold War-inspired space race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. led to an acceleration of interest in the Moon. Unmanned probes, both flyby and impact/lander missions, were sent almost as soon as launcher capabilities would allow. The Soviet Union's Luna program was the first to reach the Moon with unmanned spacecraft. The first man-made object to escape Earth's gravity and pass near the Moon was Luna 1, the first man-made object to impact the lunar surface was Luna 2, and the first photographs of the normally occluded far side of the Moon were made by Luna 3, all in 1959. The first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing was Luna 9 and the first unmanned vehicle to orbit the Moon was Luna 10, both in 1966. Moon samples have been brought back to Earth by three Luna missions (Luna 16, 20, and 24) and the Apollo missions 11 to 17 (except Apollo 13, which aborted its planned lunar landing).

You can learn a lot more over at wikipedia.

GCN news: I do have an earlier Moon photograph around somewhere, which I'll dig up and repost some time soon. ... And yes I have been busy, hence the lack of posts in the last week.

CYa's all.
G/

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