Photography – Page 9 – A Darker View

Overhauling the Bogen 329 Tripod Head

For decades I have used a Bogen 329 tripod head atop a Manfrotto 3221 tripod as my ‘heavy’ setup. This tripod has been carried for miles on hiking trails, over lava flows, and has sat in the cold winds for many a night under the stars of Mauna Kea. Heavy and solid the tripod can hold a camera motionless for hours in strong winds.

Shooting Time lapse — The Canon G12 set up to shoot time lapse video of clouds over Mauna Loa

The tripod has securely held cameras, small telescopes, lights, antennas, and stranger things across the years. It has also been repaired more than once, with a leg replaced a decade back.

This old tripod has also been showing its age, the pan and tilt adjustments becoming difficult to use.

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Channels

Plume at Night

The plume of volcanic gasses from Halemaʻumaʻu under the stars

2017 Gallery

2017 featured many adventure recorded in the photos of the year. Fun to look back and relive the expereince…

A heavy plume of gases trail from the 61G lava flow ocean entry

Christmas Lights — Christmas lights on the front lanai

St. Augustine Church at Puehuehu, Kohala

Ohia Blossom — ʻOhiʻa in blossom along the Puʻu Oʻo Trail

Sakura (cherry blossoms) — Sakura or cherry blossoms at the 2017 Waimea Cherry Blossom Festival

Pakoda — A big pot full of pakoda (corn fritters) bubbling away at the Kamuela Hongwanji Mission for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Keck at Night — The Keck telescopes open and working under the dark Mauna Kea skies

On the Keck 2 Dome — The view of IRTF and CFHT from part way up the Keck 2 dome

KCWI being lifted off the trailer at Keck Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea, Jan 20, 2017

A low ground fog covers the hollows with Mauna Kea in the background

Mauna Kea Wreck — A wrecked Toyota pickup truck about a mile below Hale Pohaku

A fogbow formed from drifting fog blowing across the Mauna Kea access road. Click on the image to peruse the panorama properly.

Dome Control Relays — A bank of relays that relay commands from the dome radio controller

Power supply indicator lights for the primary mirror active control systems in Keck 1

Various types of hammers await use in the Keck machine shop

The rear of the Keck 2 primary mirror, processed in Prisma

Waiting for Moonset — Deep Violet set up under Mauna Kea skies waiting for moonset and full darkness

Pōhakuloa Solar Telescope — A solar telescope set up at Pōhakuloa Training Area for Earth Day.

Thermal image of a young guest at AstroDay

Mauna Kea Telescope Moonrise — The Moon rising directly behind the telescopes on the summit as seen from near Waikoloa

Alaska 850 Redeye — Boarding Alaska flight 850 for the overnight flight to Seattle from Kona

Locomotive 4449 under steam at Horsethief Lake — Steam locomotive 4449 under steam at Horsethief Lake near The Dalles in transit to Bend

Tsagaglalal or She-Who-Watches at Horsethief Lake

A Spedis Owl in the rock art collection at Horsethief Lake

F-6 Wheel — The dash and steering wheel of a Ford F-6

Hay Baler Engine — The engine on a hay baler offers a view of mechanical paraphernalia

Harbor Seals — Some harbor seals lounge on an abandoned bit of dock in the Ketchikan harbor.

Bubble Net Feeding — A humpback whale feeding along Chatham Strait

Petersburg Wharf — A large wharf in Petersburg harbor on a calm summer night

Petersburg Fireworks — Fireworks over the Petersburg docks on the 4th of July

Craig Docks — The north Shelter Cove docks in Criag

A pile of old hardware gathering rust and spiderwebs

Ruins of an Old Ranch House — Ruins of an old ranch house

Post Eclipse Sunset — Sunset from Grant’s Spring on the evening after the total solar eclipse 21Aug2017

Sun on Aug 10, 2017 — The Sun as it appeared August 10, 2017 with sunspot AR2670

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 — The 2017 total solar eclipse as photographed from central Oregon

Eclipse Watching — Watching the solar eclipse using proper eye protection

Eclipse 2017 Montage — A montage of the 2017 total solar eclipse

Eclipse Prominences — Large prominences visible along the edge of the Sun during the 21Aug2017 total solar eclipse

Solar Scope — A solar telescope setup to photograph the total solar eclipse 21Aug2017, iPhone photo processed in Prisma

Gecko Close Up — A gold dust day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda) on a pineapple leaf

Laser Gallery

Nudi Gallery

Dawn over the Cascades

Reef Fish Gallery

A Cheekspot Scorpionfish (Scorpaenodes littoralis) near the shore in 4′ of water, Mahukona

Brick Soldierfish (Myripristis amaena) in a cave at Puakō

Commerson's Frogfish — Commerson’s Frogfish (Antennarius commerson) at 25′ depth

Teardrop Butterflyfish — Teardrop butterflyfish (Chaetodon unimaculatus) peeks out from under cover

Longnose Butterflyfish — A longnose butterflyfish (Forcipiger flavissimus) in nighttime coloration during a night dive at Puakō

Orangespine Unicornfish — Orangespine unicornfish (Naso lituratus) at 25ft depth, Suck-Em-Up Cave

Cleaning Station — A group whitebar surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucopareius) of clean algae and parasites off a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Dragon Wrasse — A dragon wrasse, actually a juvenile rockmover wrasse (Novaculichthys taeniourus) at 40′ depth, Kaloko

Leaf Scorpionfish (Taenianotus triacanthus) crouched in finger coral

Flowery Flounder (Bothus mancus) on the reef at O’oma

A female whitley’s boxfish (Ostracion whitleyi) in the coral at 40′ depth, Kaloko

Hawaiian Red Lionfish — Hawaiian red lionfish (Pterois sphex) on a cave ceiling

Bluestripe Squirrelfish — Bluestripe squirrelfish (Sargocentron tiere) in a small cave at Pentagon

Eye of the Trumpet — A trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis) considers the camera

Trumpetfish in Coral — A young trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis) hovers in the arms of a large antler coral (Pocillopora eydouxi)

Cleaner Wrasse — A cleaner wrasse (Labroides phthirophagus) in an overhang filled with red sponges

Devil Scorpionfish — A devil scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus) at The Hive

Racoon Butterflyfish — A racoon butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula) in a small cave at Golden Arches

Trumpetfish Face — A trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis) considers the camera

Tinker's Butterflyfish — Tinker’s butterflyfish (Chaetodon tinkeri), photo by Pete Tucker

Painted Frogfish — A bright red painted frogfish (Antennarius pictus) at 25′ depth, Puakō

Ornate Butterflyfish — Ornate butterflyfish (Chaetodon ornatissimus) photographed during a night dive at Puakō

A pair of Goldring Surgeonfish (Ctenochaetus strigosus) at 35ft depth at Eel Cove

Twospot Lizardfish (Synodus binotatus) at 30ft depth, Puakō

Attempting to Hide — An Arceye Hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus) hides from the photographer deep in a coral head

Redbarred Hawkfish — Redbarred hawkfish (Cirrhitops fasciatus) perched in a reef crevice

Meadow Telescope

Creative Filters for Photography

I have heard it said that the creative filter applications available for phone photography are simply a way to make bad photos look good.

I would have to say that these filters are a way to make bad photos look worse.

The web is filled with horrible photos of pets, selfies, and dinner plates, often processed through some creative filter application to somehow make the photo look hip or cool. Sorry, a bad photo is still a bad photo. Often it is far worse for the application of the filter. Fancy colors, brush patterns or mosiacs, it does not matter, it is still just bad.

I am not telling you to uninstall the application, quite the opposite! A well composed photo can be a good photo after application of the filter. You can also use the filter to overcome some limitations of phone photography. Technical defects like color, lighting, and noise are often erased when the filter is applied.

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